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Are you strong enough to just pick it up and carry it across the parking lot, inside the building, and up the stairs? If so, you need some thick folded moving pads and a sliding piece of plywood to lay the harp on then slide into the vehicle. One end always stays in the vehicle, the other on the ground. You slide it out, lay the harp down on thick pads, move to the end, pick up one end only, and slide the whole into the vehicle. You can get fancy with wheels and hand holes and a lip at the bottom if you want.
If you are not strong enough to just carry, there is no option but a proper dolly. A cheap two-wheel dolly will dump your harp in the dirt. The wheels are not wide enough; there is no curved cradle for the body; and there are no fixed straps. If it is raining, or you are on stairs, you don’t get to stop and rest, so be sure you can really carry it as far as you will have to.
Do not ever leave your harp standing outside without a hand firmly holding the top of the neck. Not ever. Not even for one minute. You will get a gust of wind just at the wrong time, and then you will need a new harp.
Be sure you have all-risk insurance. Most homeowner’s does not cover off premises. Some companies will write proper declared value all-risk as a rider. There is also the Anderson Insurance option, who specialize in musical instruments.
Get ready to have some dings appear regardless of your best precautions and maximal care. Also allow plenty of time to arrive in advance. There will probably be issues you have to solve with your set up space.
You don’t need the padded cover when inside the vehicle; you may need it outside the vehicle. Moving pads don’t work well: you can’t keep them in position, and if you strap them on, you can’t get a firm grasp on the harp. Not dropping or bumping it in the first place is more important than any amount of padding.
If you live in an area with road pot holes, strap the harp down inside the vehicle, even if you have to mount tie down points. Bouncing the harp around in the back is not a good thing….
You may also need to explore copyright and performance issues (depending on repertoire) as well as income tax implications.
Most of it looks playable as-is–just write in the proper pedals (and fingerings). At a quick speed, it will be challenging on harp. And with no dampers, it may be too muddy to come off well.
The section with chromatic scales will be a problem. Some areas have a note, say Ab, held in the right hand, while the left plays a quick chromatic scale starting on Ab. When the next sixteenth note (A-nat) is changed by the pedals, the held note in the treble chord will change also. The only answer might be to play the held chord as a G#.
By the time you are technically able to play the notes on harp, you will easily know enough to mark the pedals and enharmonics you needed to play it straight from the piano score for yourself.
The bigger question is: without dampers, and without time to manually damp, and with the number of chromatic scales, will it come off only as a muddy, buzzy, mess on the harp?
Howard, as Biagio mentions earlier, do not neglect to visit and play a Thormahlen. They are fine instruments.
Another possible resource is a well-known harpist / composer in Monitor, OR: Kathryn Cater. Many of her compositions appear aimed to appeal to young students–but most are richly expressive and musically complex, especially relative to the skill level required to play them. Even the easiest books are interesting, fun and rewarding to play, and not insulting to an adult student.
It is possible that she may teach as well, but I am confident you would be able to locate a teacher either for classical or Celtic (or both) once you connect into the local harp community.
Don’t be surprised if you get wildly varying opinions to this one. Unlike piano, which is, I think, mostly only from one school (Czerny???) harp technique segregates into several different schools.
On the “pedal” video, I only saw the right hand used. The left hand is often a lot more flat, both for the intervals reached and the distance away. Also, an octave reach on a pedal harp is much longer in the bass than the treble. She demonstrates Salzedo technique, which is derived from standard French technique. (Ducking and running… @Howard, there is a long-standing “feud” in the US between Salzedo and non-Salzedo harpists. I’m barely an intermediate player, but I see a lot of overlap in techniques between players of the two schools.) Both predominant schools keep the thumbs high; both close from the base finger joint fully into the palm; both have more or less curved fingers. Height of the fingers in both is altered depending on how far the reach is. Curve amount will also vary with the reach of the interval. Salzedo school has the elbows higher, particularly the right, so the wrist does not touch the harp, which is probably good for preventing carpal tunnel damage. Salzedo school emphasizes always “gesturing” or “raising” when coming off the strings; many French harpists do that as well these days–it looks graceful and flowing, if nothing else.
