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Kay,
This sounds like a great opportunity to stretch your musical abilities. What fun to be able to make up your own part and see what works and what does not. Just be opened minded and enjoy this new adventure. If nothing else, maybe you will develop some new music friends to play duets.
I had not done any ensemble work in 30 years and I got roped into play the Christmas and Easter cantatas at our local church in the past couple years. Once I jumped in, I enjoyed it and got better each time. It sure improved my ability to count to 4 steadily.
Wow, you guys are overwhelming Jill. Let’s get down to something really basic: The 8 year old who wants to play. Has she actually touched a harp or given it a try?
If she really, really wants to learn, I would suggest having her go for a couple introductory lessons (presuming there is a harpist where you live – we do not know that), If she still wants to put the effort into this, I would make the daughter to commit to trying for a set period of time – maybe three months or six months. I would in conjunction with the teacher find a suitable harp to rent.
The things I would buy is music stand, tuner, and adjustable stool or chair. Children grow a lot and it is critical to have a bench/chair/stool at the proper height. A small harp can be wrapped in a blanket for moving. I would not get carried away with a lot of extras until you know the student is going to stick with the harp. You can buy extra strings for the octaves that break a lot or are critical for practice. The lessons and harp rental will be the big expenses.
Thank you for the suggestion. In searching for the score, I discovered a very good website http://www.guitargallerymusic.com. What I really like is the site shows a sample page of the music. There is no harp/guitar specifically I could find but the piano parts will work.
I suggest you contact harp restorers Howard Bryan, http://www.hbryan.com; and Carl Swanson, http://www.swansonharp.com.
Check out Josh Layne’s Harp Tuesday on youtube or his website: http://www.joshlayne.com
Deb, you may want to try The International Rhythmic Collection Vol. 1 (second edition) byt Dr. Alfredo Rolando Ortiz. It is designed to be used by all levels of harpists. On a whim, I also bought the companion CD. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned from the CD. The back page of the book has accompaniment patterns. It is available through Melody Folk Harp and other places that carry harp music. Dr. Ortiz’s website is http://www.alfredo-rolando-ortiz.com
Thank you for the suggestion. I will download the arrangment. I have arrangements of Panis for solo and two harps. I hadn’t thought to look at free online sites. I checked all the harp places – harp.com, folkharp.com, lyramusic.com and found very little there. Any other ideas are welcome. Hopefully some of the up and coming composers will write new music for harp and guitar (and harp and piano).
Bring the car to your home/apt. Pack up the harp (and accessories) and put it in the car. Then you know if you have a harpmobile with the right cubic feet.
I go to yoga twice a week. I also stretch for a couple minutes after I practice. One of the best stretches is to stand in a doorway, hold on to the sides about shoulder height, and lean forward.
I would also suggest you make an appointment with a physical therapist to come up with a stretching/strengthening routine that is manageable for you.Perhaps you could have a physical therapist conduct a seminar for harp students at your college.
Get started now on a good routine to prevent back and/or shoulder injury later on.
If I owned a harp as expensive as a LH26, I would rent a van for a day to haul the harp or bribe a friend who owns one. I hope you have a 3 piece travel cover for your harp.
Brian, I went to the Vanderbilt site and could not find your music using your name. Could you tell us the name of the book you published?
I’m sorry you are having such shoulder issues. It would have helped to say so in your first post to keep the topic on a suitable harp rather than discussing medical issues. I hope others will step in to give you harp suggestions. Perhaps you can contact members of AHS in the area where you live to try their harps. Considering your shoulder problems, finding a harp that works for you will be based on you testing different harps.
I concur with Tacye. If the problem is your left shoulder, you most likely need to sit higher. If the problem is right shoulder, you need to change your position to get the weight off the shoulder. You also may be playing too long and need to take more frequent breaks. You need to figure out what is causing the shoulder problem before you think about changing harps. I would consider having someone who teaches harp evaluate you. That person might be able to see immediately what is causing your shoulder problem. I would also consider seeing a phsyical medicine doctor (physiatrist) or physical therapist as Tacye suggested for an evaluation and stretching/strenghtening exercises to prevent future problems.
Sharon Watson has most of her music arranged for trio. http://www.sharonwatsonmusic.com. You can go to any of the harp sites that sell music, ie: harpconnection.com, harp.com, folkharp.com, and do a keyword search. I believe music for flute parts can be played by violin. I have a number of duets that say for flute or violin.
