Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Try supporting your fingers with the ones that are not playing; for example, if you are playing with your thumb and second finger, move the third, fourth and fifth finger beside the second finger to form a “paddle” or “mitten”. You would be surprised how that helps quell the shakes. Also, when you feel that adrenalin, take a deep breath. Breathing really helps get you through tough passages, so keep breathing. A lot of people unconsciously lock their jaw and hold their breath, which starves the muscles of oxygen. Practise in front of a mirror to watch that your jaw is relaxed, your shoulders are down, and try smiling as you play.
For the nylon and gut strings, I don’t leave any slack on the string before I start winding, since the strings stretch so much in the first couple of days. If you are tying your knot correctly, using a string anchor from a 4th or 5th octave gut string, and there is nothing sharp in the grommet or hole, then it should work. Are you “locking” the string in place after winding it around once? There are some good videos out there about replacing strings. Sylvia Woods has a good video about almost any subject.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_rF-rND9C0
For more information on the program, email cishi.info@gmail.com
Also looking for good oboe or English horn and Harp Stuff.
I like Algues by Bernard Andrès, for oboe and harp.Laura Sofia Carmellino might be able to help you. She lives in Milan, Italy, and runs the International Harp Workshop. She studied at Curtis.
There are some wonderful duets by Alfredo Ortiz, Janet Witman and Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher. Anna Dunwoodie has published a great book called Junior Harp Ensembles. Patrice Fisher has a good collection called Celtic Salsa.
Can you get a look at the score? It’s possible that it might be covered enough that you could leave out the last two sixteenth notes of the left hand patterns. If it is necessary to have a note on each of the sixteenths, keep the harmony intact but perhaps change the voicing slightly to avoid the large reaches.
I used to play La Sylphide but it was a different orchestration. In the bottom line, I would take the second sixteenth of the second beat with the thumb of my left hand.If you know the reason for a pedal change, it is much easier to remember it or fix it if you missed it. For example, say to yourself, “I have to change this G# because it is the leading tone in A minor”. If you know that an F minor chord is made up of F, Ab and C, and you hear yourself playing an F major chord, then obviously you must change the A pedal to flat. If you don’t know music theory yet, take some lessons on this subject. It will be the best money you ever spent. There are even online courses and quizzes.
Here is your chance to do some research. Get a copy of Roslyn Rensch’s book Harps and Harpists. Check your local music library for books on acoustics. The internet is a playground of knowledge now; all you have to do is google a subject. Check the web sites of harp manufacturers, harp builders and harp technicians. They are full of information. There are old conversational threads about harps and strings, etc. on harplist@yahoogroups.com. In fact, there is tons of information in archived threads on Harp Column.
I had a similar experience a couple of years ago when I bought a new pedal harp. I had to replace so many strings, I could only assume it must have been the change of climate. It was fine for a long time, then it had a spasm of breaking 2nd octave B’s for about a month, then it settled down again. (I reamed out the string hole with a toothpick, in case there was a burr in the hole.)
At the first rehearsal, bring along a pencil and mark in the places where one of you leads the other, and then practise nodding or looking up every time you get to that spot. Don’t use the person’s name, (i.e. “nod at Joe”), but rather, use the name of the instrument (“nod at guitarist”). You never know when you’ll be playing the piece again, or loaning the music to a different ensemble.
