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Thanks. I changed to the Premier strings and never thought of the Alliance KF until now. I knew you had an Aurora from your other posts.
Thank you so very much for all the helpful replies. I really appreciate everyone’s insights and advice. I am a cautious person when it comes to harp care so I think I will take Biago’s advice and just see if the harps can be tuned. Beyond that, a professional harp tech is better suited to handle this. I personally don’t like the stretchiness of nylon strings. If the harps were to be restrung with the KF strings, I don’t want to deal with winding and rewinding strings to get them right.
Candace, out of curiosity, what do you think of the sound quality compared to gut strings? I owned a Salvi Aurora for years.
Biago or others, I have no idea if these harps have been played or even tuned at all. Questions to ask at the visit. I am expecting strings to break. If a couple do break, I am going to stop. I’m going to check for broken disks, the flat felts, pedal felts and make sure the pedals haven’t frozen. Beyond that, I will strongly encourage her to get on the harp tech’s regulation list.
Another question: If a harp has not been maintained, can you safely put new strings on or could it hurt the sound board or neck? I do know the harps have been in a climate-controlled environment.
An update on the Premier (no e at the end) strings: I replaced the strings on my concert grand harps with Premier at the end of November and December, respectively. I just had a 1st octave C break again yesterday. So far, I have only broken three 1st octave strings, 2 of which were the C. Can’t recall if the other string broken was a 1st octave B or the C. The sound is still excellent on the strings. Both my harps are used a lot.
An interesting and cautionary tale. The insurance for my harp (replacement value) is $160 per year through Anderson Insurance Group. You do need to be a member of the American Harp Society to get the discount. Small price to pay considering the cost of a new, or even used harp, or any repair. Check out the harp repair on Silke Airhorn’s Facebook page. Her harp fell over and broke the knee block.
Alyson, you may want to look into joining Anne Sullivan’s Harp Mastery group as a way to stay connected with the harp universe and keep your skill level moving forward. It is self-paced, so no pressure except what you place upon yourself.
I think it depends on the group you are playing for. If this is background music for an event with a lot of talking and noise, I don’t think it matters. The harp is ambient noise. But, if you are playing in a quiet setting where people are actually listening, I think some silence is helpful. I like to group my pieces/songs in 3 that sound good together. Then I take a pause and play another group of 3.
Kate, you are going to need far more than a lesson or two. I hope you are up for the commitment. I think you are wise to not play the new harp until you find a teacher. It is very difficult to break bad habits or incorrect playing. Meantime, at least keep the harp in tune. You may also want to watch some youtube videos on harp playing. Find one that discusses the correct position of the harp. You can at least play around with that to get a feel for your harp. There are a lot of excellent harp tutorials. But, you really need a teacher sitting next to you to correct your hand position and teach you proper technique. It will pay off in the long run. PS/ I admire that you can sing and play at the same time. That is a challenge!
I looked at a couple of your youtube clips and from what I can see, your left hand position is not correct. In particular, you somehow are playing your thumb downward. You need to hold your thumb up. You need to correct your hand position or you could develop serious problems.
The correct keywords for the harp competition are “USA International Harp Competition.” Three videos have been uploaded from today’s performances.
John,
When I put my Premier strings on my harp, I found they initially felt like they had lotion on them – sort of a tacky feel. I found wiping up and down the string vigorously on both sides of the harp with a microfiber cloth got rid of that icky feeling. Must be a coating on the strings. This happened on both my harps. I suggested to Virginia Harp Center that they tell harpists to wipe down the strings after putting them on the harp.
Tacye, just to clarify, I was suggesting harp rental as a short-term test to see how the students work out on a pedal harp. I was really thinking about a six-month or so trial. I agree that renting a harp long-term could be pricey unless you luck out with an inexpensive rental agreement. Alison, perhaps you could ask around or put a harp wanted ad in the local harp society newsletters/websites.
I think in both situations, I would suggest renting a harp (if that is possible) to see how the students progress. For the student with more potential, perhaps you could look into a rent-to-own program. I believe you are in the UK so I don’t know what options you have there.
Well said, Carl. It would also be helpful to work with a harpist on your composition, if that is possible. I appreciate that you reached out to HC to ask your questions and please feel free to continue to seek advice or guidance. There is a website you should check out: http://www.composingforharp.com.
