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Emma, that is truly brilliant! It does seem that every performer these days should have a clever response (or sometimes, just a very angry one) at the ready.
Incidentally, Tony’s post made me wonder if there is something in what was said earlier about women more often being the culprits, simply becasue we don’t have pockets (or not as often as men do anyway). Our phones are usually in our bags and perhaps more easily forgotten and less quickly tunred off. No excuse, I know.
With luck, there may be two people who have now learned their lesson –
http://reclusiveantiquarian.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/actor-berates-woman-during-play-for.html
http://www.contactmusic.com/news/conductor-stops-show-to-berate-cellphone-user_1283227I do try to be understanding when this happens because it could happen just once to any of us and an embarrassed owner struggling to turn their phone off gets a teeny bit of sympathy from me but answering the call is unforgiveable – especially on 3 separate occasions as the woman above did!
But as Carl says, rudeness is nothing new – before they had cellphones these people talked loudly to their neighbour through performances. There’s just a certain kind of person who thinks they are the centre of the world and that nobody else matters and unfortunately the progress of technology does little to convince them otherwise. Perhaps the solution would be for everyone else to burst into laughter and point and mock until the phone is switched off, though I’m not sure that would improve anyone’s theatre outing.
Not just mental, I’d have thought. It sounds as if you had a huge success Kay but it sounds very inconsiderate to me to expect anyone to sit and play for such a long time at once
Oh Jessica, that’s beautiful! I see yours is in a pale wood (mine is too) and I do think that is so attractive. Mine is going to look rather different from the ones on Tim’s website and I’m not going to say too much about that but all will become clear in the photos. I received the call last night to say she is ready to pick up and I’m hoping to go and get her today but I’m nursing a fresh-out-of-hospital invalid at the moment so it will depend on whether she is feeling well enough to be left. I can wait another day or two if not.
You are so right about all the gorgeous styles and designs out there. I could just look at pictures forever!
That’s such a shame and so frustrating. I wish I could offer more help but I’m several thousand miles away – here’s hoping somebody else will have some suggestions.
Very much a beginner Jessica! I bought my Sharpsicle around 6 years ago and tried to teach myself to play (I don’t play any other instruments except a VERY amateurish bit of guitar in my teens). Shortly afterwards my mother became ill and during the weeks leading up to and after her death I abandoned my playing completely. Around 18 months ago I finally discovered a fantastic tutor and have been playing like mad ever since (when I say ‘playing like mad’ – yes, I sound like a crazy person playing!)
The new harp is a 34 string Ossian Clarsach made to my own design by local luthier Tim Hampson (http://www.harpmaker.eu/index.ph) and the last time I saw her she was looking gorgeous (the big advantage of having the harp made locally is that I have been able to visit a few times during the building process to drool). Things have been held up just a bit the last week or so waiting for Savarez strings to arrive from France but I am expecting the ‘birth’ sometime this week for sure. I promise to post photos as soon as I figure out how to do so and I hope you will be doing the same!
Jennifer, this is just a thought but worth considering. With the kids at school all day you perhaps have a bit more time on your hands than you used to have. Have you thought about whether there is anything you could exchange for lessons? A lot will depend on how many tutors there are in your area and finding one who is willing to do things this way but I’m guessing you’ve spent a good few years helping your children with their homework – maybe you could offer to do some home-tutoring for someone else’s kids? I’m also willing to bet you’ve aquired any number of skills over the years that others would be most grateful for – sometimes all it takes is a bit of lateral thinking to get what you want – anything from helping out with the housework or gardening, babysitting or teaching one of your hobbies to a tutor or their family can be a great way to get things. It does take a bit of nerve to ring a complete stranger and suggest this but the results can be amazing.
I can only guess that your teacher has heard a uniquely poor example. Harpsicles do have a quite a bright tone which isn’t to everyone’s taste but they certainly don’t sound like toys. I’ve checked out the website for the info about strings and I have to say that I can’t find the answer to your question there which makes me suspect all the strings are nylon. That is only my guess though, so it might be an idea to give them a ring to check – I have always found them incredibly helpful. Perhaps if they do not string the harps with gut, they might be prepared to sell you an unstrung instrument at a discount so that you could provide your own strings? Their number is (812) 438-3032.
The only advice I was given when I bought my first harp was to leave it in its packing crate for a while IF it arrives on a cold day when your house is considerably warmer that the delivery truck that brought it to you. I can find no similar advice about going from cold to hot or humid to dry so it looks as if you get to open the crate and tune and play your harp straight away – you lucky thing!
My tutor has travelled all over Europe playing her harp and tells me it acclimatised itself just fine wherever she went and she never had any problem with temperature changes (though I can imagine that going from somewhere like Alaska to Vegas in a very short time might be a rather different matter).
