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My version of ‘Come Live With Me’ is based on the one in Suzanne Guildemann’s book ‘The Three Ravens’.
It’s definitely a book worth having – super-easy arrangements that all fit on a 22 string harp. I use it a lot with my students.
I love Come Live With Me and be my Love as a processional. Lord Willoughby’s Welcome Home is a good one too.
Any of the branles or voltes would make good recessionals.
I get asked for Greensleeves quite often, but try to dissuade people from that…
Hope it all goes really well!
I do Viva La Vida and Here Comes The Sun quite often – both great recessionals.
Rule The World, Better Together, I’m Yours, Heaven Must Have Sent You and A Whole New World get chosen quite often too!
It’s quite simple – tell the bride/planner/whatever that you charge the same amount for rehearsals as for the actual ceremony.
…”oh, perhaps we don’t really need you there after all…”
Though to be honest, rehearsals still aren’t that common in the UK. (And long may that remain so!)
I do offer home consultations though. I like to meet people face to face and have a chat about the day over a cup of tea. I feel much more confident that I know exactly what they want, and I’m sure it puts their minds at rest too.
I think that might be it – I regularly got comments like that when I took my (41 string!) lever harp out.
However, I still get them now that I take my concert grand out! The other day, somebody said (sounding disappointed) “Oh, is that as big as they go?”
It’s probably because
a) I’m very tall for a woman
b) People only see harps on telly and have no sense of scale.Btw, when people make such comments, I say something like: ‘harps come in all sorts of different sizes’, then launch into a lecture on harp history that bores them into going away and bothering someone else
Dealing with irritating questions is all part of being a harpist, but you just have to smile and reply nicely. While we hear things like:
“How long have you been playing?”,
“How much does one of those cost?”
“Can you play Smoke on the Water?”every time we go out for a gig, remember that these people have probably never seen a harp before, and that they’re interested enough to come over and speak to us is actually a compliment.
Volvo, Volvo or Volvo
If you want to buy very cheaply and have an enormous car, look for a 740. Built like a tank.
The 850 / early V70 models (which I have) are slightly more pricey, but are almost immortal as long as they have been looked after. (I can fit a concert grand, PA system, stool, stand, gig bags and even a passenger in mine!)
The 240s are just starting to go up in value as classics, but you can still get very reasonably priced examples. However, some of these lack the modern niceties. Look for the ‘Torslanda’ or the GLS varieties.
With any older car, service history is your friend. Look for regular oil changes and servicing. Look to see when was the cam belt last changed (if it’s coming up for a change on this, bear in mind that it’s an essential job and not cheap)
Volvos are not particularly expensive to run. I get 30mpg on average, which is not bad for such a big car. I’ve also had an LPG conversion, so my fuel is half price. (Look for a car with this, but check that it is a good quality system such as Prins) Diesels obviously do more miles per gallon, but are more expensive to buy. You’d have to work out how long you intend to keep the car and how long it would take you to earn back the extra money saved on fuel.
Both my Volvos – a 40 year old 133 and a 12 year old V70 went straight through their MOT tests this year. Reliability like that is priceless, especially when you need to be on time for gigs.
If you’re not confident looking under the bonnet, it’s well worth asking a company such as the AA or RAC to look the car over for you. It costs a few quid, but is well worth it.
I play this (Whiter Shade of Pale) quite regularly, just improvising round a simple piano version. It does sound really good and there are lots of things you can do with it.
Definitely! The harp seems to have been the a good opportunity for the blind to make a decent living in those days.
Back then, harps had two strings near the centre (g) tuned to the same pitch. These were called the ‘sisters’, and I think their purpose was to allow a blind player to orient themselves on the harp.
The main problem for modern day blind players is that there is no such point of reference. So one thing you could do is create one – some kind of tactile marker, perhaps.Play it in any key you like! I play it in C minor (3 flats), though as Bonnie points out, it’s in the Dorian mode. The only thing to consider is whether or not you’ll want to play it with other musicians, who will be cursing you if you’ve chosen a difficult key for them. (Guitarists and fiddlers hate C minor, and whistle players have no chance!)
I’ve never seen sheet music for it (aside from in the transcription from Alan Stivell’s ‘Renaissance of the Celtic Harp’, which is quite hard to get hold of these days). But it’s not too difficult to work out the tune for yourself, and then play around with accompaniments and ornamentation. It’s one of those pieces that I love to improvise around, you can do some quite bold things with the left hand harmonies and it sounds great
1) Are more adults taking up the harp?
I’ve no idea, on the wider scale. But all of my students are adults.
2) What has motivated these adults to start lessons?
I teach only lever harp, with mostly traditional repertoire. Most of my students are already musicians, most are already interested in folk music and take part in sessions.
Also, like ’em or loathe ’em, the cheap Pakistani instruments have meant that the harp has now become affordable for lots of people who were previously either priced out of the market, or put off starting the harp because of the high initial outlay. Most of my students have bought one of these before contacting me, though most of them want to graduate to a better instrument in time.
I also think that the upsurge of interest in heritage has played a part. Traditional music is big at the moment, as are history and tradition generally. In Britain and Ireland, the harp is one of the most iconic early instruments and means a great deal symbolically.
3) Do these students tell you who/what inspired them initially?
See above!
4) Any other perceptions you care to share about new, adult students?
They are great! They are taking up an instrument because they are inspired by it. There is no problem motivating them to practice.After a short while, students are able to take part in folk sessions, concerts etc., and that again, gives added motivation.
I agree, Danny Boy is dire…
However, Geri’s post is asking which traditional songs are most requested – and sadly, that one is top of the list! I’ve got jobs before solely on the basis that I can play it… it’s usually someone’s grandad’s favourite tune 😉
Other traditional tunes that are much requested for me are :
Wild Mountain Thyme
Greensleeves (yawn)
Linden Lea
The Ash Grove
Barbara Allen
Waly Waly/Water is Wide
Star of the County Down
Scarborough Fair
Lovely Joan
My Love is Like A Red, Red Rose
Oh Rowan Tree
Skye Boat Song
She Moved Through the Fair(These aren’t necessarily ‘Celtic’ – but as Britain is a small place, there isn’t always a distinction in the public mind)
Much as I love Carolan, the general public don’t request it because they’ve never heard of it.
Sounds like a scam to me. Nobody in Britain refers to their children as ‘Junior’! Or gets the gender of their child mixed up…
The bit that rings the alarm bells is: “in order for me to arrange for his payment before he travels down”
That means they’ll probably send a cheque for too much money and ask you to wire the extra back to them – after which you discover their cheque was made of rubber!
I wouldn’t bother replying, but if you do enter into correspondence, be very, very wary about any financial dealings with these people.
Hi there,
Hope you’re enjoying the new harp
Eira Lynn Jones teaches in Manchester. I don’t have a contact for her, but I’m sure she’ll have a website somewhere. If not, she teaches at Chethams, so they should be able to put you in touch.
Good luck!
Liath
Oh, btw – I wonder if the harp with a sound clip was one of the Telynau Teifi harps? They are absolutely gorgeous, with a really rich sound. (Heavy, though!)
