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I was so excited to see your message, Emma! I’m in Plymouth (wave) and frequently come up to Exeter to visit friends. I had absolutely no idea about the harping afternoon at the DPAF so I’ll be studying the website closely and will do my best to get there – it sounds like just the kind of thing I’ve been looking for. If I do make it I’ll be sure to look you and your students up. Thank you so much for the info.
A quick Google threw up the following sites, all of which look great. I’m sure there must be plenty more and perhaps even one near where you live. http://charitymusic.org/
http://givethegiftofmusic.info/give-the-gift-to-those-in-need/
http://www.collectibleswithcauses.org/musical-instrument-donations.htmlFailing that, there’s always freecycle – http://www.freecycle.org/
Good for you, Jennife, for being willing to part with the case – it’s so hard for us to give up any of our music ‘stuff’ just in case there comes a time when we’ll regret it!
Gretchen – your comment ‘who was I to know about different teaching methods?’ really strikes a chord. Most people on this forum have far more experience of playing than I have but I guess we all started out knowing very little and just wanting to play. Anything that achieves that outcome is just fine and having been lucky enough to find a tutor whose style, personality and ethos suit me perfectly, I’m more than willing to let her be the one to worry about the actual teaching style. Oh, and I dream of having started to learn at 19 😉
Excellent point there from Gretchen but please bear in mind also that some of us don’t start learning until much later in life – my mother wouldn’t have been much use in finding me a tutor because she’d been dead for two years before I took up learning properly. I’d also like to add here that I think anyone who has the choice of tutors teaching in different styles should count themsleves very lucky – where I live it took me six years to find anyone to teach me at all. I was also extrememly fortunate in that, when I did find someone (almost by accident) she turned out to be absolutely perfect for me but if that hadn’t been the case I’d probably still be looking now. I don’t know nearly enough yet about harping or the various styles to be able to comment on their different advantages or disadvantages but I do know that I was far too keen to get started to wait around until I found a teacher who could fulfill every possible requirement. Good luck to all beginners everywhere!
I’d have to say that ‘better’ is meaningless here. Everyone is different and different people benefit from different styles of learning – they also have different preferences when it comes to playing styles. Some people learn better when they have a tutor, others are better at self-teaching, and this doesn’t only apply to harp-playing but to almost everything you can ever learn, from languages to art. The best way for you is the way that gives you the most enjoyment and best progress but it won’t necessarily be the best way for someone else.
Thank you Andee. The harpers I’ve met so far have certainly been a friendly bunch. I’ll keep an eye on the CS to see how you get on with the forum suggestion.
I do have one of the smaller versions – the Sharpsicle – and I’m delighted with it. I’ve also found the people who manufacture and sell them very helpful indeed, even though I had to have mine shipped to the other side of the pond. That doesn’t tell you what you want to know about the Grand but I hope it will help a little to start you off. Good luck in your search!
Hi Andee! How lovely to hear from another UK harper.
I’m so envious of you having a proper group of other harpers nearby. I have my delightful tutor to talk to about harps in general and also, now and then, the fabulous luthier who is making my new harp but I long to be able to compare notes with other beginners (not that you are one of those but it’s still very good to ‘meet’ you).
The Clarsach Society does have a South West branch but it is centred in Bristol, which is still a long way for me to get to any events they hold (I’m a bit restricted because of disability) though I am determined to make the effort to get to something at some point and it would be so nice to know somebody else who was there- though, having said that, I’m constantly googling for harp events anywhere in the country but never find any even that close. The idea of a monthly play-together sounds amazing.
Do you know if the CS has any plans ever to have a forum so that we can get to chat with other UK players? There are one or two of the bigger events that I would love to go to but it would be so good to chat to one or two other newbies who are also thinking of it.
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply to my post. I was beginning to think I was the only harper this side of the Atlantic!
Liz, I do hope you’re still checking in here because I’m new to the site and have been so hoping someone else from the UK might show up. I’m in my 50s, living in Devon and have been having lessons on my Harpsicle for just over a year. First of all, I can highly recommend the Harpsicle (and have done so on a couple olf ther threads – apologies to anyone who is starting to think I’m being paid by them – I’m not). Of course, living in the UK, the price will increase quite a bit by the time you add carriage, taxes etc. Do also keep an eye on ebay in case anything 2nd hand comes up.
I’d love to hear how you get on with your search and your playing. As someone else has said, I would avoid rosewood – there are just too many cheap and badly made rosewood harps around to risk that unless you are going to see it with a real expert to advise you. I have found the Harpsicle’s 26 strings to be the least I would be comfortable with. In fact, I’m now upgrading to a 34 string but I would always hang on to my original harp for portability and a lovely tone.
