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Hi Fiona,
There are loads of harp teachers here, I’d be surprised if there was nobody at all near to you. The Clarsach Society are a good port of call, and their website has listings for teachers UK-wide. If that doesn’t help, try contacting local orchestras. Most of them will have harpists on their books who should be able to help you out.
Good luck,
Liath
I agree that any type of music can be played on the lever harp – which is one reason that I’m very committed to it as an instrument. Thankfully, the idea that the lever harp is a ‘beginners’ instrument from which musicians ‘progress’ to pedal harp is dying away. I see lever harp and pedal harp as two distinct instruments, each with their own strengths.
This is partly due to inspiring lever harpists such as Catriona McKay, Corrina Hewat and Savourna Stevenson, demonstrating the amazing range of things the lever harp can do. And also because of the general rise in the popularity of traditional and folk music – which generally is the main repertoire for lever harp.
It’s also due to the examination boards introducing complete gradings for lever harp, whereas previously, it was only possible to take lever harp in the lower grades, it then being assumed that the harpist would ‘move up’ to pedal harp in order to learn the classical repertoire demanded of the orchestral harpist.
Though I do agree that any type of music can be played on any type of harp, and my repertoire is not terribly different from that of my pedal harpist friends, there is still a connection with lever harp and folk – partly because of the popular insistence that it is a ‘Celtic’ harp. (Don’t get me started on that…)
Like any type of music, ‘folk’ changes depending on the influences of the musicians that play it. These days, it is quite chromatic and new lever harps are being built to reflect this, such as the amazing Starfish McKay harp, which has one chromatic octave.
But while I would love to play the pedal harp as a secondary instrument (mostly because I think it would be great for the weddings that are my mainstay), as a musician, I’m interested in the traditional repertoire and lever harp suits that very well.
Lol! ;-D
Aye, truly fiendish is wire technique… I adore wire harp and would love to be able to play it. But I am utterly defeated by it – having not only to place the notes you wish to play, but also to damp the single strings you need to stop… the dexterity of wire players amazes me.
And as for fiendish… we all know that to play like angels, we have to practice like devils
Hi there,
Glad that you’re enjoying learning and playing your harp 🙂
1. Yes, you are cheating.
2. Probably…
3. It depends what you want to do with your harp playing and how far you wish to take it. If you are happy picking out simple tunes, then there’s no reason at all why you can’t carry on as you are. However, if you want to progress on the harp, then you really need to sort out your technique. The sooner you do this, the easier it will be to adapt – if you leave it for years, it will be far harder to break bad habits.
If you are quick on the uptake, as you seem to be, it shouldn’t take you too long to learn proper technique. You’ll then have a whole world of music to choose from, and will feel far more secure when playing for an audience. (The idea of correct harp technique is that it gives you that security – you place the hands in patterns which eventually makes playing far easier, though it is tricky to get the hang of at first.)
If you are happy to carry on plinking as you are, then carry on! But it sounds from your description, that you do have some natural talent for the harp, and it would be a shame to limit yourself by not learning correct technique.
By the way, many of the ancient harpers would have been using wire-strung harps – and the technique for those is absolutely fiendish (well beyond me, as a gut-strung player!). If anything, they would have been far more skilled than the average harper these days 😉
Hi there,
I agree with Tacye (and am also in the UK, in Nottingham). Lap harps have the advantage of being cheaper, but are far harder to play, because of the difficulty in balancing it properly. Students can end up with cricked necks and stiff backs, because you tend to get into a tense position to prevent the harp slipping. Floor harps are far easier to balance, as you’ll know from your pedal harp experience.
However, if you are interested in folk music, and want to take a harp to sessions, a lap harp is definitely more practical. My ‘small’ 29 string is my usual session harp, and although it’s gorgeous, it’s a complete pain in the backside, both in terms of transportation and finding somewhere comfortable to play it in a pub. Recently, I’ve found I may as well just take the 41 string out to sessions, take the car and just sacrifice the beer.
The Camac lap harp (the 22 string, I’ve not seen the 27 string, but I’d be surprised if that would fit on the knee of anyone other than Goliath) is OK. It’s better if you unscrew its little legs, as it then sits between your knees quite well. In terms of sound, it’s only reasonable, but on the plus side, is is utterly bombproof, solid and reliable. The Camacs are stocked by the Early Music Shop in Saltaire, though they also trade on Ebay.
Re. buying harps from abroad, I don’t know if you’ve imported stuff before, but no matter how tempting, I just wouldn’t bother. I ordered a new pick up from North America recently, and although it should have been cheaper, by the time I’d been fleeced by Parcelforce (who have a big fee they whack onto items for basically doing nothing) and HMRC, it was probably twice the price that I’d have paid in the EU. I also had to deal with the general incompetence of Parcelforce and HMRC, which led my parcel to go missing… the whole thing was a nightmare of stress and costs, and I’ll never make that mistake again…
Also, with something fragile like a harp, if there is a problem with it, you’ll end up massively out of pocket if you need to pay to return it. A harp seller in the UK will be far more convenient to deal with, both before and after sales.
That’s right, it’s the Clarke one. It’s in the book Y
Telynor Clasurol (The Classical Harpist) by Christopher Powell.I had one of these years ago, and loved it! (We’re talking the little 22 string one?)
It was very portable and completely bombproof – I bought it off someone who lived on a boat, and even in those damp conditions, it was fine and never went out of tune. I don’t remember the holes at the back being small. I think mine had quite long oval holes which were fine for restringing.
