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Mia,
Your doctor will most likely delay your return to (very limited) playing harp for 4 weeks, and then allow you to begin building your time to normal playing time after 6 weeks post-op. You’ll still need PT, and be looking now for one who specializes in working with musicians. Talk to some local professional or semi-professional musicians (harpists, pianists, string instrument players) and get some recommendations. No two therapists are the same! Wishing you a great outcome!Cynthia-artist has good advice. You might want to keep at least one lever harp for those impromptu performances or venues where you don’t want to put your beautiful, expensive pedal harp at risk. I believe lever harps might maintain value longer due to less tension on the soundboard and neck, little worries of cost of mechanical repairs, and longer structural life.
I had called Venus Harps several weeks ago about replacing strings on a Prodigy and the representative said Bow brand or their cheaper Burgundy (which is Bow brand with slight varnishing imperfections) strings were fine for all Venus pedal harps. I get squeaking with both, if my hands are too dry.
Just checked Zappos.com. The smallest size they have is a 4. But these run just a little narrow for smaller feet, and they might work. They are $40 shipping free and if they don’t fit, you can return them free. Hope they work. They are the Capezio Jr. footlight model.
My daughter found them on Zappos.com. If they don’t have your size, you can check with a local dance school for a store’s name in your area. They were reasonable. Under $50. Good luck with PT!
Sid,
Many thanks for the heads up on my lack of comprehensive coverage. I will take care of this on Monday and contact the insurer mentioned in your previous post.We have simply added it onto our homeowner’s insurance policy (USAA) and cost of insuring our $10,500 harp for its replacement cost is about $90/year.
Capezio Jr. heeled dance shoes might come in your size. My daughter wears these in a 4-1/2 and they work very well.My 18 year old daughter was having a lot of upper back pain with playing her 85 CG rental this past year, and was having difficulty pedaling. She’s 5’3″ and wears a size 4-1/2 shoe. When she returned her rental, she tried out many harps and decided on a Venus 44 string Prodigy and bought a pair of Capezio Jr. style 550 dance shoes with heels. Prodigy has a lower center of gravity, is much lighter, and strings and pedals are slightly closer than a L&H 85 design. Seems to taken care of her problems. And her playing is much smoother. Good luck! And PT is a good idea, too!
I was at VA Harp Center in Richmond about 3 months ago and the store manager there told me she was an eye-witness to a lady loading a just purchased L&H 85 CG into a Prius! Can you imagine.
I am not a harpist, but my daughter has been playing harp for 9 years, since 9 years old, and I am her “roadie”. I am a former professional musician and am very familiar with stringed instruments. My daughter has played in school orchestras, in regional symphonies, at over a dozen weddings, and even performed in Carnegie Hall this past March with her high school wind ensemble. We have gone through many harps, as owners and renters. She prefers the overall sound of Lyon & Healy (she rented an 85 concert grand for a year and loved it’s sound; she owns an older Prelude and loves it), but she is petite and found it hard to balance, pedal and play without quite a bit of upper back pain after her hour or so long gigs. She is a bit smaller than your daughter (5’3″, small hands, and has a size 4-1/2 foot!). She heads off to college this fall, and needed a permanent performance harp before she goes, so she has tried out over 15 harps in the last 6 months for sound, string spacing, size, portability, volume, and appropriateness for application. Oh, and did I mention PRICE! College is not cheap!
She finally decided on a used Venus Prodigy, 44 string, weighs about 70 lbs, and fits in the back of an SUV (not the Odyssey that we needed for the 85CG). And, if push came to shove, she could move it around by herself or with perhaps minimal assistance of another. It was under $10,000 and, if we had purchased this after her Prelude lever harp was outgrown, the Prodigy would have fit every application that she has used her other harps for thus far. It has a very full sound, more similar to a L&H than a Salvi, and it has one of the largest extended soundboards (wider than the CG) made for a harp this size. String spacing is a bit closer, and pedals are closer, which has made her playing speed and smoothness of pedaling much better.
They sell for under $13,000 new, and are completely made in Chicago by W&W Musical Instruments. If you do go to L&H, stop by there, too, before making your final decision. Good Luck!
