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That sounds like a potentially effective strategy, Carl. I’ll put some thought to it, but will have to consider a few more aspects of context.
I know there was construction paper involved. I mostly remember the turtle shell that was tied on around my shoulders and I vaguely remember a little green hat. I was also told that even though I was a turtle I still needed to play it in tempo. I was trying to be authentic. :oP
My first grade class performed “The Last Unicorn”, and I learned theme song by ear on the piano, so they let me play it. I was dressed like a turtle.
Sorry to hear about this, David, and it is frustrating. I think many people have little or no comprehension or empathy about what it is to be a professional musician. They don’t understand the investment, the high level of expertise involved, or what it means to depend on the income for your livelihood. It can be more true if the person has a little bit of musical experience on an amateur level and associates the experience with having fun and relaxing after work. I’m not sure what can be done to correct the problem.
I recently conducted a beginning harp workshop as a volunteer. It is a gig that takes up the better part of a day because all harps are provided for the participants which requires time to move and tune, etc. I do this to build a harp studio at a local community music school which I have been building from scratch for the past couple of years and to promote the local music store that sells harps and provides harp circles to promote the instrument. The music store is generous in donating the use of four harps for the workshop, and I bring three of my own. At the beginning a woman whom I don’t know enters and announces a local harp circle and that the participants “teach each other”. I should have asked if any have a doctorate and two master degrees in music as I have earned, if any donated the use of their instruments for this event, or if any helped me schlep seven harps all morning in ninety plus degree weather. She effectively recruited at least one for the “teach each other” model. I remained laid-back during the incident and it took a while for me to realize what was occurring in the moment, but I felt quite discouraged on the ride home. I don’t think the woman intended the nature of her action, but simply had no comprehension about it. I wrestled over whether to mention it here, but I think it is important for people to be aware and realize that they should think through how they promote their own services and if they are doing it in a context that is benefiting entirely from the extensive hard work and generosity of others who are trying to promote a service.
I’ll share one anecdote from my twenty years of music teaching. Years ago I had a really cute eight year old student come into her lesson, look me directly in the eye and declare, “It is easy to break a teacher!”. I responded by declaring her name in a dramatic, mock horror which sent her to giggling and dispelled all the tension. She reacted negatively to her pieces as “boring” and such as you have mentioned. I used the approach I described a bit with her and made some progress, but it is also worth noting that it isn’t possible to get through to every student. As teachers we can do our honest best by thinking positively of the student even when their behavior could elicit a negative response, and by being aware to understand something about the context of their behavior. The little girl I mentioned needed an adult to set clear boundaries for her, to be non-reactive, and to be a strong role model. I figured something of this out and tried to give her that in a way that maintained positivity.
I wish you good luck, and I’m sure you will learn a great deal from working through this.
You could challenge them to pick out some of their favorite tunes by ear and then talk about adding chords during the lessons and then do that in addition to the regular repertoire. Another option for dealing with students declaring music “boring” is to have them first learn it as written and then let them make their own arrangement of it. See if they can articulate what would make it interesting and work towards adapting it.
There are times in which the resistance is more of a game for the child than an actual reaction to the music presented. That is one reason why I try to place the responsibility on them to make the music “interesting” by challenging them to make their own arrangement. Whether or not it is a game it makes them think about what they value in sound and to explore ways to create a unique voice. It can enhance their musical development along one avenue, and it is sometimes the only avenue they are able to explore at a particular time in their life. It can help to establish mutual respect which can then lead to a broader range of concepts which they can be taught. A student cannot fully learn until that resistance is addressed, and that can be the hardest part of the process. They are bringing in baggage they have gathered from other experiences with authority figures and so it can help to create a different dynamic than they have encountered before, although each case is unique and will require different strategies.
As a teacher it helps to maintain an even temperament and make a joke when possible.
Andrew, your piece “Ashgrove Cottage” for harp, flute, and viola has a lovely clear, light, and expressive quality. I’d like to hear more about the background on the title. There is an elegant, apparent simplicity combined with more complex climaxes that is evocative of the title. I suspect there are a number of performers who would enjoy playing it. It is quite delightful.
Your “Terrestrial Mirror” is a really interesting piece, Nigel. I love the lyricism combined with such rich harmonies.
A website devoted to new works for harp would be a wonderful resource. I’ve made a few small attempts at creating one, but haven’t ever had the time to really complete the process. It would be ideal to have a site where composers can create and maintain their own pages with sound files, pdfs for sale or free download, ordering information for hard copies, etc. Traditional publishers provide one kind of filtering process, but in the bigger picture it looks like their role is becoming increasingly archaic and there are more efficient and accurate forms of filtering available through technology.
I should mention that I don’t know what happened with the fourth Mid-East harp I saw. It was purchased a few months before I moved to another state. The longest I’ve witnessed one lasting was four years. Maybe some last longer, but I never saw it.
It is heart-breaking to see someone trying to get started on harp and end up with something unreliable. With few funds to start with, the people who tend to buy these harps don’t have $400 to throw away. The manufacturers make sure they look somewhat pretty, but the whole process is exploitative.
I’ve encountered a few of these harps and have seen three out of four break. I had a beginning harp student at a college who had limited funds and chose to get one of these Mid-East harps. Within three months the neck formed a crack that grew until it broke in two. She spent close to $400 on the harp and it only lasted a few months. The damage to the neck could easily cost as much to fix as the original cost of the harp. Another one formed a crack on the soundboard along the strings, and the third one began to crack down the center of the back of the body. The wood is low quality and inconsistent in strength.
There is also the issue of sound which is problematic because the soundboards are thick eliminating a lot of vibration, so that the sound of plucking the string is harsher and dies away more quickly than on a regular harp. Even if a person is willing to deal with lower sound quality – you do not have much guarantee how long your instrument will last. I have seen some last a few years at the most, but breakage in three months for $300+ dollars is a problem. You could rent a really great lever harp and possibly a small pedal harp for that same cost.
There are many excellent comments in this thread. Years ago I had vocal training and then harp training, but more recently I am putting these together with the plan to record a CD. I agree that breath support is the biggest issue when sitting and playing. What I have been doing is to complete a 30 minute stretching routine to open up all my breathing muscles and then do vocal warmups before working at the harp. These include a focus on breath support when away from the harp. When playing I
One more thought – since she is from a different generation she may have songs from the past that she loves. If she has some favorite tunes from the past, you could help her work those out by ear or find music or notate them for her. If her love is for folk or popular music of the past, then some basic chord progressions can be learned which can be re-used in most tunes. The advantage of this is that with a small amount of information a large amount of music can be played. This provides a feeling of progress and mastery over a specific domain in music. Students love that feeling of accomplishment even if they don’t have opportunity to develop into an advanced, classical harpist.
