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Hi Lili,
I don’t own a Mark Norris, but I have tried them out and can vouch that they are good harps. I have two friends who own them and can only find good things to say about them.
Teifi harps are also good. Yet again, I don’t own one, but know someone who does – he loves it.
The problem with choosing a harp is that once you have got past the stage of “Is it well made” etc, much of what makes it “Good” is very personal. Whilst videos and recordings are better than nothing, they say as much about the recording equipment, sound engineer and player as they do about the instrument.
The only way to choose between two good harps is to try them out in person. And that is not always possible.
So both makes are good – nothing wrong with either, and a lot very right with both.I have a friend with a Teifi Eos and in my opinion the sound is gorgeous.
The Pilgrim Clarsach is concert tension, but maybe doesn’t fit the criteria for “Big”.
Andrew Thom does wonderful sounding big harps with concert tension.Edinburgh Harp Festival is definitely THE place to go, but to tide you over until April, how about the Stamford Harp Festival – http://www.stamfordharpfestival.co.uk/
Thanks Barbara!
Onita, I know how you feel. I tried searching for apps to do the things I wanted, and was deluged by choice. So how to sift through and work out which ones are useful, and which ones are merely said to be useful by their creators reviewing under different name? Ask Harp Column Forumites. As you say, they’re a wonderful, knowledgable and generous bunch.
As someone who doesn’t own either an iPhone or an iPad….. and am feeling somewhat out of my depth in this tech savvy thread…. can anyone recommend an app for teaching someone to read music – beginner level – identifying note names on treble and bass clef sort of thing. In the past fortnight two of my tech savvy and iGadget owning students – both adult beginners – have asked me for recommendations. I tried googling, but was bewildered by the result.
All responses gratefully received by this Luddite who still thinks that digital watches are a pretty neat idea……..;-)Maybe….
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanadaWestHarplist/Might be useful….?
A pity you missed the Edinburgh harp festival a couple of weeks ago! (It’s on at a similar time of year next year if you are prepared to wait that long, but that’s a looooooong time away!)
I don’t know if this will be helpful or not, but I will include a list of all the makers who exhibited at the festival this year – all these harps are available in the U.K. and probably many outlets closer to Sweden as well. Then you can google them if you haven’t done so already.Ardival Harps
Early Gaelic Harp
Tim Hampson Harpmaker
Holywell Music
Killarney Harps
Clive Morley Harps
Mark Norris Harps
Pilgrim Harps
Salvi Harps Limited
Silver Spear, Harps and Dulcimers
Starfish Designs (Scotland) Limited
Telynau Teifi Harps
Telynau Vining HarpsChoosing your first harp is never easy. Good luck!
I use “Hearos” – got ’em off Amazon. The do the job fine and aren’t too expensive. They do however, mostly block out the sound of your own instrument, but if you are playing in an environment loud enough to warrant ear plugs, you most likely won’t be able to hear yourself anyway.
I haven’t tried “Alpine” ear plugs, but they come with different noise absorbent inserts so you can customise them to the level you want. However, they are 3 times the price.
But anything is better than tinnitus!There is a piece Sally Beamish called “Four Songs from Hafez” for tenor and piano or tenor and harp. I have never heard it, but I like some of her other compositions. Maybe you could try it….?
Hi Sherri
I have used the Zoom H2 outside to great effect. It comes with a choice of feet – one set for standing on a flat surface and a “Spike” for fitting into a mic stand. It also comes with a fitted wind shield. My sole (and very minor) criticism is that it uses quite a lot of power. If you are recording outside for more than an hour on a high sample rate, don’t forget spare batteries! I was very pleased with the quality of recordings I got, and with the ease of use.
In my copy there is an asterisk beside the first H which says “To be played low in the strings”, so p.d.l.t. would be spot on.
I’ve never seen this used anywhere else……
I played an Erard Grecian in an amateur orchestra for a while, and with a string quartet (hang on, that would have made us a string quintet, no?
but I wouldn’t really recommend it.
