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Hello again,
The video doesn’t seem to have copied here, sorry about that. Here is the YouTube link :
I think it’s important to state that you want to play classical music. I personally don’t know if you should play a pedal-lookalike before transitioning, someone else might have an input.
As for buying cheaper harps on eBay, I would be very careful. (Take a look at the topic “Why does this post keep on disappearing” to understand why).
Counter-intuitively, I would be wary of buying cheap when not having a lot of money. Going for a know brand, for a new or lightly used harp, or renting-to-owning one, is a sure bet : let’s say you spend $3 000, and that’s more money that you can afford to spend. But once the money is out, its all good, you can keep the harp at least 20 years. Chances are that you won’t need to regulate it at all, or if you do, it’s covered by the warranty. Plus, like the Dusty Strings link says, you will take pleasure every time you practice and will progress all the better.
Now, let’s say you go for the cheaper option : you buy a $750-ish harp on eBay, not really knowing the maker, the owner and the way the harp was taken care of. The harp might show problems as soon as it arrives, or a few months in. The sound gets worse, and even though it was cheap enough to begin with, you start to want to customise it in order to improve the quality (new levers, better strings etc…). The costs increase, maybe $100 here or there, maybe more.
Or, you actually start to get bored with it when you compare it to quality harps. 2-3 years in, you see all of the flaws the harp and you’ve heard so much better. You end up investing on a harp you wanted all along, but you’ve still already spent $750 at first, probably more, and end up getting the $3 000 harp anyway.
So by cutting cost at first, you’ve ended up spending more in the long run. It’s a well-know paradigm in economy (the poorest spend the most, it’s expensive being poor).Hence the rent-to-buy method, or buying used (but trusting the seller), etc.
Again, good luck!
It occurs to me that particularly with Alto recorder you will have to get into some transposing of arrangements to find a key he can play in. Most arrangements will assume voice or flute type ranges for the melody, starting around middle-c.
Hello Charles,
Yes, transposing is indeed an issue, as well as the fact that it is much harder to play accidentals. I actually find that the music I play tends to include accidentals (F sharp especially). It is also to overcome this issue that I want to be able to adapt a song, and not just play the left-hand chords with my right hand.
Learning to create simple harmonisations does seem to be the way to go!Hello TextbooksNTeacups,
That Capris really looks adorable. I understand being smitten by its style and size!
Those two players make it look like a harp on which one could almost play advanced pieces. Now, I love Katheryn Butterfly of the second video, but she is a professional player on both the lever and the pedal harp. She can make any harp sound wonderful! I’m not so sure a beginner could get the same out of it…
I haven’t been able to find the price for that small harp, but I’ve found this video :
The sound seem more realistic, and it’s probably the maximum you would be able to take out of such a small harp for maybe a year. I also think it sounds quite “tinny” or “plasticky”, unlike the videos that you uploaded.I’m very empathetic to the fact that harps are expensive, even lever harps. Wanting to reduce cost is a definite priority for the first harp.
I’m interested in the fact that although the harps that you’re interested in are lever harps, they have the distinctive pedal look to them. Is this more of a style choice, and you wish to play the repertoires associated with the Celtic while having the look of the pedal? Or are you ultimately looking to play advanced classical – perhaps even concert – music? In this case, the 21 strings will leave you profoundly frustrated.David is right to talk about the 2nd hand market.
My personnel advice however is to rent a harp for a year or two, then take the plunge to buy (either the harp that you’re renting, in which case shops often offer the rent-to-buy option ; or another harp). Renting is flexible ; you can rent for 2 month then change harp if it’s not satisfactory.It’s better to play a “cheaper” harp, by only forking out $20 to $50 every month (less than what many students spend on coffee), and yet still be able to play the full range of music that you want, than spend a bit more than you can afford for a harp that you might not like after all.
