Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Yes, I used to take that approach but it rarely worked. I either found myself answering endless questions about where to find the music – by which time I might as well have just bought it myself – or, as Catherine says, what the bride sent was useless. One bride’s interpretation of “sheet music” was a (bootlegged) Metallica CD accompanied by the lyrics to “Nothing Else Matters”. Helpful!!
It’s so much easier now. I usually go for an easy piano version and build my own arrangement around it. I use the Sheet Music Direct app and you can preview the first page so it’s possible to see what will work best before actually buying it. You can transpose it into any key within the app too, which is great!
I mentioned on FB recently that I have a clause in my contract that insists that brides buy (or at least pay for) the sheet music of pieces they want me to learn. Quite a few harpists were horrified that I do that! I think it’s because I am old(er) and when I started playing there was no internet. You had to go out and find the music. Buying it meant a printed copy, often (in the case of pop songs) in a large book containing other songs. They were very expensive. Nowadays I play from an iPad and buy all my requests individually as downloadable pdf files. They cost £2-3 at most so I buy them myself.
I really like the idea of offering a discount if they choose from my standard repertoire though. The more people who do that, the happier I will be. Endless harp covers on YouTube mean that requests are getting a bit out of hand!!!
It’s a great feat of technical expertise and she is incredible…..but I really don’t like it! It’s too fast for me. It just sounds blurred and shapeless. Just my thoughts, no offence intended. I agree with Saul that I’m not convinced it sounds right on harp anyway. If I had to listen to it I would go for Amy Turk’s version, which has a bit more shaping and clarity to my ears.
Frances-Duffy. The Anderson stand is the stand I use. It is beautiful, sturdy and you can get it nice and close to the harp. It is strong enough to hold my iPad Pro and I love it. Sadly though I am not convinced it is still available. I wanted to get a second one but the website “order” page no longer works. Nor does “add to basket”. They were very expensive so maybe they have gone out of business. Such a shame.
1000 years is by FAR my most requested song for weddings so definately add that one. This year I’ve had the biggest response from guests when I’ve played the theme from Game of Thrones. I’ve never seen a single episode but people love it. One guest even held his phone next to me and recorded it (without saying a word!)
My favourite request of the year though was “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath. Hours of fun!Yes, Gretchen that can be tricky. I have the pre-amp set where I like it but I check it using the built in looper on the Roland amp or my stand alone looper if I’m using the AER. I record myself and then walk away with the looper playing so I can hear how the sound is carrying and tweak accordingly. In a background music situation I am not overly fussy!! The AER is such a great amp that the sound is always really even. I too have a duet partner (we have the same amp but different pick ups on our harps) and we sound check for each other. Sometimes you get lucky and there is a sound guy on hand to do everything!!
No experience of Schertler amps I’m afraid.I use this one
https://www.fishman.com/products/series/platinum/platinum-stage-EQ-analog-preamp/
It makes the output much more controllable and also helps boost the volume. I have two amps, a cheap battery operated one (Roland AC33) that I use for weddings/background music and the AER compact 60 which is an absolutely brilliant acoustic amp. The pre-amp is a must have with both of them. (I don’t need it with either of my electric harps, just with my Lyon and Healy 23)I have the Camac big blue and also amplify my LH 23 with a simple soundboard pick up. I use looper and effects pedals with both.
The Camac has a separate soundboard pick up as well as the individual string pick ups. You can amplify it using only the soundboard pick up which will give you the more natural sound of the harp, but louder. If you use the string pick ups then you always amplify the sound of fingers on the strings as well as the natural sound. The sound is quite different amplified this way. You will either like it or not like it!! If you want to use percussive effects like knocking on the soundboard then you will need a soundboard pick up. I don’t know if The LH electro-acoustic has that option. If you choose the Camac and want to use both the soundboard pick up and the string pickups then you need two leads and either two inputs into your amp (and/or any pedals) or some kind of mixer.
I got my Camac as a second harp – mainly for teaching. It was going for a song so I snapped it up. It just happens to be electric. I love the sound of my LH 23 amplified using a simple fishman pick up through the fishman pro stage pre-amp. It does everything I want from an amplified harp (for not much financial outlay). While I do love the plug and playability of the Camac but I like using percussive effects (especially with the looper) so I find the need for two outputs slightly annoying.
I also have the DHC light for pure electric playing. I LOVE it.
They are fantastic harps with a great sound. Balfour it’s named after a River in Wales and it’s pronounced Tievee.
I play the original! My mum had the piano music so I just learned it from that. I have never looked at the harp versions but I’m guessing the pedalling is easier. Even though I don’t have perfect pitch it’s one of the very few pieces that just sounds “wrong” to me when not in the original key.
I use an iPad and have different playlists in it grouped by genre. My booking form has a tick box section where people choose the types of music they like so I choose my playlists depending on their preferences. If I’m left to my own divices I tend to start with more classical repertoire and gradually move through folk/celtic and into lighter stuff – films, musicals jazz and pop – as the evening moves on.
Yolanda Kondonassis has a nice album of Christmas music
If you don’t need to play something familiar then I recommend “Dream Season” from this book. There’s a clip of the ensemble version here
http://www.allmusic.com/album/dream-season-the-christmas-harp-mw0000379729
for something a bit lighter I love this jazzy medley by Louise Pratt.
https://www.harp.com/info/products/pact_show/id_19395470/
When I started playing it was a tuning fork and ears! How lucky we are now, phone apps, strobe tuners, pick ups, dynamic mics…..and yet still YouTube is awash with out of tune harps!!
Well this is all very fascinating stuff. I love hearing about the different experiences everyone has.
I have no idea if it’s because I’m in the UK with a different climate but I have to say that when I bought my 23 new I didn’t have one broken string while it was settling in. Could be because it was imported to a shop here so not fresh off the factory floor. To be honest I almost never have broken strings on any of my harps. My duet partner despairs because she has been plagued by the Bow Brand issues of recent years. She bought a new harp about the same time as me (a Pilgrim Aldeburgh) and strings have been pinging left right and centre. Meanwhile, mine just keep going. I do re-string the whole harp every few years or so but don’t do anything with regard to humidity etc. I’m beginning to think I’m just very, very lucky!!
There isn’t really any other option than Bow here in the UK so that’s what I’ve always stuck with but I do love the sound of my Camac Hermine which has Aliance carbon fibre strings. I’m tempted to string my Camac Big Blue with them just to see what the sound is like. I would have to buy them from France though as they aren’t available on the UK website for pedal harps.
OK, this could take a while!
I’ve always named my harps. I currently have 8 – all named! The majority are rented out to pupils. The names are helpful to keep track of them. So purely practical. Honest! I don’t know where they would go if they all came back home at once! My pedal harps are:
LH 23, ebony and bronze – Navarre (From the film Ladyhawke)
Camac big blue – Lexi (cause she’s electric!)
Erard Grecian – Tallis (His music was very special to me and my late dad)
Aoyama elude 45 – Albion (Robin Hood’s sword. See below!)
lever harps:
Hand made clarsach – Ailric (Childhood obsession with Robin Hood – he was Robin’s dad in my favourite TV version)
Camac Hermine – Hermione!! (Sooo original!)
Aoyama hempson – Arrietty (the borrowers)
Aoyama Kerry – Angus (he has tartan decoration so a Scottish name)
I was once told that you should NEVER rename a harp that has previously been named. Before my 23 I had a style 11. When I bought it her name was Gloria. I re-named her Galadriel and had endless trouble, including two broken pedal rods. I changed it back to Gloria and she behaved impeccably ever after. Coincidence…….?
