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The pics would definitely help! In recent years I’ve stopped thinking of the ideal thumb position as “high” and started thinking of it as a natural position for the thumb that occurs when the wrist is neutral and not bent as in the attached pic. The video link will explain what I mean a little further. (Incidentally neutral wrist position can look very different on different bodies, and of course as Kim points out thumbs vary quite a lot as well…) Not sure if this is relevant to your particular situation (or the same in all technical approaches) but will check back for pics 🙂
International Music Service has the Renie mehod (www.lyramusic.com.) It’s noe cheap–$45 for vol. 1 and $39 for vol 2, but it’s a great resource. I think for your purposes vol. 1 might be more relevant, but it’s been awhile since I looked.
Hi Steven,
A lot depends on what kind of ceremony it is–what religion, what denomination, etc. If it’s some kind of elaborate religious ceremony where they want you to replace the keyboardist and play the whole liturgy, it is certainly possible and most of what I have seen is easily playable on the harp. However, a few caveats about thsi type of service: it is a lot of music and you will have to go through it all adapting it for harp and pedaling it, which is going to be a good chunk of time (for which you should charge.) Also, if you’re not very familiar with the liturgy, you’re going to have to make sure you understand how all the responsorial singing works so that you can help “lead” the musical portions of the service. It’s also good to keep in mind that it’s not unheard of for the couple who hires you tells you to do one thing and then finds out weeks later from the church, when they bother to check, that it’s not allowed. A lot of ministers/priests (“officiants”) would be highly skeptical about hiring some random musician that they’ve never worked with with no special qualifications in liturgical music to play the liturgy.
The first thing to understand about Feisanna is that they are, as
you may already know, primarily dance competitions. Music
takes a completely back seat. Usually one judge, a local
musician, judges all the instruments. Whether they play fiddle,
guitar, or are a singer, they are responsible for judging
everything, and they may or may not be able to offer any
constructive commentary to a harpist. Some feisanna do not
have levels for either proficiency or age, beyond “senior” (over
18) and junior (anyone under 18.) Some feisanna do make a
distinction between beginner and advanced or have several age
levels, and some even have both age and level options. Some
may not have harp at all, but only “miscellaneous.” However,
some feisanna, like St. Louis Irish Arts, do take the music
seriously and have judges for each instrument who not only play
that instrument but are often professionals on that instrument.
St. Louis has a particularly strong harp program so you will
encounter both stiffer competition and a very knowledgeable
judge. You will also find multiple age levels and skill levels in St.
Louis. Milwaukee has both age and level distinctions, but I have
no idea who would be judging there. As you can see it really
varies by the venue and what the local Irish music scene is like.
You can probably get away with playing a lot of marginally Irish
repertoire like Danny Boy at feisanna where the music is not
taken very seriously, but the other extreme would be Milwaukee,
where all competitors, even “beginners,” must play two
contrasting dance tunes, which, at tempo, are pretty advanced
repertoire on the harp! Each feis will specify their repertoire
requirements on the syllabus. If there is an Irish dance school
near you, contact them about getting hold of syllabi for different
feisanna. Also a lot of feisanna are probably online now. Look at
all the syllabi and see what they offer in terms of levels and what
repertoire they require.
The first thing to understand about Feisanna is that they are, as
you may already know, primarily dance competitions. Music
takes a completely back seat. Usually one judge, a local
musician, judges all the instruments. Whether they play fiddle,
guitar, or are a singer, they are responsible for judging
everything, and they may or may not be able to offer any
constructive commentary to a harpist. Some feisanna do not
have levels for either proficiency or age, beyond “senior” (over
18) and junior (anyone under 18.) Some feisanna do make a
distinction between beginner and advanced or have several age
levels, and some even have both age and level options. Some
may not have harp at all, but only “miscellaneous.” However,
some feisanna, like St. Louis Irish Arts, do take the music
seriously and have judges for each instrument who not only play
that instrument but are often professionals on that instrument.
St. Louis has a particularly strong harp program so you will
encounter both stiffer competition and a very knowledgeable
judge. You will also find multiple age levels and skill levels in St.
Louis. Milwaukee has both age and level distinctions, but I have
no idea who would be judging there. As you can see it really
varies by the venue and what the local Irish music scene is like.
You can probably get away with playing a lot of marginally Irish
repertoire like Danny Boy at feisanna where the music is not
taken very seriously, but the other extreme would be Milwaukee,
where all competitors, even “beginners,” must play two
contrasting dance tunes, which, at tempo, are pretty advanced
repertoire on the harp! Each feis will specify their repertoire
requirements on the syllabus. If there is an Irish dance school
near you, contact them about getting hold of syllabi for different
feisanna. Also a lot of feisanna are probably online now. Look at
all the syllabi and see what they offer in terms of levels and what
repertoire they require.
The first thing to understand about Feisanna is that they are, as
you may already know, primarily dance competitions. Music
takes a completely back seat. Usually one judge, a local
musician, judges all the instruments. Whether they play fiddle,
guitar, or are a singer, they are responsible for judging
everything, and they may or may not be able to offer any
constructive commentary to a harpist. Some feisanna do not
have levels for either proficiency or age, beyond “senior” (over
18) and junior (anyone under 18.) Some feisanna do make a
distinction between beginner and advanced or have several age
levels, and some even have both age and level options. Some
may not have harp at all, but only “miscellaneous.” However,
some feisanna, like St. Louis Irish Arts, do take the music
seriously and have judges for each instrument who not only play
that instrument but are often professionals on that instrument.