Though very cute, this Capris seems to have a few limitations. 21 strings. really is not a lot of strings, in my opinion, even if you “only” wanted to play a folk/celtic repertoire ; and the sound might prove disappointing in the end…
(I would personally find it great as a decoration or “toy”)I’ve actually done the same as you as a penniless student and bought myself a plucked psaltry :
With 15 strings and very cheap (not as nice as the one on the image), I though it would be a great way to start the harp and practice youtube tutorials. But at the end of the day, it serves as decoration on my desk ; I haven’t been able to produce much out of it and it has discouraged me a number of times to progress with it. Playing is hard, the sound is not that nice, and it simply does not compare to a quality instrument.I’ve then rented a full, beautiful and expensive harp and I take joy every time I see it and play with it! 🙂
This article by Dusty Strings convinces me more and more : Why You Really Do Deserve A Nice Instrument – Dusty Strings
Food for thought!But in the end, whatever you prefer will be the right choice for you based on your very own criteria
Good luck in your quest 🙂Hey Wil-Weten, thank you so much for your answer and for answering both questions at once 🙂 So many practical tips I would never have thought of!
I wil also look at Bruner’s book, but perhaps start with Wood’s.
(As for “fake books”, I’ve also taken a look at one on the Sylvia Wood website but I don’t feel confident enough yet to work with that. baby steps!)Hello everyone!
I’ve been looking at Sylvia Wood’s Music Theory and Arranging Techniques book and would be interested to know what more advanced (lever!) players think of it.
I’m actually really interested in the score for the lovely Irish song “The Bold Fenian Men” but I can’t seem to find it anywhere else but in this book. Does anyone have the score and be willing to share, by any chance? 🙂
Living in Europe, and playing the double-strung harp, I find myself short of ressources.
I have been wanting to find Laurie Riley’s “Secret of Celtic Style” DVD (and hoped there was a book made of it, but there isn’t). No only is it impossible to find here in France, but I’ve bought American DVDs before only to be unable to play them as the formatting is incompatible with European readers. I’ve gone as far as to contact Ms Riley to see if an arrangement could be made but she explained that she did not own the rights to this DVD (she was wonderfully kind, by the way).So, though I do not despair to see this DVD one day, I’ve been looking at other works.
I’m hoping to understand harp theory, Celtic and medieval music, and adapt a few songs of my own : I was wondering if the book by Sylvia Woods could help me there.If you’ve read it, what did you think? Appart from scores, what is the general content?
In the off-chance that you’ve also seen Laurie Riley’s DVD, how do they compare and do they cover completely different topics?I’ve trying to get a read on the book beyond the review offered by Sylvia woods. Thank you all for your input!
Erin Hill is indeed impressive.
That version of O Mio Babbino Caro on her website shows real work!But I still have no idea how she manages to project her voice that way while still sitting down… Sure, the microphone helps, but she must have learned a technique that I do not master!
Unfortunately the links to Mary O’Hara don’t work, but I’ve looked her up ; it’s more of what I’m looking to do, and the harp version seem simple in a great way. Thank you so much for that reference!
Hello Charlotte!
On Laurie Riley’s website, there’s a great article about travelling with your harp : Traveling with Your Instrument – Part 1
Definitely check it out.
However, I can tell you horror stories about travelling with your harp by plane. Someone from my french Website got his harp literally axed down in Moscow because of the pins inside, which they took for hidden weapons.
Other people having instruments (including some guy from a famous rock band) get their instruments destroyed every day by airlines that don’t take any responsibility.– Always have a copy of the Terms and Conditions of the Airline with you, highlighting the parts where they say your harp is allowed, and have another confirmation (= e.j. printing out a customer service mail) with you. That guy at the airport will not have learned the T&C by heart.
– As much as possible, don’t put your harp in the hold. If it’s definitely too big, have put your harp in a bag, wrap that bag in bubble paper, then crate it in solid material.
If you do, always make sure that you have a sticker on the case detailing what you have inside, in English and all the other langages people might speak (even for a stop).– Always be prepared to pay more… Whether for an extra seat, or overcharge fees…
– Always be prepared that the guy behind the counter on the given day might give you so much trouble for it that you might have to face the choice to leave the harp or not take the plane…
(Sorry for the downer tone!)
Hey Tanya, I’m actually trying my new profile image out right now.
I asked this question some time ago, on the post “Help with this website please” on the forum “Coffee Break”.
