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If stiffness of hands is an issue, then running warm water over them before playing can be helpful for various issues. Playing with finger two alone and focusing on maintaining a relaxed hand can help. A surprising amount of music can be played using just fingers 2 and also 1-2.
For students that have physical limitations, I have them do various improvisations in which there are no “wrong” notes. In this way they can focus on the sound of the harp and on a relaxed body. Setting levers/pedals to pentatonic scales is one such pattern as well as using the medieval modes. Having basic layers in the music like a low drone pitch, a slower moving middle layer, and then a faster moving melodic layer can produce a pleasing sound even when the notes are somewhat random. This is most true when you use scales without the leading tone. Focusing on phrasing, tone, and the expression of different moods can teach a great deal of musicality in a free and open manner that maximizes a healthy posture and minimal muscle tension.
Each institution has its own policy, so it is necessary to check with the specific school and instructor. There are departments that only allow students to register for private lessons with the primary instrument professors if they are a music major. If this is the case, it might even be possible to take private lessons with the primary harp professor outside the context of registered courses. There might also be other instructors available. There should surely be some way to continue.
That Frasier clip is hilarious.
My favorite quote from a rehearsal,
“The singers might use a different tempo, but we’ll try to meet at the end.”Saul’s post 24 is remarkably insightful. Have you written an article to expand on those ideas? Competition is a complex process with underlying assumptions, many of which you deconstruct in that post.
Evaluating relative skill levels in professional musicians is necessary for careers, but it is worth questioning if the systems in place are the most effective, and what can be done to revise or reinvent these systems.
Leonard Mlodinow wrote an interesting work, “The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules our Lives” which examines the human mind’s limitation in accurately perceiving and intuiting probabilistic outcomes. On a few pages in the book he demonstrates mathematically that the sample sizes used in the sports competitive process are not plentiful enough to make the outcomes significantly different from random processes. This is quite revolutionary and goes against long-cherished assumptions that our favorite teams win the Super-bowl based on superior skill alone. It makes me wonder how that relates to many of our assumptions and processes established to measure relative skill. The issue is not one of the existence of relative levels of skill, but of the sample size required to get an accurate outcome, a sample size which far exceeds the requirements of established competitive processes.
^^I agree that expressiveness begins with a technical foundation.
One thing I try to do with my students is to find out what they already feel connected to – what is their meaning? This could be a pet, it could be ballet, robot warriors, the sounds of birds, even sports. I try to use metaphors and imagery from something they already love and extend it into music. Expression can be described in anything from the intuitive physics of motion, to images, to nature sounds, to abstract internal emotions. This aspect helps the student make a personal connection to the music. To help the student make a connection to music, I morph my approach around their interests and inspiration.
Exposure to expressive playing is also necessary. Students should have access to recordings and attend performances by the best players, so that the storehouse of their minds can be filled with the best possible sounds.
From a practical teaching level, being able to teach technique effectively is what connects the expressiveness in their minds through their fingers and onto the strings. I also tend to use references to the human voice because much of musical phrasing has its foundation in how we intuitively relate to our voices – higher notes often have more emphasis, phrases tend to be four measures in length, taking a breath before a phrase can articulate the structure of the music, etc. All of this has its roots in the human voice, which wind players know using their instruments as an extension of that voice. Those of us who use our fingers can also benefit from natural breathing that informs phrasing.
That’s a tough question because there certainly should be a way to refuse, but context would have a big influence in terms of the conductor’s attitude and how dependent the harpist is on the particular gig.
It is a frustrating problem because there are plenty of musicians needing work, and plenty who are capable of not being incompetent in creating parts. We have more supply than demand for musicians, and so competence should not be the issue. I can understand a composer/arranger making a few mistakes in a score, but I don’t understand composer refusal to adapt parts because a composer never stops learning.
I would turn down unplayable parts and have, but I’m not in the employ of one orchestra. The difficult aspect is if the harpist is standing alone in their refusal, because it is better to demonstrate that it is a larger problem.