To me, the lever (Celtic) technique video looks like a poorly-executed version of a French-family technique. The placing looks clumsy, and the fingers lack independence of motion. @Biagio will know more about how universal “thumbs up” is on Celtic instruments. I wouldn’t expect a good quality sound from any instrument by closing from the finger middle joint rather than fully into the palm.
I wouldn’t take _any_ video as textbook perfect example of the proper technique for _you_. Hand and finger and arm position all influence the sound produced, and the technique is only a way to get “your hand” on “your harp” to produce the sound “you want” on command. “My hand” on “my harp” is different. This is different from piano, and very different from organ.
You need a teacher to work with you to find what works for you, and guide until you at understand what the sound should be like. It is much more involved than just hitting and releasing a string. Also, you probably need to differentiate between a Celtic (lighter tension) harp and a Lever harp, which may use Pedal tension stringing. L&H Prelude is pedal tension. Dusty Strings are intermediate, mostly. Tripletts are on the light end, to give some examples.
Howard, I happened to be browsing when your inquiry came in. A couple of things come to mind: 1) pinky is never used at all 2) ring finger of left hand is used A LOT. As with a piano/organ, the left hand lowest finger (ring finger for harp) will supply the bass note. Harp music commonly has bass note/5th/10th chords. I’d say most hands will reach a tenth on a pedal harp, but will be nearly flat in doing so.
Unlike keyboards, there is no single string distance specification for harps. Some are built with very tight spacing: easier to reach, but more opportunity for a still-vibrating string to hit the fingernail of another finger causing a buzz.
Most people play with the harp on right shoulder, left hand bass, right hand treble. But there is a tradition in Wales (and maybe elsewhere) of playing left shoulder, right hand bass, left hand treble. I see no reason you couldn’t learn that way–but for a keyboard player, it might be a real brain twister. On lever harp, as you begin to need to change levers during a piece (for accidentals) they’ll be on the wrong side to reach quickly with the non-busy hand.
Can you find a teacher? or a trained harpist? I think you need to try out the reach. Pedal harp is probably the widest you will encounter. If that is too wide, maybe someone near you has a Dusty Strings–they would be a bit narrower. If that is still too wide, there are some even narrower.
If you have any finger strength limitations, you may want to head toward lower tension harps. Another issue for narrow-spaced harps is large diameter fingers. If you have trouble getting between the black keys on an organ, you might have a problem getting onto the strings on some really tight instruments.
I did a little internet search. Perhaps this harp showroom is near you?
http://classicharpsnw.com/homepage.html
They might have some you can try. And I’m sure you’ll get some more thoughts from others.
Charles Nix
PS: There are several male harpists regularly around here.
As you say, the square fermata makes no musical sense in this spot. Even if the first one somehow made some sense, where it occurs both treble and bass clef, in the second instance, it is only in the treble clef. And, it is hard to see in the poor photo, but there is no dot below and inside the square part.
It occurred to me that the piece might have been originally published for violin and harp, then rearranged, and someone forgot to remove those marks. But there would never have been a need for the down bow on the bass clef.
Any other ideas?
Sarah: Grossi and Bochsa revisited are different. Grossi is more a method with instruction and exercises. Lots of repetition; little musical interest. The Pozzoli etudes that are usually published with it in the back are more musically interesting. The two work with each other in parallel. About halfway through the Grossi section, there is a note to start working in the Pozzoli section in parallel. Some of the Pozzoli etudes (studies) are interesting and rewarding; others less so, and more like exercises.
Bochsa Revisited (or any other of the Bochsa sets of etudes) are _much_ more interesting to play, while still concentrating on one technical aspect. They are also more advanced than anything in Grossi/Pozzoli.
So it depends on what level you are playing. I look forward to being able to really dive in to the Bochsa, but I’m not quite there yet. Carl’s edition of the Bochsa is _much_ better than the original. (And I’m hoping he has enough interest in the first half to warrant finishing and publishing the second volume!)
I have studied with a teacher who said she was always able to go back to the piano and just play–but with the harp, if she wasn’t on it every day, it took a week to get the tone color and projection back in form. She is retired from principal harp at a prominent US orchestra, and has held principal harp at one symphony or another since soon after college. You are not alone.
You don’t say where you have performed, or what the expectations were that you feel you didn’t live up to. I am guessing (and assuming) these were free performances.
