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If you go to Sharon Watson’s website http://www.sharonwatsonmusic.com, you will find cello and flute/violin accompaniments to her Opera Book for Solo Harp. She also sells the songs individually if you don’t want to buy the book.
Hannah,
What a superb video about learning arppeggios. You did a fantastic job explaining and demonstrating how to play them. Thanks for taking the time to make the video.
Grace, I went to your website and see that you are quite busy. Perhaps you could add to your business by being an accompanist. You may want to contact other musicians/teachers to let them know you are available. If there are recording studios, you could contact the owners. I would also contact the nearby colleges and high schools. There might be some free-lance orchestra work there. Maybe you could work out a contract part-time job with a church to get a steady paycheck. I wish you well in your harp career.
Watch closely the Harpo Marx mirror scene in the post above. Harpo (or his double) has the harp on the left shoulder. It doesn’t always mirror. What a fun clip. Thanks for sharing it.
Ben, you might want to check out Cindy Horstman’s “Angelica.” It is a PDF download available from the Harp Column music store. You can listen to it first. I just bought the music and love it.
Ben, first of all, I don’t think there is a “stigma” about playing any music you enjoy. The reason you learn what you do in lessons is for skill and repertoire building. But it is not the be-all end-all of music. You should discuss this with your teacher, too. Perhaps he/she has some other music you would enjoy on your own that isn’t lesson-related. Or maybe there is more enjoyable contemporary music you could use for lessons that would still help develop your playing skills.
That said, you may like playing pieces from Frank Voltz’s Celestial collection. You can listen to clips on his website http://www.frankvoltz.com. Most are not difficult pieces but he uses a lot of jazz influence in his music. He has some new pieces, Mosaic and Reflections are two that come to mind, that you might enjoy. I use his music for the 20 minutes I need to play prior to church services. It is relaxing and easygoing but not boring. Also look into music written by William Mahan. I like his Colors of Italy book. He has another French Impressions you might enjoy. If you go onto some of the music vendor websites, you can find a sample page of music.
The music above can be played on lever or pedal harp.
Emma,
You are brilliant with your suggestion. I have no idea why I didn’t think of that because I am taking Deborah Henson-Conant’s online course on how to play Baroque Flamenco right now. If anyone is interested in learning to play any of the three versions of Baroque Flamenco, this class is a must to take. Info is available http://www.hipharp.com. The class just started.
I took the beta version a month ago. There are tutorial videos, warm-ups, facebook site, chats and lots of written material, including the scores, and exercises to help learn the music. DHC encourage musicians to mix and match the sections so you can play at your own comfort level.
Brittany, if looks are important to you, you may also want to check out Camac and Salvi harps. Both have very contemporary designs.
Whoops! Missed the “lever” part of your post and saw it as I sent the message above. You could play this on lever harp by omitting the Fb and Db on the second page. The piece has a Bb and C#.
Also, try Nataliana by Deborah Henson-Conant. Same concept. NO pedal changes at all. There are lots of clips on youtube. I think Two Guitars is much easier to play well.
Two Guitars by Susan McDonald Linda Wood. Two pages of flashy music. You can find the music in Harp Solos, Graded Recital Pieces, Vol. Four. This piece is about style and performance. A definite crowd pleaser if played well and dramatically.
Maybe before the student’s next lesson, you can get your nails done. Then perhaps she will see for herself that you can have nice nails, but short. Otherwise, you need to tell her to cut her nails if she is going to progress playing harp. Such drama….Then you can further burst her bubble by telling her she needs to play the pedals with closed-toe shoes:)
I really like Robert Maxwell’s arrangements so I did a little more searching via google. There are some headlines and news clips saying Robert Maxwell spent two days prepping Clifton Webb. Rumor had it that Maxwell was paid $100 an hour. I wish I could get paid that now:) It was really a small fortune when the movie was filmed.
Jodi,
You are a beginner and won’t notice the difference right away. It’s more important right now for you to learn how to play – the notes, hand position, using levers etc. I would concentrate on basics for a few months. Hopefully, over the rental period, you will have an opportunity to try other harps and explore other resources. As I said, you need to start somewhere. I played a Lyon-Healy Troubador and didn’t have trouble with tension. If you start to overthink this IMHO, you will never start to play.
