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In amateur orchestras and other large ensembles, where community is key, a harpist’s first task is, in the spirit of friendship, community, and love of music, to make everyone aware that you will hurt them most painfully if they put the tiniest scratch on even a molecule of the harp. I’ve found it smooth sailing after that.
Is the piece of wood with the nails attached to the back of the soundboard running up its center, or is it inside the body somewhere else?
It’s not just about the difficulty of the music. There are simple pieces for pedal harp that would not be playable on a lever harp without modification.
For example, if there is an accidental while both hands are playing and no chance to preset the lever, for example if the same note is natural on one beat and sharp the next, piece would need to be tweaked, perhaps one if them moved to a different octave or played without the accidental, to work on a lever harp.
In addition, glissandos can be very different on a pedal harp because of the ability to play both flats and sharps, and change all the strings at once. In the key of C major, a glissando from C to C on a lever harp will be CDEFGABC, a scale. On a pedal harp, this is possible, but the harpist can also use the pedals to create a different sound very easily. Setting the Bs to sharp and the Fs to flat, a common pedaling in that key, would make the pitches CDEEGACC, which sounds more like a chord and is very resonant, bright, and doesn’t get muddy when played over several octaves over and over.
Angela, that probably can depend on the choir and the acoustics. I’ve accompanied about a dozen trained voices on my Thormahlen without pushing the volume and had no troubles. I don’t know the tipping point, but we were nowhere near it. I imagine the 70 voice choirs of some churches I’ve attended would be too much.
According to the US Copyright Office, it is contained in “The Hagood Hardy Collection”. Some of his songs are available for purchase online through sheet music stores, though I don’t know if this set is. You might also look up used music or book sellers.
I can empathisize with trying to play with loud noise, but the group you describe isn’t an audience. It’s party guests, and they were at a party.
Maya, out of curiosity, do you use a headset microphone for your singing, and do you ever have to worry about it picking up the harp?
Some of the glossier wood finishes have high amounts of Volatile Organic Compounds, and I believe some places have restricted their use due to workers’ health concerns, so some changes in the finish could be because the previous materials are no longer available. But I would be curious to know whether there has even a shift in customer demand toward matte finishes. They’re perceived as easier to maintain, and some people like the more natural wood appearance.
Vanderbilt always emails me when I accidentally order colorless F or C wires, so they have my loyalty.
I understand not designing a whole new harp model, since all of the expense of designing a new model would have just gone toward cannibalizing their own product line when customers bought a 150 instead of a 30 or 100 or whatever. I doubt even the most amazing designs would have resulted in more total harp sales. Given this harp’s uncanny resemblance to the recently discontinued Salvi Orchestra but with the same base as the new Style 100, it seems more like a tweak of an existing design they already had, which is fine and all, and I find it a fairly attractive harp with a clean design, but probably not worth trumpeting too loudly.
Also bear in mind that dings that leap out to us, since we see our harps all day long from a few feet away, are often invisible to more casual observers from a greater distance. On stage with an orchestra, anything less than 6 inch occult symbols carved into the column won’t be noticeable. I was recently at a concert where the harpist apologized to me for all the dings on her ebony Style 30. From close up you could see a significant gash in the wood, but from the audience I couldn’t tell a thing.
Mixed instrument competitions are very tricky and probably impossible to judge fairly, especially if the panel includes judges who play an instrument represented in the competition. Besides possible partiality, they know the repertoire better, as well as specific concerns with that instrument. Harp is probably at a disadvantage in such competitions, because some of the mechanics, such as pedaling and placing, can mean that harp doesn’t allow the acrobatic runs to the degree that other instruments do, and what is difficult on a harp might not sound difficult to a listener who doesn’t know the instrument well. On the other hand, some fairly simple harp effects can really wow a non-harpist, which is why we all love playing Chanson Dans la Nuit for non-harpists.
Anybody wishing to lose all faith might check out the following story, on a study where people guessed the winners of a competition more accurately by viewing silent videos of the contestants than by actually hearing them.
@http://www.wqxr.org/#!/blogs/wqxr-blog/2013/aug/20/study-judging-music-competitions-looks-matter-most/
The gouge from the harp digging in while loading reminded me of another ring danger. This might freak some people out a bit, but if the ring catches on an uneven spot in the wood, it could shave a bit off, which would drive the shaved piece of wood I to our finger. I knew someone whose wedding ring once caught on a ding in a sheet of aluminum, and the sliver went up into his finger. He had to go to the ER immediately and get the ring cut off and have the piece of metal surgically removed. He nearly lost his finger. I think I’ve sufficiently terrified everybody now.
I’m totally serious here. Assuming this is a casual performance and the audience will be coming and going, and you want people to hear a variety, my first inclination would be to put strong pieces at the beginning and end, and order the rest randomly. If you end up with several too similar-sounding (slow, same key, whatever) pieces together, then switch the order of two pieces to break it up a bit.
That way, at any given moment somebody coming in will be more likely to hear a couple of pieces they enjoy. Their minds will stick on the ones they like the most and create a more favorable impression.