I do hope you’ll be back here to report on how your lesson went and I’d be very happy to exchange email addresses if you’d like another beginner in your ‘homeland’ to chat to any time. Good luck!
Just wanted to add to Jillian’s message that I started out with a Harpsicle and they are lovely instruments – my only objection being that they do not come complete with tuning tool, case etc so these things have to be purchased separately. After a year of lessons I’m now having a larger (34 string) Clarsach made to my own specifications but I certainly have no plan to let my Harpsicle go and I see no reason why someone couldn’t continue with one of these for as long as they wish. And one huge advantage in having a harp-playing daughter is that, unlike violins, it is almost impossible to make a horrible noise on a harp – they are very considerate of the ears and feelings of other family members.
Like most hobbies, you can make harping as cheap (after the initial purchase) or as expensive as you like. I have spent a small fortune on music books (eg) but so much music can be downloaded for free there’s really no excuse for that. If your daughter is so bitten by the bug that she can’t resist these things she can buy them herself as she progresses, with pocket money or get them as Xmas/birthday presents. I could have managed my first year of learning with just a harp, tuning tool, electronic tuner (both the latter are quite cheap), a good tutor and perhaps one good tutorial book (I would recommend Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp by Sylvia Woods) although the Harpsicle does come with its own instruction manual and a fair number of simple tunes to learn. A dust cover, if needed, can be created with an old sheet – it may not look great but it costs nothing. And strings can be purchased as and when you need them – most strings last for years (especially the lower ones) so unless you are a professional player it really isn’t the end of the world not to have a spare set to hand.
On the plus side, though, you will be giving your daughter a gift that lasts her whole life. I could not possibly put a price on the sheer enjoyment I have had from my harp. She may also decide to take up playing as a profession or simply as an additional way of adding to her earnings when she is older – lots of harpers earn a fair bit busking or doing weddings and other events even if it is not their full-time job.
Just one other point about the harp itself: lever harps, being smaller, are almost always cheaper and probably easier for a young person to handle but I think it is a mistake to think of a lever harp as the ‘entrance level’ to a pedal harp later. They are two different instruments and using the lever harp as a ‘gateway’ is a bit like buying a poodle but planning to move up to a Great Dane. If it’s a pedal harp she really wants then all I can really offer is my sympathy. Perhaps she could start earning her own money for some chores around the house?
If, having spent all that money, she eventually gives up on the hobby, you can also take some comfort from knowing that, provided she takes care of it and doesn’t write her name or the names of her favourite boys/celebs all over it (I’m remembering the guitar I had in my teens) then harps generally (here in the UK at least, I can’t speak for the US but I see no reason why it shold be all that different) tend to hold around 70-75% of their value so you will still have a saleable piece of equipment if the worst comes to the worst. You might also consider looking around for a second-hand model for your daughter – a good harp remains a good harp for a very long time.
I don’t pretend to be an expert here. I’m new to the site and have only been learning to play for a year (I did have a few attempts at teaching myself before that but they weren’t terribly successful and I only count my learning from the first proper lesson.
Re those ‘bad habits’ – a few things I can think of would include incorrect hand position and perhaps using the ‘wrong’ fingering. I’m sure other more experienced players will have others to add.
Re finding a tutor, I do believe that some people learn just fine on their own (I’m not one of them) and others need the discipline of a regular lesson and another person to pull them up on their mistakes. If you do decide you need a tutor and can’t find one advertised in the obvious places (yellow pages, small ads, ads in local music shops etc) you could always try contacting your nearest college or university that has a music department to see if anyone there can recoimmend somebody. The important thing, though, is to keep putting the word around and, if necessary, leave contact details with everyone you speak to just in case they hear of someone. I tried all these things and, in my case, I wasn’t successful but I eventually heard what sounded like harp music while I was shopping, followed the sound and came upon my wonderful; teacher while she was busking; it was one of the luckiest days of my life! So keep your search at the front of your mind and don’t be afraid to approach anyone who might be able to help.
I have also been learning with the Sylvia Woods book and I’d recommend it very highly indeed. It is easy to follow, sets you right on all those bad habits and progresses you fairly gently through everything you need to know. If that one works out for you, then you will almost certainly want to try some of her other books eventually. She has music for almost every possible occasion and style and often writes a simple version of a song, together with a harder one so that you can progress with a favourite tune as your skill grows. Another book I’ve found very useful is The Harper’s Manual by Laurie Riley (but I’m one of those people who just can’t resist buying books about their hobby, you can manage just fine with the Sylvia Woods one for a long time).
My apologies for an over-long message – I’ve been starved of people to ‘talk harps’ with and am so glad to have found this site!
Edit – Just wanted to add that The Harpers’ Manual is more about tips and general information than actual music to play.
