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Don’t forget, you can play ambiguous chords (1st and 5th only, leaving the major/minor issue open).
Looking at some Sylvia Woods books, I find a surprising number of pieces in the key of C with no accidentals. I have to assume that this was a deliberate choice, geared to the leverless.
That’s an encouraging story, and BTW (off the track) I loved “Fuller Brush Blues” and the visits to archaeological sites.
Could be you’re ready for some new strings? Just because they don’t break is no reason not to change them once in a while. They do lose sound quality.
Here are some possibilities.
An article on strings suggested removing them, wrapping them around a coke bottle, and then reinstalling them. It’s supposed to knock out some of the grime. No idea how well it works.
Use tarnish-resistant strings and colored C & F basses. I don’t, based on the opinion of my harp technician and, I think, of Saul Davis Zlatkovski here on the Harp Column. (Saul, am I right? You did say the old-fashioned non-tarnish-resistant strings sound better?)
What NOT to do: don’t use copper polish or anything like that. Save that for your samovar!
I have lately been listening to 15-year-old Lizzie (lizlops followed by a number) and am wildly impressed by her playing after less than two years. She plays on an old Erard pedal harp and on a lever harp. Also piano, which she started at about the same time as the harp.
Just getting back into playing and doing it scattershot. Some Christmas carols, since my brother and his wife are coming a month early. Several pieces from Sunita Staneslow, Israeli and Sephardic Jewish. Spagnoletta. Ashokan Farewell. Arranging some songs from a page of Mixolydian tunes. I know, I know: too many things at once. But they are all pieces I once played or was learning. If I haven’t mastered the Christmas carols by mid-November, I’ll play them on guitar.
Re singing: my sister-in-law sings soprano and I sing between alto and tenor, so betwixt us we should be able to cover any key.
I had a tuning pin break when my brother helpfully attempted to turn it against its wishes. The tuning pins were rusted and wouldn’t move. The tuning pin was eventually replaced (and all the other pins derusted) and the harp technician remarked, “Boy! Your brother must be a pretty strong guy!”
This is very much a minority opinion, especially as regards lap harps. They are not what you should learn on, because while you are learning to play the harp, you are also dealing with how to keep the dang thing from slipping out of your lap.
Dunno if this fits the bill or not, but I just heard two versions of “Mignonne, Allons Voir Si la Rose” on YouTube, one for soprano with Renaissance harp, one for Mezzo with lute. The harpist is gealach74, Vicente La Camera. The lute duo is called Mignon-something. In both cases, the accompanist is basically supporting the singer, but what’s wrong with that? It’s a beautiful and moving piece.
If you visit Rick’s website, the one devoted entirely to the Merlin, and click on the gallery with pictures of the Merlin, you will see that he has used Lovelands, Camacs and Truitts at various times. Someone on another thread mentioned that RR had said he ceased using Camacs because they broke. Also, that you can request the long gold Loveland levers. (Lovelands probably also help Rick keep the price down.)
The Merlin I tried out had the Lovelands, and I didn’t like the stiff feel of them. I did like the Camacs on a different harp. These were the longer-handled type. So I asked the master harp technician who was working on my harp his opinion on the different kinds of levers. His take: They haven’t yet invented the perfect lever. It is true that Camacs can break. (I’ve heard the same of Lovelands, though.) Truitts don’t break, but they can bend.
Rick doesn’t offer different levers as an alternative on his site, but neither does Webster, and yet they are available. It wouldn’t hurt to ask RR (and how much that would up the price).