You have to go to the website “Gravatar.com”, which depends on WordPress. You must :
– Create (or find old) profile on WordPress
– Use WrodPress to connect on Gravatar
– On Avatar here , they explain how to upload an image from your hard drive to the website, and then set is as your profile picture.Once you’ve created an account, it’s quite straightforward but I admit I don’t understand why one couldn’t upload an avatar directly on HarpColumn. This makes it needlessly complicated…
Thank you all for your advice.
I’m relieved at the testimonies about playing and singing ; it truly does sollicitate two different areas of the brain, and is apparently the first function that people with Alzheimer’s tend to loose, according to an expert.
Keeping it simple is definitely the way to go, but the harps allows for beautiful things with simple arpeggios.I will also start playing standing up, putting my harp on a stand, which will help for the voice projection.
Hearpe, your advice to stay within your breath is crucial, I believe… but I’m an alto, with a deeper voice than most women have – or indeed most song propose – but not deep enough to be in the male range. It’s great for choral since few people have my voice, but singing more standard soprano strains my voice… especially when I’m sitting at the harp AND fiddling with my hands!
Singing with a mike, so that I don’t have to force on my voice, would definitely solve the problem. As is, I simply sing quietly and never mind about being heard. After all, I’m not doing this to sing in public 🙂As an aside, and because that seems to be a worry for people starting the double-strung : I truly have never had a problem with double vision.
Sure, there are two rows : but because of the gap and the fact that they are perfectly parallel, I find it very straightforward to distinguish the right and left hand-sides.By the way, my harp teacher – who is of course an advanced player – had fun with my Dusty and she also had no problem adapting to it, in a matter of minutes, not weeks!
My initial observation still stands, however : compared to both the Camac 34 Strings harp I am also renting, and the Salvi 40 Strings harp that belongs to my teacher, the FH26 Double has strings closer together. For example, when playing an arpeggio from C to C, I need to use (and stretch) my thumb and fourth/ring finger (1 and 4) on the floor harps, while I can almost play with thumb and middle finger (1 and 3) on the FH26.
This can of course be explained by the aim of making the FH26 as small as possible, and makes for comfortable playing.Elettaria, indeed, I continue to enjoy that Double-Strung very much! I’m thinking about buying it out soon.
At the moment I’m working on a breton piece that has a lot of arpeggios. On the one hand, having those deep chords sound very nice ; but on the other hand, I’m also able to play the whole piece on the double 2×26 Strings whereas it would have been impossible on a single strung 26.
That said, I do plan on lowering the strings on the left-hand row, from C to A perhaps, for a few pieces. I had a chat with the seller who said that was definitely doable, and then tried it out.
It definitely sounds great, and enables me to « win » two more strings at the bottom and a couple on the top (right-hand side, and I’m keeping the left-hand higher Strings as they are), but I reversed back to the usual pitch because I was getting mixed up with the string colours.
I really love that versatility and the options it enables!Tacye, I’ll expand on what Biagio has said about not having the ressources. If you go to the « Mine’s a Triple » subforum on this forum (near the bottom), you’ll find a few topics about et the double-strung, including one where I list many of the ressources online.
Furthermore, our various exchanges there will answer a lot of the pros-and-cons debate.
This topic compounds the debate concerning switching to the double-strung as a whole, and the specifics of buying the specific Lorraine Stoney End harp instead of getting your LH harp repaired. So I would take the time to search about the double-strung, and of course try out various harps, before deciding. (I wouldn’t have rented the Dusty Strings FH26 double had I not played it in the shop).Thank you both for your answers!
I understand the tradeoffs that were made when building these harps.
I am curious, though, Biagio, when you say that you do not like the “V”-type harps ergonomically. Would you care to expand a little bit on that?
With the Dusty FH26, the gap between both rows means that there is an ajustement to make when going from the single to the double. Does it make playing easier?Hello Biagio!
This is a late answer to your last post, but you’ve mentioned a point that I’ve been wondering about recently.
I had not realized that while the FH26 Harp has two parallel row of strings, separated by a little gap, the Stoney End models have the Strings coming out of the same rib in the soundboard.Does this mean that the strings are V shaped?
You’re saying that there is discussion ongoing as to which is better : what is your personnal opinion? You’ve apparently tried out a lot of models. Is one easier to play than the other? How are they different?
Anyone else have tried out both?