Remaining calm in potential conflict lends itself to credibility, although can be difficult when under pressure. One diplomatic approach would be to include some kind of compliment about the piece, but then to add specifics about what is not playable on the harp – that the piece has potential, but is not finished, and that it deserves to be heard when it is ready and at its best in terms of playability. Each situation is different and that statement might not always reflect the current scenario or get a positive response. Perhaps it could also help to give the composer/arranger a reference or a copy of a good text for writing for harp. Even if it doesn’t solve the current problem, if it is a person getting performed, perhaps it will help for the next project.
I keep all my music in one binder for background gigs, and sometimes include a fakebook. I try to add new pieces while playing. I’ve played enough in the background that plenty is memorized, but when playing for hours, it’s easy for me to forget what pieces I play. It helps to see the titles and then once I get going, it’s basically memorized. I also like the idea of fake books because people sometimes request pieces. I try to see how long I can go before repeating pieces. I don’t care for gigs that are too much longer than a couple of hours. Four hour gigs are rather grueling.
There have been many great comments here. In the OP you mentioned feeling overwhelmed and incredibly frustrated just sitting behind the harp. Depending on how severe the emotional reaction is, a first step could be to just sit behind your harp every day, breathe deeply and slowly, and work towards a sense of peace before even trying to play. Make the lighting in the room beautiful, possibly play your favorite harp recordings, and sit with relaxed shoulders, breathe in deeply and with with each exhale say the word “relax”, or “peace”, or something to recreate a more positive association.
A next step could be to just close your eyes, remain relaxed, and pluck the strings, listening deeply to the sound and enjoying the way it feels. Be no place except the present moment experiencing the simplest beauty the harp can offer. Then you could move on single melody lines of your favorite tunes and really get lost in how beautiful the phrasing can be.
From the level of physical tension and emotional frustration, you will need to regain a sense of focus before regular practice anyway, so what I am suggesting here is to practice refocusing before you even get back into your regular practicing of music. There are many social and mental pressures that can remove a person from the experience of their harp. It is important to be able to let go of those and really feel and hear our instruments in a state of pure peace and relaxation.
Re-educating audiences is a good idea. I thought it was clever that the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln Nebraska had cough drops available in the foyer because in the cold Midwest, there was issue of coughing.
I think it can help in a small way to ask an individual to be quiet when encountering it personally, but it’s not a long-term solution. If the person is not educated about attending deeper, more thoughtful performances, then they will mirror back by assuming the person asking them to be quiet was the rude one, and they will pass that idea onto their social peers, etc. People tend to assume they are in the right.
To have the request more institutionalized by having it in print in the brochures, perhaps an announcement at the beginning, and having the ushers trained to take care of these things is probably the most effective solution. With issues like cell phones, there is more opportunity today to take a moment and remind people at the beginning. But in the degrading of manners of society as a whole, it might even be worth finding ways to educate in addition to just telling people. They don’t know what it is like to concentrate at that deep level on stage, so how can they learn this? Removing as much emotional negativity from the problem solving also helps, even though as musicians we feel it on a more personal level. Sometimes expecting the best of people gives them a reputation to live up to. I realize that is not true for all cases, but for those who are just ignorant of the process, it could help.
That’s wonderful you went above the call of duty and pulled it off. It would also have been fine to tell the composer that they need to get a pianist instead because there isn’t time to rework it into a harp part. When harpists encounter a situation like this, I think it is alright to offer your services for pay to edit the harp part for a future performance and have a pianist play it in the immediate future.
I might be interested in a Chicago teacher training session. Will it be for Book 1? I haven’t done Book 1 yet.
I might be interested in a Chicago teacher training session. Will it be for Book 1? I haven’t done Book 1 yet.
I might be interested in a Chicago teacher training session. Will it be for Book 1? I haven’t done Book 1 yet.
Hi Maria,
My full name is Julietta Anne Rabens, and I have used a few variations on it through the years including Julieanne.Right now I’m leaning towards getting the Stoney End Isabelle since they have a wonderful payment plan for two years. My dream cross-strung right now is the Blevins Xenith, but I’ll have to wait to invest in it. I’m not sure how much long-term use I would get out of the lap harp version. My dream lap harp is the double strung version since you can practice left hand parts up an octave or two making it the most superb compressed harp for travel. Also, the double row of strings increases the overall resonance. I’m