St. Louis has a particularly strong harp program so you will
encounter both stiffer competition and a very knowledgeable
judge. You will also find multiple age levels and skill levels in St.
Louis. Milwaukee has both age and level distinctions, but I have
no idea who would be judging there. As you can see it really
varies by the venue and what the local Irish music scene is like.
You can probably get away with playing a lot of marginally Irish
repertoire like Danny Boy at feisanna where the music is not
taken very seriously, but the other extreme would be Milwaukee,
where all competitors, even “beginners,” must play two
contrasting dance tunes, which, at tempo, are pretty advanced
repertoire on the harp! Each feis will specify their repertoire
requirements on the syllabus. If there is an Irish dance school
near you, contact them about getting hold of syllabi for different
feisanna. Also a lot of feisanna are probably online now. Look at
all the syllabi and see what they offer in terms of levels and what
repertoire they require.
I think you could support yourself, depending on how much you want to do it. It depends on a variety of factors, though, including, how many expenses will you have after you graduate? Student loans? Car payments, mortgage, rent, insurance? Are you supporting anyone but yourself? Is anyone else (parents, relatives, significant other) helping to support you, maybe until you get established in a career? What standard of living do you consider acceptable? Are you getting an education degree? Are you getting a Masters degree? Exactly what teaching options will be open to you?
Megan,
I should have thought of it sooner, but Boston College Irish Studies Program might be a really good idea for you…
Hi Heather,
Kempter wrote a piece called Romanze, i think it’s op. 43, for just
violin, viola, cello and harp. There’s also one by Huber called 3
Short Meditations. An arranger whose first name escapes me but i know
the last name is Noel did a couple things for harp and 1-3 instruments
meaning you at most you can use three strings and harp. These
arrangements are of popular classics like Handel’s Hornpype from Water
Music, Jesu Joy, the Wagner and Mendelssohn bridal marches.
Also there is a pretty good amount of stuff for harp and string
quartet, if you can find another violinist or figure out a way to
leave out one violin…which will depend very much on the piece. I
just discovered one the other day by Gallon I think it was, called
Quintette. There’s also a Quintette by Houdy and an arrangement by
Lucile Lawrence of Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Spanish Princess for harp
and string quartet. Also Natra’s Divertimento for harp and string
quartet. You can get all these probably from Lyon and Healy or one of
their dealers, or International Music Service. Good
Luck!Well, I think this has been said indirectly already, but anyway, in my experience the key is making it a student-directed experience. That is, let the student’s goals and level of committment determine the music learned, the speed of progression, etc. However, this does not have to be contrary to the goal of teaching solid technique and musicianship. I drew this conclusion from a workshop I watched this summer with Irish harpist Maire ni Chathasaigh and have been trying to apply the ideas I got to my teaching of adults. The workshop consisted mostly of adults who had begun three to four years ago at most, some of whom are performing in some capacity or another. there was a general lack of fluidity and musicality to their playing as a result of obvious technical problems which it appeared their regular teachers decided to “let slide” for some reason because the students were not “serious” or ever going to be “real harpists.” Maire patiently spent time with each one of them correcting these problems; most of the students’ reaction was something along the lines of “Wow, that’s how it’s supposed to be! Now I can actually improve instead of just stagnating!” The lesson I learned was that while technique can’t be conquered all at once, it is well worth teaching it steadily and insisting on in the end because of what it will mean to the student in the long run: they are not stuck at one level marvelling at what other people can do and not knowing why it is so hard for them. To tell them why certain technical things are the way they are can be a great help: when you cross under with 4th finger it is replaced at low on the strings as it was before so that your thumb has room to play its note, for example. When there is a reason that makes sense it becomes more easy and natural to do it–not just
yelling “keep your thumbs up!!!!!” over and over again. Helping the student notice the why and how of what they might be doing as opposed to the correct way, and that the correct way is actually more efficient and is the correct way for a reason, is helpful to an adult who is already uncomfortable in the position of the student. To explain that something so seemingly mysterious and inscrutable makes sense after all and is possible for them to handle can go a long way towards putting them at ease. Then, how hard the student wants to practice is up to them and they should never be made to feel that they are not working enough if their goal is not to be a professional. But they should not be shortchanged by having faulty techniques ignored either, as clearly seemed to be the case with the workshop participants.This is just in addition to what everyone else has very intelligently said, hopefully it will be useful to
The night before i competed in the All-Ireland Music Competition my
friends and i decided to party rather than practice. (yes, i took my
harp–why i will never know. if it had backpack straps like a violin
case it would have made more sense.) By 4 am or so, after about 5
different pubs, we were collapsed on the doostep of the sixth in a
heap, my harp lying on its back in its case, column upward. A guy came
out of the pub, assessed the situation on its doorstep, and did the
only sensible thing to do: he mounted my harp like a horse and
proceeded to imitate cowboy yells, waving his arm about as if to lasso
something. i somehow doubt that he was inspired to do this by the
famous picture of Salzedo’s students doing the same thing entitled
“Off to t
