Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hello, Phoebe! Do you mean ascending or descending? One note or multiples? When I do a one-note descending gliss, I keep my hand in a fist and use the thumb. For ascending, I use the 2nd finger with the other fingers in the palm and the thumb up. You could, alternately, leave the fingers open and pointing towards the column in an ascending gliss, or leave the hand open with the fingers pointing up in a descending gliss. Try all of the above and listen to the resulting sounds, and also notice how your hands feel.
There is a nice suite for harp and clarinet by Paul Reade called The Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite. As for harp and percussion, you could play something Spanish (maybe Baroque Flamenco by Deborah Henson-Conant) and have the percussionist play castanets ad lib.
Kevin Fox wrote Lily Lake Road for Lori Gemmell for the 11th World Harp Congress in Vancouver. It is for harp and steel drum, and is a really nice piece.
Hi, Kim! I just posted a question on the Coffee Break forum on music stand, but I don’t see a “request notification” button there. Will that be added? It’s nice to know when you get a response.
Practise very slowly, relaxing each finger and every muscle in your arms completely after every note. If you do this every day, eventually the muscles will stay relaxed even when you are playing quickly.
There is a wonderful book by Gabriella Bosio called “I Play the Harp”, which is aimed at teaching very young children. There are some really cute drawings and ideas that help illustrate how to position the hands. I particularly like the “elephant”, (for having the second finger pointing down, like the elephant’s trunk. It made a huge difference for my 7-year-old student. Saying “thumb up, fingers down” does not resonate with a child like saying” Make your hand look like an elephant”.
I hate to tell you that I have almost always had to play Nutcracker as a combined part. It’s usually because of lack of space in orchestra pits.
Autumn Wind in the Trees by Sue Rothstein (from Dream Studies) is lovely and not too difficult. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqze7S-MZSI is the video.
Songs of Nymphs by Marjan Mozetich is drop-dead gorgeous. There are four movements, but there are some sections that are very difficult.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSY38vZqHY0 is the Cardon Sonata in F minor played on triple harp by Robin Ward.
Dear Tayce, Thank you for the historical perspective. That explains a lot! I performed the Mozart several times when I was in my thirties, but I started working on it two years before the first actual performance opportunity. By working up the speed gradually, I was able to get comfortable with it. The flautist and I settled on a tempo of 116 for the first movement, though it would have been easier to get a fuller sound at 112. I used the Urtext edition, but with Salzedo’s brilliant fingerings wherever possible. They make some passages much easier.
The Swan by Saint-Saens can be played with just harp and cello. It has been transcribed for violin or flute, as well. Also, there is a lovely piece by Villa Lobos called the Song of the Black Swan, which was his response to The Swan by Saint-Saens.
Carl’s advice is excellent. Any time that I have a section of music with lots of jumps, I memorize it so that I can look where I’m going. I occasionally try practising with my eyes closed, and it surprises me how accurately I can still play like that. However, I wouldn’t want to take a chance in live performance. I have my glasses set up to read music and therefore my close-up vision is rather blurry, so I find I am relying more and more on muscle memory.