It sounds as if you and I will both have new harps arriving on practically the same day (I have to pick mine up and have a lot of hospital visiting to do next week so can’t guarantee which day it will be). It’s nice to hear someone else out there will also be ‘all of a dither’ and unable to sleep the night before. I’ll be looking forward to hearing all about your new ‘baby’. Do you play already or is this the start of a new hobby?
Hi Madelyn – I suspect this thread may have answers to some of your questions – http://www.musicstand.me/forums/coffee-break/posts/19042. Good luck!
This forum is so great for reassuring me that I’m not the only one who has these problems! I laughed at your heartfelt ‘Amen!’ Allison. I’ve never been somebody who finds it easy to ‘perform’ for others, no matter what I do, but I really do want to be able to play my harp when asked because I want to share the lovely sounds she makes – however, my repertoire is small (minuscule!) and my playing falls to pieces when someone else is listening anyway. Hearing what you all have to say on the subject makes me feel so much better about the whole thing. I guess most people only want a quick demonstration anyway so if I carry on perfecting the Sylvia Woods beginner’s version of Planxty Irwin I might be able to fool them into thinking I can actually play.
Incidentally, does anyone else find that pieces they hear their tutor play sound very impressive at first, but by the time you learn the piece yourself it gets to sound so simple that you’re sure everyone else will think you’re even more of a novice than you really are? Or is that just me?
Elizabeth – how right you are about us being our own worst critics. I expect a perfection from myself that I would never expect from anyone else. I guess that’s the only way you really learn to improve but it can be quite annoying too.
Andee – being asked to perform with only 6 pieces is amazing! I’m guessing you were performing them a lot better than I would be yet but it’s so encouraging to hear something like that. It is all too easy to forget that most of the people who ask us to play would struggle to get Mary Had a Little Lamb out of a harp so I suppose we must sound a lot better to them than we do to ourselves. Thanks to all of you, the next time someone asks me to play I will grit my teeth and get on with it – no more excuses about the harp not being in tune or waiting for the new one to arrive!
Sorry to bang on about the Harpsicle yet again but I wonder whether one of these might suit your needs (the Fullsicle has full levers). They are quite basic-looking though they do come in a nice variety of colours. They are also very light (the specs say 4lb but I’m sure that can’t be exactly the same for every model as the levers must add a little extra weight, though probably not enough to worry about). However, at 33″ in height, I woinder of they might be a little taller than you want. The tone is lovely and there is a demo on the website – http://harpsicleharps.com/harps.htm.
As for the Mountain Glen harps, I haven’t heard one played but to look at they really are the most beautiful things. I have spent many a happy hour drooling over their website. Good luck with whatever you go for and enjoy the hunt!.
What a wonderful response – I had no idea this would touch so many nerves! Although I’m way behind all of you (only about 16 months of lessons and intensive practice) it’s both a little disturbing to know how long I will be a beginner and also reassuring to know I won’t be alone. At least I’m one of the lucky ones who is able to practise pretty much every day (and for a reasonable length of time too) but my sight-reading is still very slow and extremely hesitant.
Some particularly interesting comments – Allison, I do so agree that the more there is to learn the more the urge to keep going; that’s what keeps things really interesting! Good luck with your banquet – to me, I guess, once you can play in front of other people who are prepared to pay for the experience you are a ‘real’ player.
Susan – I feel your pain, I really do! I love learning anything new and am a long-term fan of all kinds of study and, when I think of other things I have accomplished in a relatively short time, harp-playing begins to look like a real marathon (though it’s also much more enjoyable than any of those other things too). I guess my problem is with other people who say “You’ve been having lessons for a long time time now – let’s hear you play” and seem to expect something wonderful. I’m going to start telling myself that just displays their own ignorance.
Elizabeth – You were the culprit(!) It was in one of your recent posts that you called yourself a beginner and I thought ‘Yippee! Another newbie!” then I checked your profile and discovered you are still several years ahead of me. Life has such an annoying way of scuppering things, doesn’t it? I actually got my first harp (Sharpsicle) about 6 years ago but the death of my mother plus my inability to find a tutor stopped me in my tracks almost immediately and it’s only recently that I’ve been able to give my playing the attention it deserved. At least now I feel it’s not quite so easy to put me off. Despite being in the middle of a major family crisis right now, I’m more determined than ever to keep going and put aside my daily practice time as my own relaxation therapy. I know there will be odd days when I can’t practise but I’m giving the harp a lot higher priority this time around.
Angela – Thank you for such a precise description of what you had to do to feel like a ‘proper’ harper and how long it took you. That really does give me something to aim for in the next 6 months or so. I know comparisons are odious but I do find them very useful for keeping track of my own progress!
Thank you everyone for your comments. Please keep them coming!
