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With Audacity, you won’t be able to “monitor” through headphones as you record, unless you’re using a USB microphone with a built-in headphone jack. (Unless that has changed in the past few years.)
I admit I’m not a huge fan of Audacity… I just figure I get what I pay for, and it’s better than nothing. I’ve had at least 2-3 buggy installs, though.
Yeah, Sweetharp is one of those instruments that some people really love and others don’t bother with. Personally I’ve found it to be a great beginner/casual player harp– sturdy, easy to tune (no tuning key), affordable; I always thought it would’ve been great for that market had Chris been able to make more.
But unfortunately, at a low price point, it probably won’t be worth it to a buyer to ship, even if I could figure out what costs might be and wanted to take the risk. In normal times some sort of “harp railroad” might be an option for someone (I don’t know if that’s a “thing” in the harp community the way it is in some hobbies), but probably not now that gas prices are the way they are.
And as far as “without much trouble,” that is subjective to each person. As I said, my car is older. It needs repairs. I also need to sell it within a few months, despite said need of repairs. The lower I can keep the mileage, the better, as the only other thing going for it is good body condition, so I’m loathe to put over 400 miles on it in one day. Also, I really don’t want to essentially drive 7+ hours in a row (as I’d be pretty much going to try out/pick up the harp and driving right back).
I tried a reply, and of course it got eaten by the internet. Let me try again, but not so well.
Carl, normally you would be correct about sound. However, my current harp is a Pakistani “harp shaped object,” so most harps, that are proper harps, would likely sound better. It’s not a terrible harp, and it mostly works for my purposes, but it’s not a great one, either, let’s face it.
The idea of choosing the sound of a harp, to me, suggests that one is able to pick from many, and that such a thing is financially feasible for a person (at least, that is always the way I have selected instruments when having the option). In many circumstances, however, “this instrument is passable, and it fits my budget, and if it’s not perfect, it’s better than no instrument at all” are one’s criteria, unless one absolutely hates the sound and can’t stand to play the thing (and I have done this many times as well). (Then there are the harps that AREN’T better than no harp at all, but a person can weed those out. For example, I’m giving the miss to one that is closer, for what would be probably the same price in the end, but looks like one of the Early Music Shop Pakistani harps.)
Surely another person could evaluate whether a harp sounds absolutely terrible (and I’m probably not educated enough to make a good determination, anyway, so an actual teacher/player might have a better shot). If not bad, it is probably somewhere on the scale of “fair” to “good,” with personal preference coming into play beyond that– but again, not everyone is in a position to hold out for the sound that makes them jump up and down (though heaven knows we’d all love to go to a harp show and try out every instrument in the place until we find our favorite, without thinking of the cost!).
I don’t think of it as someone making a decision for me about the sound, other than “this thing sounds awful; don’t buy it.” The decision I need is whether it’s a worthwhile instrument, which I admit does require a certain assessment of the sound. If it’s nice enough– I’m not worried about the nuances. I’m assuming that there is some sort of standard by which most/all harpists would agree that an instrument either sounds okay, or it doesn’t. As long as it’s not the Gomer Pyle of the harp world, I’m not that concerned whether it’s Emma Kirkby, Montserrat Caballe, or Maria Callas otherwise! (okay, I’ll never have the Emma Kirkby of the harp world, more like perhaps Paul Potts, but that’s okay.)
Thanks, Biagio! I can’t tell from looking at it myself, so thanks for the assessment. I thought it might at least be worth asking about. I’m fine with keeping the harp I have– I’m not much of a player so I don’t warrant much harp– but I browse the ads sometimes too, just to see what’s out there. 🙂
Hearpe– the ad actually says that there are levers to go with it; they’re just not installed. Granted, “not installed” is not really ideal, but still better than “no levers at all.” Since my current harp has levers but they’re good for nothing and can’t be used, I’m stuck playing in C anyway (or whichever key I retune to).
Having been away for a good while– long story– I am now in love with the wire harp all over again! Lovely instrument, and lovely video, Allison!
Did I mention I have this problem of always wanting my own of every new instrument I meet?
Oops, I’m sorry, did I accidentally post under your account? LOL. (Glad I’m not the only one with this affliction.)
Hi Angela,
I haven’t any good advice for you, but I feel for you because I often experience the same problem (I sing and play a few instruments to varying levels of proficiency). (This is going to get long, sorry.) When I was young, I think I was cocky enough that I didn’t really worry about anything musical in front of audiences. I just assumed I was good. Now it’s terrible, even if I’m just singing at church or something. I have the same problem with dance competitions (I’m a Highland/Scottish dancer). Sometimes it seems like the harder I work at getting it right, the more I mess up.(This is how bad my problem is: I have a song I’ve been playing on guitar/singing for a while now, like, it’s been a couple years since I’ve learned it. I don’t play it that often anymore, and it’s not up to “performance” standard, but I still know it. Recently I was talking with another musician and he asked if I could sing something so he’d know what my voice sounded like. I took his guitar and started playing this song. I was so nervous I messed it up royally– both the playing and the singing. Later at home I played it again, just by myself, and did fine. Really weird.)
I also feel like at this point in my life, I have trouble becoming proficient at an instrument (and, again, in dancing)– I feel like I keep messing up easy things I should be well past. Even just on my own (so I know it’s not just nerves). It’s like I’m unable to develop the muscle memory to get it right. I can practice, get it, am happy… then the next day, I practice again and mess it up again. Sometimes I feel like I start off better at something and then it deteriorates (and I don’t think it’s just that I’m improving and my standards are getting higher). (This is what makes me nervous about learning harp, because I can’t imagine I’ll ever get very far with it.)
