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The easiest way to play this type of glissando is to place the thumb and second finger before you start the gliss, then gliss the second finger up, and play the thumb at the end as you form a fist. This works very well in Capriccio Espagnol.
To buy a harp only after picking one from four or five: that is good advice in spite of the spelling. After all, a bad harp makes a very expensive trellis to grow your roses up.
Occasionally I have had students come for lessons after they have already purchased a lacklustre instrument. We usually work with it for as long as they’re making progress, but if they are not doing well, I tell the parents that the student will practice a lot more if they enjoy the sound they are making. The problem then, is, as another thread asks: Where do the bad harps go?
I have been looking after a student’s Camac harp this summer, and after three fruitless attempts to use my old Lyon-Healy knot-tying technique, I have to agree; the Camac system requires a different knot. Thank heavens for Harp Column!
Oh, that’s a tough one! It almost sounds like he has Attention Deficit Disorder. Try this: ask him to write down any questions he has, and write your answers into his book. Also, let him know that you will quizz him on what was written in the book, so that he may feel motivated to actually open it and read it. Have you sat him down and explained to him that he will progress a lot faster if he doesn’t spread himself too thin and applies himself to accomplishing a set goal instead of going off in all directions? Does he have Philip Johnston’s books on practice tips? Does he have a particularly favourite piece that he loves so much that he will practise it? I don’t know whether any of this will help, but good luck!
Actually, there is no harp part at all in the Barber, but there are lovely harp parts in the Korngold and the Walton. The harp is particularly noticeable in the Korngold.
You were lucky! Our orchestra once recorded a Christmas CD in which my Waltz of the Flowers cadenza sounded like I had stayed home and phoned it in, long distance. I have to crank up the volume to hear it. (We didn’t have our usual sound engineers for that one.) Most of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra recordings
Julie hit the nail on the head! I often give fingerings and scores to former students as they need them, or if I have come up with a really good adaptation of a part and feel they would benefit from it.
My favourite “harpy epiphany” came about when I discovered that my harmonics came out like bells when I came off the string before playing them. You leave your thumb on, of course, but you back away from the string and then flick your wrist, and you get the most beautiful harmonics! This works especially well in the upper register.
I would probably have gnawed my leg off to get out of there before I’d go a week without food!
Or maybe I would have chewed my way through the back of the harp to get out. Mmm…maple!Kay, you reminded me of something that happened to me in a very crowded orchestra pit a long time ago. While I was performing my cadenza, the violinist in front of me shifted his chair back a few inches. He effectively wedged me into playing position, and it was impossible for me to put the harp back on the floor! I couldn’t yell, I couldn’t move out of my chair to tap him on the shoulder; I was just stuck. I finally caught the eye of another musician who rescued me.
I wonder if this problem arose because she needed to lean forward to reach the lower strings when she was very small. This would cause the harp to rock. It does take a long time to correct ingrained habits, but don’t give up! Sometimes it can seem like the bad habit will never go away, and then, finally, it vanishes. Another habit I have seen is head-bobbing, which some students do when they’re counting beats. If she could practise in front of a mirror, that would make it easier for her to catch herself doing it at home. Could you videotape her and watch it with her? Sometimes it is helpful to get the student to participate in a master class or workshop so that they hear the same message from a different teacher.
I agree with “miso soup” on this one. I feel it is much more appropriate for the student to give the teacher a present when they leave. It feels like a loss when a long-time student goes to another teacher, unless they have been accepted by someone of such sterling repute that you feel proud and honoured to have produced such a student. It assuages the blow to receive an acknowledgement of all the hard work. A nice hand-written thank-you card is great because it doesn’t cost a lot and the teacher can keep it as a memento or even use it as a testimonial or reference, (with permission from the student).
