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I don’t own a Camac, though I have played on an Athena and enjoyed it. The extra room at the top felt really luxurious.
I am so happy to see that you have a concert grand of your own, at last! I know it’s been your dream for a very long time. Congratulations, and may you and Grover enjoy many happy years of making music together.
Hi Sid,
Yes, the catalogs were fascinating! Thank you for that wonderful advice. I couldn’t find a catalog for the exact year in question, but near enough. The details on my harp are not exactly like either the style 21 or the style 17 shown, but they are much nearer to the 17. So I am going to assume that’s what I’ve got — a very old (1918) style 17, which is considerably smaller than a modern semi-grand. L&H tells me this was only the second style 17 they made. So that’s pretty special.I think it would be easier to live without the top 2 strings than the bottom two, if you’re considering a harp with fewer than 47 strings. Not having that low E in particular would be quite a disadvantage.
Can you tell us more about the harp? Is it a lever or pedal harp? What is its age? Who is the manufacturer/maker?
You may be dealing with the teacher’s personality and deeply ingrained methods of teaching and communicating, and I doubt she will change or soften up much, regardless of what you say or do. I would look for another teacher. In my opinion there is no place for tears or fear in any learning environment. A nine-year old can’t suddenly “grow up” or get tough. A nine-year old is NOT grown up and is not supposed to be. I grew up at a time when many teachers dealt rather harshly with children, and none of that was at all helpful to my development as a musician, student, or person. Find a teacher who is warm as well as clear, kind as well as capable, someone with whom your daughter can relax and who inspires her to do her best work. Learning is not best fostered by intimidation.
I wholeheartedly agree with those who say that each harp is different. It comes down to what sounds and feels best to you (the feel of a harp is very important; it must fit the body well and be comfortable, not tiring, to play). Just because one Athena sounded “too sweet” doesn’t mean that all Athenas will have that exact same quality. Trust your instincts! In addition to playing the instrument(s) yourself, ask someone to play for you any harp you are considering buying. Stand some distance away and evaluate the sound from that perspective. I consider this an essential step in the process, and it surprises me how few people do it.
I carried a square of carpeting with me for this reason. A floor the same color as the “white” strings was deadly…..the black and white tiled floor at the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge Park, where I played often, was even worse, as each string disappeared and reappeared several times. The carpet piece I used was a deep soft rose color and worked just fine.
Most often heard: “I bet you wish you played the piccolo” (or flute) — and for some reason, people often ask “Does it have wheels?”
Yes, this definitely happens! Practicing is subject to the same ebb and flow as the rest of life. I’m sure many factors play into it….how much and how well you’ve slept, what and when you’ve eaten, how hydrated you are, what’s on your mind, etc. One thing I’ve noticed is that often after a “bad” day, things make a sudden leap forward. Bad days are often followed by really good ones, and even if I think I’m not making progress or accomplishing anything on a particular day, the next day practicing often feels and sounds much, much better — so on some level, I was obviously learning, improving and consolidating knowledge. The learning process doesn’t always happen in a straight line; in fact, it hardly ever does. Plateaus and rough patches are part of it, and so are the wonderful experiences of something coming together suddenly, having an amazing burst of insight, or feeling “in the zone.”
I am not in the UK (not at the moment, anyway!) but I do have a Venus Encore and I am very pleased with it. It has a big, majestic sound and an especially beautiful upper register which is both clear and warm. I take it to gigs where a lot of volume is required, but its sound is gorgeous as well as having power and projection.
To answer your questions: they are all concert harps, 47 strings. They are in a studio which keeps a fairly constant humidity of 50%. I notice the problem while tuning, not after. It is subtle, not extreme. I use an electronic tuner. And it does not affect the wire strings at all. I tune before every session of practice and have been noticing this for years. The answer probably does lie in the shape of the harp/thickness of the board. I hadn’t considered that before, but have always wondered why intonation problems would not be uniform (i.e. the whole harp a bit too sharp or flat, as opposed to different parts of the harp doing different things).
Like you, I enjoy looking at my harps. I only cover them when I’m going away (or moving them, obviously). Other than that, I keep them out of sunlight, dust the action with a soft brush and wipe the board and body with a tiny bit of room-temperature spring water on a soft cloth. I polish once in a blue moon.