The only thing I _didn’t_ like were the levers – horrible plastic things which were not easy to flip quickly and detracted from the otherwise nice look of the harp.
One of my students has one which is gut strung, and I’d recommend that. It definitely sounds much nicer than mine, which was nylon.
For a cheap little harp (mine cost £300 second hand), it was fantastic and had a sweet little voice.
Do you mean the Welsh one – Cysga
Di, Fy Mhlentyn Tlws? If so, there is a lever harp version arranged by Meinir Heulyn in her book ‘A Celtic Feast’. There are no lever changes and the arrangement is very lovely and quite simple to play.Definitely! There’s quite a bit out there. The best are Barbara Brundage’s series of books, which don’t sacrifice the feel of the original pieces, aren’t shy on the lever changes. There is also Dewey Owens’ book of advanced wedding music for lever harp, which contains lots of interesting pieces. Bonnie Shaljean has some great classical arrangements too, which I’ve found challenging and really enjoyed playing. Plus, there are Dominic Bouchard’s series of books, from which many of the set pieces for the Associated Board non-pedal syllabus at high grades are taken.
I’ve found that I can often work from pedal harp music. While I obviously can’t manage drastic key changes, modulations and accidentals are usually work-in-able – or work-round-able – especially if you keep the left hand close to the levers.
Cheers! Though I assume the music supplier knows the correct title, perhaps they have been trying to order the wrong thing… I’ll look out for the Verlene Schermer books!
Barbara, I think your books are great – really clever arrangements which don’t compromise on the character of the pieces. They’ve been absolutely invaluable for my wedding repertoire 🙂
I’ve got those, including vol 3 of Classics on Request. Brilliant, and have saved me at weddings many times 🙂
If you want challenging stuff, look for the advanced books by Catriona McKay and Charlotte Petersen (you can get them from Crieghton’s Collection), gorgeous traditional Scottish/Irish tunes arranged by the best in the business (imho!)
Also stuff published by Beartramka, which is mostly interesting modern classical music for lever harp, up to grade 8 standard.
Savourna Stevenson also has some good pieces which you can buy from her website. I really recommend ‘Eilean Mo Chridh’, which is really good fun, and the Dowie Dens of Yarrow, which is just gorgeous. Her site is http://www.savournastevenson.com
I’m also enjoying Deborah Henson Conant’s ‘Natalia’ – really beautiful and interesting piece, especially the opening chords, which are really rich 🙂My next book on the list is Ray Pool’s ‘Blazing Levers’ – I’ve had the pedal version highly recommended. Sadly, whoever distributes it for him keeps sending my music supplier multiple copies of the pedal version… so far I’ve been waiting for about six months for them to send the correct one… fingers crossed it arrives soon, as it sounds like a fantastic book and I can’t wait to get stuck in – I think it will really give me some new ideas and inspiration for my own arrangements.
Happy harping!
Liath
Whereabouts in the world do you live? Here in Britain, you can apply for an Arts Council loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of musical instruments, which you pay back interest free.
I get my students to bring their own harps to lessons. With there being so much variety in size, tension, spacing etc., it’s far better for me to see the student playing the instrument they own, as I can then iron out specific problems or make suggestions about how to get the best out of their instrument.
If your teacher has been showing you the technique for playing at concert tension, you may find you’re simply pulling too hard on your own, lighter tension strings. That in itself can cause buzzing.
Perhaps you should suggest to your teacher that you take your own harp along next time, if only for advice on the buzzing problem – it’s easier to diagnose something like that when the harp is in front of you, and it might be a very simple fix.
It’s normal for lever harps to be more lightly strung and with closer string spacing, so another suggestion would be to find a teacher who specialises in clarsach/traditional harp technique.
Or if you love the idea of pedal harp, you could try something like a Pilgrim Progress (I play one, it’s gorgeous!), which has 41 stings, concert spacing/tension, and comes in either lever or pedal versions.
If your harp is really falling apart, check to see if you have a warranty on it – many harp makers will guarantee a harp for 5 years. Failing that, and if you can’t afford a new harp, ask your teacher if she/he knows of any second hand instruments for sale. Although harps are pretty good at holding value, you can still save yourself a bit of money that way.
Good luck!
Liath
They’re a menace, those people.
I get constant emails from Nigeria, Ghana, Anywhere-else-far-away, giving some sob story about being unable to claim some vast inheritance, and will I put some rubber cheque in my bank account (whereupon I get to keep a few million quid for myself) etc. etc.
I suppose it only takes a few naive people to bite for it to be worth their while. It’s quite clever, as it preys upon people’s natural greed. Likewise, I’m amazed at the number of people who fall for the fake-foreign-lottery-win scam.
I’ve had a few dodgy wedding enquiries too – usually full of spelling mistakes and random capitalisation – along the lines of “will I come to play at a wedding, they’ll pay me £huge, but could I return some of the money in cash to save them buying British currency… it’s all a version of the same feeble scam.
Glad I’m not the only one that has harp dreams!
I have a recurring nightmare about broken strings, which I seem to get when I’m generally stressed. In the dream, I go into the harp room and find that almost all the strings are broken and sometimes the soundboard is cracked… it’s awful, but I suppose that in real life, it’s one of the worst things that could happen (harp-wise, anyway!), so it’s not surprising that it’s my worst nightmare when asleep too…
Aye, same for a lever harp – always have the levers uppermost.
I think if you are doing lots of gigs, it is worth considering having a
smaller harp. I’ve never had anyone complain that my harp is not a gold
covered giant… the bigger lever harps (mine is 41 string) and the
smaller pedal harps make life loads easier.
