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Would you be able to send me a copy and possibly point me in the direction of a good recording of it with the harp? Everything I seem to find is high school bands with no harp part.
For me, sometimes if it takes too long to learn a song, I stop trying to practice that song, and switch to etudes and exercises, and then after a break of 1-2 weeks, I come back to the piece. I also try to work on my sight reading, as that is a major help when you are learning a new piece! If you enjoy The Fountain, which is by Zabel I believe, try Samuel Pratt’s The Little Fountain. It’s for lever harp, and it is quite pretty and is fairly easy, as most of the time you are in the same position, and the chords get repeated throughout.
Don’t neglect technique! It actually does make a difference. Another thing that I do when I am stuck on a particular hard part is to take it measure by measure and try to break everything down. Then I will practice the same 2 bars over and over again until I feel comfortable, then move on to the next two bars, practice those two, then try to put the 4 bars together.
Or, you can start at the ending, and then practice the end, followed by the middle, then the beginning. Going backwards sometimes helps too!
I hope these tips can help you too!
Hello again! Call Virginia Harp Center, they should be able to help you with what you would like done on the Isolde. I got mine through them, and they can give you a lot more info than what you see online.
That sounds great about the financing!!
As for strings, I like the higher tension. The Isolde comes either with medium tension or concert tension, so I have the concert one. I definitely notice a difference with the tension between Isolde and my Ravenna(who’s name is Cedric, btw). Sometimes it’s quite nice playing on something that isn’t higher tension.
I think the FH series you can get concert tension… I’m not entirely sure so please someone tell me if I’m wrong! But the regular one was amazing. I have nothing but good things to say about that harp.
A full day’s drive from a harp store! That must be tough. To get to the one closest to me, it’s about a 2-3 hour drive(next closest is like 4-4 hours). And when I do go, I try to play every harp I can. Haha. I’ve only been twice though in the past year!
The Isolde has a great sound. I chose it because it sounded a lot like my Mademoiselle(also Camac) that I had been renting and it was a lot more portable! The concert tension is great, and I don’t really have any complaints about her.
The sound(to me) is so warm and soft. She likes to sing and loves to give that great resonating tone! It’s a bit subdued, but she’s gorgeous to play. I am totally 100% in love with my Isolde and I couldn’t be happier. It’s also quite portable, and came with a great carrying case!
Hello! Thought I would chime in,
I have the Isolde. It has such a lovely sound(and 38 strings 🙂 ). I also have a Ravenna 26. I almost went for the Ravenna 34, but I needed more strings than 34 at the time. The Dusty Strings FH model, I’ve played and it’s unbelievable. If it wasn’t so very high in price, I would have gone with that one. I’ve also played the Crescendo. It is a very nice harp to play and to hear.
Have you thought of renting the harp? I don’t know if the harp store by you has this, but the one near me has a rent to own, and you put down a deposit for 4 months(usually between $100-$600 depending on size and price) and then if you want to continue renting it after the 4 months, you pay between $60-$200 a month(again depends on the actual price, my Isolde is $130/month). It’s a very affordable option. Also, if you want to rent a different one, you just bring that one in and rent another one. And for the first 8-12 months,(at least the store by me) 100% of your payments go towards the purchase price of a harp(which can be transferred to a different harp). It’s really a great program.
Sorry for the late reply!
Thank you for the responses! I do intend on asking the department exactly what they want in regards to the audition and such. I just don’t want to ask just yet as I haven’t had my first class yet and this is something I’m going to do in the next 2-3 years.
Biagio, my intention is to one day freelance, and possibly other things. Already I’ve been getting some performances in with people who are very happy to have me as a volunteer(my mother’s church was nice enough to let me do a prelude to their Christmas Eve mass when all I wanted was to play 2 or 3 carols!). I also know that a lot of the songs I keep coming across with my teacher, or that I would like to play, all have key changes that would require a pedal harp, or an enormous amount of lever changes that just would not happen. That and I am more inclined to want to play classical music and rock/pop covers(though I’m working on one that doesn’t have any lever changes!)
Space isn’t a problem, cost is something that worries me, but I wouldn’t want a really new one anyways, though it would be nice. I quite like the sound of older harps. As for the “hand in hand”, what I think I meant to say was that when I look at college programs, some of their requirements, are to “play two contrasting pieces from the standard harp repertoire”. I honestly don’t know what they mean by standard repertoire. Even my teacher was a bit puzzled by that.
I was renting a Camac Mademoiselle, which is exactly like the Prelude, and while I loved that harp, it was so hard to move places. It was close to 50 pounds and I don’t have a car. Renting cars proves to be a big expense, so I downsized to the Isolde, which sounds nearly identical, has two less stings, and is only 26 pounds! Right now I’m a lot more inclined to stay with a small lever harp, as I can just about take it on trains(public transport + harp + harp dolley = adventure!)
This is all just in theory. I’m the kind of person who likes to make plans ahead of time, and think out the details so I know what to do in a situation(like if and when I get a pedal harp, I’ll need to get a car, again).
Hi Saul!
I’m not too sure how I pushed myself? I’m not a young student, and I’ve just had bad luck this year with half of it not having a job, so I decided to up my practice time. I do some repetitions myself. My teacher allows me to go however fast or slow I feel I should go.
And I don’t consider(even though it probably is) that particular cadenza to be very advanced. Maybe it’s because I used to dance to waltz of the flowers every year for nutcracker!
In any case, Everyone’s suggestions have been very useful to me. I’ve picked up a tiny(minuscule, but enough for me to notice) bit of speed, and I’ve made better use of my practice time.
So, thanks again!
Carl, That book sounds amazing! And from the pedal harp versions, it looks wonderful! DO let me know when it’s available!
Livia, My teacher’s name is Ardis Cavin, I don’t believe she gives Skype lessons. She doesn’t know much about computers! And thank you! I have been going really fast for a beginner, as my teacher says, and I just think it has something to do with the amount of time I practice, which sometimes is 1-2 hours a day, and for some reason, the harp feels natural to me. I like to make my fingers dance on the strings!
Alyson, I have noticed that there are times I stop practicing for a few days and when I get back to my harp, I fly across the strings at speeds I didn’t know I could do. Relaxing is something that is very useful.
Thank you all for the responses so far!
