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I got the part today. The parts actually hadn’t been written out, and I got mine the second they finished it, which was so kind of them. It’s mainly fine, though there are quite a lot of pedal changes, so I’m glad I got it in advance to mark them.
Including between two glisses, where I have two beats at crotchet = 126, to make five pedal changes. Even doing two together, that’s still three sets in under a second! Hmmmmm. I’ll see who else is playing there – if there’s loads of brass going on, I won’t worry too much 😉
Hi Balfour, Happy New Year 😊
The producers of the music say they can send me the part early next week,so that will be sooner than the first rehearsal at least. Good to know it’s not just rank beginner harpists who don’t like to sight-read!
I am loving the pedal harp, for the range of music I have access to, the big sound, and I prefer changing # and b with my feet too. Loads to learn though.
Had my first online lesson yesterday which was totally brilliant – waiting to hear if there is room for me on a regular basis. Now have a million things to work on, it was so helpful 😊
I feel like I don’t want to be someone making a ‘fuss’. But I really do need to look at the part before that rehearsal. Thank you for the reassurance that even harpists who know what they’re doing might not like to sight-read everything.
The difficulty is that the festival is a collaboration, someone else could have rented the parts, maybe they don’t have them yet….
I did find the place in the Netherlands that transcribed it, and I could buy the full score – but that’s obvs expensive. I have emailed to see if I could just get the harp part.
Our conductor is totally brilliant, but I don’t know how much he’s had to with what harp players need to do with music before we can play something.
The little bit I could see on the Dutch website suggests that there are flurries of activity for the harp, involving lots of pedal changes.
I’ll try to get hold of someone on Monday…..
I wonder if these people might be able to help?
From Teifi Harps, in Wales – how to replace a lever harp string.
https://teifiharps.com/project/how-to-change-a-harp-string/Which country are you in?
If USA, this place supplies strings and lists your harp: http://markwoodstrings.com/harp-strings/
It’s not difficult to do, and there are assorted videos online that show you how – linked a good one in the next post.
Thank you for so much good info 😊👍🏽
I’m absolutely sure a lot of this is technique and being such a newbie to pedals.
Re going diagonally though – I have been going down and across, mainly because I have to. But everything I’m reading re pedal technique is saying don’t do that. And yet it makes complete sense that ‘ cutting the corner’ would trash the felts faster.
I’ll have a talk to Pilgrim in the new year perhaps, when I’ve had a bit longer with it. I wouldn’t reckon to lack leg muscles (I have a smallholding) but like many things, I expect there are specific ones, as well as technique.
Wow – 18 years for those pedal leathers is pretty impressive!
‘You say the “tuning” is fine. But how is the “regulation”? If you tune notes in Cb major, then change to C# major, is the harp still “in tune”?”
Yes, sorry, that’s what I meant – that when I check the tuning, having tuned it with all the pedals flat, then natural and sharp are also ok.
The pedal leathers are all quite worn. But the leather is very thin, so maybe replacing it won’t change things too much, I don’t know how much the rubber compacts.
Thanks for the link, I shall go and do some reading 👍🏽
Show quoted textYes!
I just came to the chapter on ‘special effects’ in Yolanda Kondonassis’ book, and thought ‘what I need for now, is to learn NOT to do special effects’ 😅
I am learning to hide my pedal changes on the bass note of an arpeggio, when possible, and to mute the string if not (I am starting to learn Massenet’s Ave Maria/Meditation to accompany a friend, and she will not want my harp twangs interrupting her beautiful singing 😯).
Thank you very much for all the info and support. 😊
It was regulated in the summer apparently, so probably all is well. It looks new, too.
Much more likely to be my timing, and your explanations help enormously – thank you very much 👍🏽😊
Now I know what I’m aiming to do – might take a long time before I am that co-ordinated 😅
We have a 2016 Outback, which is what my Pilgrim Malvern came home in yesterday.
The Malvern is 70″ high. A bigger harp would have needed us to move the passenger seat forward, or to angle the harp a bit more diagonally, but that could happen. It was easy to load.I need to read the manual and see if the boot lid can be persuaded to open higher (I think it can).
Thank you 😊
Yes, the Clio looks lovely, and I like Camac, my lever harp is a Korrigan. Still, finding one will be the issue.
I’m going to look at a Pilgrim Malvern, hopefully tomorrow. It’s 47 strings, but smallish, 31kg (69 lbs) and 178cm (70″) tall. Will see what I think about the size – as well as the sound obviously.
At least it’s under three hours away.
