[liath-hollins]

Hi there,

Firstly, good luck with getting started!

1) How to advertise/get a wedding gig

Most of my clients come from the internet in various ways – I have
my own website and I also work with around four different agencies. The
agencies are great – they sort out all the contractual and payment
stuff, which is a great help. I find there is less venue loyalty than
before, as couples tend to organise their own weddings, booking
everything separately, rather than relying on ‘in house’ venue
harpists. However, it’s still a good idea to take along some literature
to leave at venues just in case.
I also do quite a few wedding fayres and these are ideal, as
prospective clients can hear you play and ask questions face to face.

2) What to prepare for at the wedding

Obviously, prepare your music and make sure everything you play is
utterly foolproof. When you’re looking out for cues, timing the bride’s
progress and coping with possible distractions – crying children etc. –
the last thing you need is to be anything other than totally confident
with your pieces.

Practice rounding off a piece at different moments too – you don’t
want to leave the bride standing at the top of the aisle while you
finish off a ten minute section! You need to be able to end a piece
quickly, or learn how to fade the piece out nicely.

Take along extra music in case of emergencies… at the very first
wedding I ever did, there was a half hour delay when the bride’s
grandad managed to lock himself into his hotel room! Luckily, I’d
brought along plenty of emergency music and could cover the gap.

3) Song ideas

Aye, the classic stuff as already mentioned. Pachelbel’s Canon, the
Wagner wedding march etc. The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba is another
one, great for recessionals.

I offer a free consultation with the couple, so they can hear some
selections. Be open to their own suggestions, as it’s a great way to
add to your repertoire – but don’t be bullied into playing something
new at short notice. As above, all your pieces, especially the
processional, need to be really well known and secure.

4) Moving the harp there and back

Easy… shove it in the car, take it out at the other end If you
have heavy equipment, tell the couple in advance that you’d like a
hand. You can usually rope the best man into helping you shift things.
However, I never let anyone else carry my harp! Get insurance to cover
you in case of accidents to your equipment.

5) Price you charge (base price../hr, etc)

I charge less than a pedal harpist – £180 for a ceremony, though
many of the weddings I do are also for the reception and/or wedding
breakfast too. I charge a bit less for those, even though they take
longer, as they are far less stressful and require less practice for.

[liath-hollins]

I have this problem – not just in my thumbs either! All my fingers are double jointed.

Basically, ‘double jointed’ means that your ligaments are too stretchy,
allowing the joint to move out of what should be a normal range of
motion. I have to be careful not to injure myself, so I spent a long
time concentrating on precise technique and not allowing my fingers to
bend the wrong way.

Luckily, as I’ve got older, my ligaments have tightened up a bit, which
helps. Also, as I’ve built up the muscles in my hands, they work to
hold my joints in better positions.

Go carefully, make sure your hands are staying in a strong position and be patient

[liath-hollins]

Ooops, sorry – the url tags don’t work on this forum, and I can’t work out how to edit a post! The link is:

http://www.pilgrimharps.co.uk/music/harpplus.htm

Hopefully that will work!

[liath-hollins]

As I’ve mentioned in another thread, our harp/classical guitar stuff is
mostly improvised, as we’ve been unable to find any sheet music.
However – I spotted something just the other day – Ial by Leroux
Phillipe. I’ve no idea what the piece is like, but I might buy it just
out of interest. Pilgrim Harps (UK) stock it, no idea about anywhere
else.

The piece is about half way down [url=http://www.pilgrimharps.co.uk/music/harpplus.htm]this page[/url]

[liath-hollins]

Well, why isn’t there a lever harp with two rows of levers so it can be tuned in c-flat and make naturals and sharps?

I imagine it could be done – but I doubt anyone would bother, given the design problems that would need solving.

If you are wanting to play that type of chromatic music, it’s easier
just to play a pedal harp! Most lever harpists are playing traditional
music, which of course is modal, so you just don’t need such a range.

[liath-hollins]

Catrin Finch! Easily the best classical harpist I’ve heard in a long, long time 🙂

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