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I always cut up my old 5th octave gut strings when I replace them, so that I have a good supply of string anchors in a little bag. I wouldn’t try a steel nail, in case it buzzes, or worse, causes damage.
Try this right-hand technique, especially in the upper register: find the middle of the string, put your thumb on the string, but NOT the knuckle of your second finger. Swing your fist through as you turn your wrist, so you hit the middle of the string with your knuckle as you pluck the thumb. I am able to get clear harmonics this way on notes as high as A and B, but never with the usual technique. I describe it in more detail in my book Solos for Pedal or Lever Harp.
Canadian International Summer Harp Institute is in the Pacific Northwest, but we will be taking beginners. We work on building good classic technique, whether our students play lever or pedal harp.
Hi, Carl! I will have to dig out your wonderful article on the Debussy. I learned it with the Salzedo solution, but I will print out Pierre Jamet’s and put it into my music to show to my students when they study this piece. I have performed this with orchestras and ensembles; I suppose their parts fill in the missing bits. Perhaps he felt that it was easier to get more of a forte sound by doing it that way. That’s why I love these forums. It is a great way to share information and get different ways to solve problems.
I found a great enharmonic at rehearsal number 1. In the two bars after reh. #1, I use Fb instead of the E naturals, to avoid having my knuckle of my 4th finger hit the D in the right hand, at the end of the bar. Change it back to F natural in the 3rd bar. In the four bars starting at #1, you could take a four-note chord in the left hand on the second beat, thereby relieving the right hand of one of those crossovers per bar. At bar 81, I don’t do the E#’s. It’s much easier to change the F and D pedal only, and if you have to do the two A’s in a row, why not the two F’s? Salzedo came up with a great solution to the pedal nightmare in the animez section of the second Danse as well.
Certainly, there are large variations among harps and their tone qualities. Experiment with the angle of your fingers and see how much of the fingertip to put on the string to get the best possible tone. Make sure your fingers pull all the way into the palm in a downward direction. If you are pulling upwards, you won’t get as much focus on the sound. Once your fingers are closed in your palm, let them fall out gently onto the strings, without rising above the knuckles. Approach the strings from below, not above. This will prevent the nails from hitting the strings first. If anything touches first, it will be the front or side of the finger, which will dampen any vibrating strings, and will prevent naily sounds. Try to make room in your budget for at least one lesson a month, and check out the teaching videos on Youtube. There a quite a few now. Best of luck!
Hi, Diane!
I suspect that he means to do a “trino” effect like South American harpists do, strumming the two strings with the fingernail back and forth. It won’t create a crescendo, but maybe he felt that the increased speed would create that effect. Have you considered emailing the composer and asking? If you get an answer, let us know!I don’t know this piece but you can play with a second or third finger while using the base of the thumb and palm to muffle the previous note.
Yes, it seems that usage is changing to allow the “c” even when it is being used as a verb. It still rankles.
Under most circumstances, I keep my third finger rounded when I play. However, if a chord’s span is quite wide, then I have to collapse my third finger in order to reach the last note with my fourth finger. It depends on the size and length of your hands and fingers. If your hands are bigger than mine, then this is unnecessary.
Yes, Lariviere is excellent, as well as Salzedo’s Conditioning Exercises and Renie’s Method Book. To build up speed, play a tiny segment of your music at the speed you want. This could be as small as three or four notes, in one hand. Keep repeating that until it feels comfortable, then add one more note to link it to the next segment. Do not continue past that point at that speed. Take the next tiny bit and do the same, etc. Gradually, your body will build up myelin around the circuits and the speed will increase as the connections are made and protected. Another method is to set your metronome at your comfortable speed and gradually increase the speed. If you don’t do it repeatedly every day, though, you will not get results.
Buzzes are caused by a vibrating string being touched by a nail. If you stop the string from vibrating, it won’t buzz. If you angle your fingers so that the front of the finger contacts the vibrating string, you will prevent the buzz.
