Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
There are some excellent makes of small lever harps. You may get frustrated if you buy something too cheap. Get the best that you can afford. Sylvia Woods Harp Center has a web site with advice on how to approach buying your first harp. http://www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-faqs
There are some teach-yourself videos such as Pamela Bruner’s, but if you can find a harp teacher to get you started, that would be better.
Harp Mall is a huge online source of harp-related information. Best of luck!What about a floor lamp positioned behind the harp and to the right? That would throw more side-light onto the strings. You would also want the clip-on stand-light for the music. When I play in an orchestra pit, I can always see better if there are other musicians’ stands to my right, since their stand lamps help illuminate my strings.
Have you asked your teacher to show you how he or she plays scales? Scales and arpeggios are part of the foundation of good technique and should be practised every day. Standard fingering is in groups of fours. When you cross the 4th finger under the thumb, note the position that your wrist is in and keep that angle as uniform as possible throughout the scale. You don’t want your wrist wobbling around as you ascend. Some people place both the 4th and 3rd fingers at once when they cross under; others place only the 4th, then place all the rest as soon as possible. If your teacher doesn’t want to teach you scales, is there someone else in your city that could give you some classes on this?
A beautiful piece is Berceuse Russe by Tournier. It’s only three pages long, not too difficult, and is a good way to show your musicality.
I applaud you for recognizing the difference between playing well and teaching well. No matter how long you teach, you will keep learning new techniques as each student exhibits different challenges. It’s great that we can read up on teaching methods and ideas nowadays with the Internet.There are so many great books on the subject, as well, such as “A Soprano On Her Head” by Eloise Ristad.
We had a wonderful harp-and-accordion duo at the World Harp Congress in Vancouver: Duo Milonga. The harpist is Aneta Janiszewska and the accordionist is Konrad Salwinski. Here they are on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlBB-6oMpyg
I highly recommend a great book on managing stage fright: Carrol McLaughlin’s Power Performance. One of the best ways to overcome nerves is to do several “practice performances” before your big day. You line up your fake audience (teddy bears will do), come into the room, bow to the audience, and play your concert without stopping to fix mistakes; exactly as you would in the real situation. While playing, if something happens, notice it but do not focus on it until after you have finished the whole performance, then write down what went well and what needed work. Over the course of a couple of weeks, you will fix the problems and get more and more comfortable with your program. By the time the real thing comes up, you will feel like you have already been touring with the concert and will feel much more relaxed and in control. Stage fright is fear of the unknown, and you will know very well how things are going to unfold and how you are going to cope with them.
Irene, you should be able to walk into a clinic any time and get whatever you need prescribed. That’s what I usually do if I need to see a doctor right away.
I just sent a new piece to my publisher that is called “Summer in Vancouver” which is meant to sound like a boat on the water.