Regardless, I think you need to play what feeds your soul, and then find a market for that. Also, be cautious assuming what people expect. They are there to hear you, and hear what you interpret with the music you play. Maybe some do expect more. But no one who plays the harp, (or any other instrument) should expect you to do other than your musical expression.
String noise is frustrating, isn’t it! A good teacher, exercises and etudes, and proper practice working specifically on technique and tone production will help. But don’t beat yourself up too much over an occasional buzz. It happens, go on. All harpists, even at the highest levels, still occasionally buzz and fumble pedals. If it were easy, everyone would be playing the harp.
Now, if you want to add some glisses and arpeggios to your repertoire, and those techniques are common in harp music, look at McDonald/Wood Graded Recital Pieces for starters. Another (more advanced) choice is Gustavson’s Sparklers. A gentle gliss, used sparingly and occasionally, and done well, can really bring an emotional point to places in your simple songs. Good examples of this can be found in Joy Slavens’ One Tiny Light (Harp Column Music) and many of Ray Pool’s arrangements.
As Emma said, that isn’t a Style 23–because it is a semi-grand.
Don’t be fooled by the patent date on the neck. That is not the age. Your photo shows serial 3484, which, according to Carl Swanson’s post https://harpcolumn.com/forums/topic/lyon-healy-serial-numbers/
would be likely 1932 to 1936.There are several guides on what to look at when buying a used pedal harp, especially an older one.
Here’s one: https://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/buying_a_used_harp.shtmlAnd https://harpherald.com/2012/07/25/used-harps-can-you-find-a-good-buy-part-1-of-6/
The last is in six parts; the following chapters can be clicked on at the bottom.Listening first is great advice. Go in person to recitals. Visit a harp shop and ask there who plays different kinds of harps. See if you can make contact and set up a visit.
I would expect most harpists to be quite open and helpful to talking with you in person about their instrument and music.
For nylon/gut strung harp, it will be challenging to find a hand position that allows you to play with the pads of the finger and not brush the nail by the string (which will make a horrible sound).
For wire strung, you may be all set–and I’m sure someone with wire harp experience will join the discussion. But wire strung and nylon/gut are very different technique and sound.
False nails, per se, wouldn’t be a problem–it would be the amount of overhang of the nails, whether false or real, that would be the problem. I have bony fingers, and have to keep the amount of white showing past the nail bed to a bare sliver, and trim every week. More than 1.5 mm and I _will_ hit the string on the way by. So, if you wanted to trim the false nails to just barely covering, that could work.
The best small tuners I have seen are both apps: Peterson iStroboSoft and Cleartune. You may need a clip on mic in noisy situations. A guitarist friend introduced me to Cleartune, and I have not found any compact tuner that will come close. Even so, the lowest octaves and highest really need some careful work by ear to get them right. There is also a standalone version of iStroboSoft. Our pipe organ technicians use both of those for quick checks, though we do 99% of tuning by ear.
For really good, extremely accurate tuners, you can’t beat the plug in strobe Petersons–but I expect your definition of “splurging” doesn’t extend to the $750-1000 they cost.
Charles Nix
Assuming your harp is nylon and not Fluoro or gut—
I never change any nylon strings on the same visit as a regulation. They must be changed 2-4 weeks ahead of time. I like them really stable and stretched in, so regulation can be the best possible. Regulation should involve playing both strongly and softly, to ensure that there are no hidden buzzes. Playing strongly on new strings means you are constantly chasing the tuning, while also trying to adjust the regulation. Not too bad with some levers, but I think it is an unnecessary pain with Lovelands.
And, if you are noticing the sound change in the entire harp after only the two wires, then you need to be changing every year or so. If you weren’t noticing the change, I would have a different answer. Strings are expensive–but so are harp lessons, and practice time. Why fool with all the effort and expense if you are not enjoying the instrument.
@Biagio, we may disagree here: I would generally always change all the strings on that size lever harp all at once–if they are nylon strings. Most are inexpensive monofilament. Of course, I would never take them off all at once, but one to three at a time, and only one wire at a time, to preserve the tension on the soundboard.I don’t like fooling with one bad string, then finding another one a week later. There are always one or more strings stretching out when replacing one or two at a time, and a stable tuning is hard to maintain. I like to get the stretching in part done and over with.
One other point, old wires will mute the sound of the entire harp, as you have discovered.
