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Thanks Jerusha! Guess I’ll have to admire my harp from afar until the blisters recede a little. Two of them are blood blisters so I can’t pop them. Lost track of how long I was playing and didn’t feel any soreness.
Update: could not resist so have been playing with blisters (gently) and it seems as though the skin is toughening over them a little.
For Lever Harp, favorites are:
Dances with wolves, homeward Bound (written by Marta Keen), over the rainbow, all arranged by Angi Bemiss
Angel (written by Sarah McLachlan, arranged by Paul Baker)
Ribbon in the Sky (Stevie Wonder, arranged by Stephanie Bennett includes a more complex arrangement for pedals)
Would like to learn Zelda and some Metallica, stairway to Heaven, titanic, morning has broken and lord of the rings, Beatles tunes..great thread as I am looking for Pop arrangements to learn too..Randal, wire harps are so portable with full range! Happy to hear both harps arrived safe and sound. Enjoy yours over the holiday! Now to shop for everyone else..
I played Grandjany’s Baracole and Andres’ Aquatints on the Aberdeen and the warmer tone made this harp perfect for light classical. It was a joy to relearn music I haven’t played in years and hearing each one resonate warmly and fully.
Jerusha, your music stand threads are a great way to hear others opinions for repertoire. Whenever I want to try something new I read through them. You always remind me of my Dusty, what wonderful harps they are. I’m so grateful to have a harp again that has the qualities I missed most, strong resonance, ringing bass and a BIG expressive tone.
Lyn, I had been looking at harps and not really thinking of getting one when this happened, but this harp is just what I need right now. Going to be hard to get anything accomplished today, can’t wait to play it again!
UPDATE: ..blisters on my fingers.. Guess I’d better read up on how to treat them so I can play again.. Shoot!
Randal must be too busy playing his new harp to give an update!
I didn’t expect the string tension to be as high probably because I’m used to the Aziliz, bit I am loving this harp. It has a big beautiful deep yet clear sound. Very mellow and soothing. Really perfect. It’s comfortable to play and light for its size.. Very responsive. The bass sounds bell-like.
Now if only Randal will tell us how he likes his harp!
I didn’t want to leave it to chance and picked it up myself. They did a great job of packing it in a big Lyon and Healy box, no dents in the box, not even a broken string on the harp whew!!! I played for a bit and it is larger than I expected so had a really nice deep bass and warm sounding for nylon. Light to carry and fits perfect in my back seat. Wish I could call into work for rest of day but will have to be patient till later this evening to play til my harps content. Very happy with my choice!
Let us know when you have your harp home safely Randal!
Who did you purchase that I’ll-fated harp delivery from in April Randal? We are having a big storm tomorrow so I am going to hopefully pick up my harp today as I think it’s in CT waiting for them to schedule delivery. I thought they would wait till next week to ship when weather is milder but they said finish is OK for freezing temps.. They called Rees before shipping. They are holding a pedal harp going to Utah for warmer temps and I would rather have waited but they had it all ready to go packed up and waiting for pick up when I called Wednesday.
Hi Kay, I’ve done that. I’ll be playing along fine without looking at the strings then when I look at them I can’t continue. I have to relearn it looking at the strings because sight memory is different looking at string patterns verses muscle memory when reading from the page.
I listened to samples from Ernie and Becky Brock’s Christmas CD, it ‘s nicely arranged for levers and different from the usual carols. I never heard three ships before, now after listening I would like to learn it too. One of the best things I’ve gotten from this forum is suggestions for sheet music that I never would have found. Thanks Jerusha and Barbara for the link. I’m almost up to speed on Carolan after tonight’s practice. My family was so happy to hear me play again.
I’m relearning carolan tunes, but my fingers are so out of practice. Once I get up to speed again I want to relearn ‘over the rainbow’ arranged by angi bemis and my next new song will be ‘if I only had a brain’, guess I’m in the mood for wizard of oz and light stuff. I will keep picking away at Janet Harrison’s tutorials and dare I say it hopefully learn some music theory and arrange my own tunes someday but that is a long term goal. I searched high and low for Alan stivell sheet music to no avail, but will continue to look..
Congratulations Randal! It’s beautiful. Please share your thoughts when you get it (if you can put it down). We are both getting walnut harps.. I love the clover cut outs, bet it sounds heavenly. I am trying not to worry about the shipping process..
Sorry Jerusha, didn’t mean to pester you! Thanks for all you do to make this a supportive and interesting forum!
Thanks Jerusha, Just got word it’s being shipped today. It’s wonderful to have time to play and enjoy the harp again and have been able to get most of the tunes back under my fingers. Need to get working on Christmas carols. Do you still start the music stand threads for each season? Was looking for it although I’ve nothing new, curious what others are up to.
Hi Andee, I tried a Janet alongside my Aziliz and lusted for it ever since! I thought the strings felt nicer under my fingers than the dusty, they seemed to be thinner and have more stretch. Maybe my imagination, not sure if camac makes their nylon strings differently.. It had a very sweet sound and I liked it a lot for Irish dance tunes. It had some lovely resonance, but less sustain than a dusty. It did not have as strong a bass as a dusty though, every harp has its limitations.
I think it’s funny you are just looking although you played it for an hour : ). If you were too keep your Dusty it might be a nice combination for you. If your thinking of selling your dusty, and if you will miss the powerful bass, you might want to reconsider. Portability is a great factor but not as much as tone. If you’ve been happy with that harp all these years maybe you should consider a 36 to lug around.
: )I love Harrison’s arrangements too, although I have to order them from Ireland, can’t get them anywhere in the US…that was part of the draw for me for her harp. I play mostly her arrangements, I like them better than any other, need to study up on her course and learn to arrange for myself, her tutorials are excellent.
I wouldn’t add change strings to anything other than what’s recommended for the harp model, you can cause serious damage to the harp. Why not call Debbie Triplett and ask her advice? I personally don’t think carbon fiber strings will sound good on a tripplett, you’d loose that characteristic lightness. Why do you want to change them out?
Hi Sheri, transplant is paid for by recipients health insurance. Before being listed (eligible) insurance has to approve. Cost is 2-300,000 so I don’t know what happens if no insurance. I was told that rules vary in the US by state whether the family has to approve. Usually reason for not donating has to do with difficulty with not being comfortable with the concept itself, instinct is to preserve the remains of our loved ones. I was not a donor until this experience because it seems rather gruesome in some ways..but now that I’ve been lucky to have my husbands life saved by someone’s gift, it seems a trivial concern compared to the benefit to the living. It’s not as though I will have any use for my organs once deceased so if they can save someone’s life why base a decision on fear?
