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I finally received my Sweetharp in May after waiting a year. My experience has been the same as many others’ – endless delays, no communication, emails & phone calls going unanswered, dubious excuses. The harp is beautiful, sounds amazing, & I do love it. However, it was packaged very poorly & the box had actually been torn open down the top where the two halves of the top flaps were taped together. There were numerous dents & small tears in the box as well. My heart was in my mouth when I wrestled the box into the house & opened it, afraid that my long-awaited harp had been damaged. Fortunately, she was fine, but opening that box was not a pleasant experience.
Chris also “forgot” to include the lap bar that is supposed to come with the Sweetharp, but it did arrive the next day in a separate box. He also “forgot” to include the extra set of strings I ordered & paid for in advance. After multiple fruitless emails & Facebook messages to him about the strings, I demanded a refund. He finally replied to me on Facebook several days ago & said he would transfer the funds to his Paypal account & refund me when it showed up in his Paypal balance. So far, no refund. I imagine it will be as hard to pry my refund out of him as it has been to pry anything else out of him that I paid for.
We had several phone conversations this spring & I told him quite clearly that he absolutely must get out of his mindset that “oh, we’re all artists here & all friends, & no one will mind if I am flaky about my obligations – I’m an artist after all.” He may be an artist when he is designing & performing, but when he is filling customers’ orders he is, or should be, a businessman. He did agree with me & said that was something in himself he was trying to work on, but of course nothing has changed, nor did I expect it to.
I’m not looking forward to another struggle with him about my refund for the extra strings. I will certainly never do business with him again. I’m just glad I didn’t order a case!
Sheila,
“Placing” is fundamental to harp technique & is something you will be doing forever. I’ve been self-teaching with Pam Bruner’s books & DVDs as well as Youtube videos. I do plan to take Skype lessons after the holidays this winter.
There is also a wonderful Virtual Harp Circle on Yahoo Groups you might want to check out. Just look for Virtual Harp Circle on Yahoo Groups. The VHC welcomes folk harpers of all skill levels & is especially kind to beginners. It’s a wonderful, warm, supportive group that will make you welcome. Good luck!
Paul & Brenda, I’m in Chillicothe, OH! I now have a MusicMaker’s Voyageur & love her. I bought her from a lovely gentleman on the Virtual Harp Circle on Yahoo Groups. I named her Emma.
I’m working my way through Pamela Bruner’s books now which are the best I’ve tried. I’m now on book 2 & enjoying every minute.
I’ve never been tested but I have no reason to think there is anything wrong with my hearing. I can hear sounds my 51-year-old husband & 23-year-old son can’t.
When I tried to explain to my MIL in TN that I was teaching myself to play the harp, she didn’t know what I meant. Turned out after a couple more phone conversations, she thought all along I meant “that thing that lays flat on your lap” – she meant an autoharp but didn’t know what to call it. Then she thought I meant “one of those big gold things”. She had no idea lap harps or lever harps existed & it took a lot of explaining before she got what I meant. She is a highly intelligent woman & a college graduate, but typical of both my family & my DH’s. No clue about music or instruments at all.
In regard to the lack of school voice programs, around here the only voice programs are school show choirs which are usually taught by an English or drama teacher pressed into service who doesn’t have much of a music background either.
Such is living in the boonies!
Thanks for the welcome, everyone!
No, I cannot sing in tune. I bray like a donkey when I try to sing. I can’t carry a tune well enough to drag it out to the back yard & bury it. No, we have no good music programs in any of the schools here. In fact, in this low-income rural Ohio area, most of the local schools are lucky to have any music program at all left with the reluctance of the citizens to pass school funding levies.