One of he only things I can recommend that has helped me a little (and my apologies if you’ve already tried these; it does sound as if you’ve tried everything you can, but I’ll put all this out there in case it might help you or someone else) is, as someone else suggested, to do it ad nauseum until I could practically do it in my sleep. There have been a few times when I’ve been saved by that, in both music and dance, because I’ll feel my brain check out and get confused from nerves, and my hands or body continue on pure instinct until I can get my mind on track again (has anyone else ever noticed that sometimes it’s harder to play a difficult/fast passage of music when you actually *think* about it? Sometimes I have to just let it flow and then it works just fine).
The other thing is to not dwell on mistakes. I learned long ago that if I mess up, I have to keep going and not think “damn, I messed up!” Otherwise I’ll mess up again.
And finally a third thing is what I call the “mind your own business” rule. i’ve learned this one the hard way, as well– it doesn’t matter what other people are doing (unless, of course, you’re doing something like a jam session or some other thing where you need to interact with the other person)… just keep on with what you’re doing and focus on yourself. If an audience member’s phone rings, a baby cries, somebody drops something backstage, there’s feedback from the sound system, an ant crawls up your ankle, whatever… don’t think about it, don’t worry about it. And that includes if other musicians you’re playing with mess up– keep going. If you dwell on it, or try to adjust to them too much, it will only mess you up too.
(The thing about this, besides the fact that you won’t be distracted/flustered by someone else’s flub, is that if you keep going, it will help them get back on track too, because they won’t have to second-guess where you and the others are in the music. I trust the usual dance piper in my area completely, because I know that if his pipes mess up during a dance, I can just keep going and whenever he gets them back on, he will be at the exact place in the music he would have been if he hadn’t had a problem. I’ve danced to other, less-experienced pipers, who don’t do this and instead try to go back to where the problem was, and then it’s a mess trying to coordinate with what they’re doing as they try to get back into the music.)
(I was once at a dance competition, during the Sword dance and the dancer next to me kicked her sword {which results in disqualification from the dance}. I heard the “kachunk” of metal on metal. I made the mistake of looking over at her… and subsequently kicked my own sword because I wasn’t paying attention… Now I don’t care what the other dancers or the piper are doing– I just worry about what I’m doing!)
Music is made to be shared! Does it have any value when it isn’t?
Absolutely. Music is made, first and foremost, to bring people expression and joy and and catharsis and healing and whatever it is we need it for. No one has a right to your music except you; you have no obligation to share it with anyone at all, ever. If you want to spend the rest of your life sitting in a soundproof room plunking on a harp and no one else ever even knows you play, go right ahead. It is yours, it comes from your own mind and spirit and body, and nobody else owns that. It is nice if we can share our loves and talents and bring something new to other people, but we don’t have to.
whether busking could figure in as benefitting someone else.
Yes. I love seeing buskers on the street. It brings a bit of color and joy to the day. Even if it’s not my kind of music, even if I can’t stop and acknowledge them, even if I don’t have a few dollars I can throw their way, it’s fun. And I think there are definitely fewer expectations from listeners, so it might feel a bit easier for you.
The thought is making me a little sick but I’ll just do it anyway.
Just do it. No expectations. You can pack it up within five minutes and come back home if it doesn’t feel right. But you’ll probably end up staying longer once you get into the flow, and if not, you got out and did something and it was just a short part of your day.
If you host the picture somewhere– I use tinypic.com if I feel like being lazy and don’t care if the photo is public– then you can just use the “img” tags in the toolbar at the top of the reply box and it should embed the image in your post. Or, you can just put in a link to the photo and people can click on it, too.
Interesting! I love wire harps. You’ll have to tell us about it if you build one!
I feel like i’ve seen that harp before… he has also posted on MusicMakers’ own forum, maybe? http://www.harpkit.com/phpBB/index.php
(I’m pretty sure, too, that I could manage to build the Smartwood… but I’d hate to put in all that effort {I’d have to rent an orbital sander or router, find a place to build it that wouldn’t have my neighbors killing me, etc.} and then find out I hate the sound of it…)
Oops, yes, I see you messaged me. I thought the site would pop up a notifcation when I have a new message, so I didn’t check my email– and I have a hard time finding my profile from here!– but I’ll go have a look now.
Yes, perhaps. How much were you looking to sell it for, and where are you located? (I don’t know anything about harp shipping or how much it costs or anything…)
Unfortunately, even the 22-string models from Stoney End are more expensive than I can manage (I’ll be playing mostly for fun, maybe a bit of plunking at church and/or to accompany singing, if I manage to build up the chops; Harpsicle should serve fine for my purposes). I was excited when I read about the Sweetharp, then saw it was no longer made. 🙁
Also in some searching, I also see Marini makes an “affordable” version of the Minstrel with 27 strings that’s only a bit more than the Harpsicle… intriguing.
(I see in one of your older posts that you mentioned you once had a Pakistani/Mid-East harp-shaped object, and that you “regulated” the levers– may I PM you to ask what that involved? I recently acquired one of these HSOs, ’cause I got it secondhand for cheap, and I see I need to muck about with the strings and levers before I can decide if it’s awful or passable for messing around with. Don’t want to go even more off-topic here than I already have.)
This is sad… it looks like it would have been a great design had it really gotten off the ground (from what I’ve read, it doesn’t sound like many were ever made before Chris died?). It seems like it would have been perfect for those of us who are “casual plunkers” and wouldn’t warrant an expensive instrument.
The closest alternative now, I suppose, in terms of an “affordable” harp, would still be the Harpsicle?
