Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi Deb. I started taking lessons in April with Luis Martinez, the guitarist in the videos. I had been looking for a teacher for ages but there just aren’t any in the UK. I was lucky that one day I went out from Chethams to lunch and heard Luis busking. I approached him and asked him for lessons. I’ve had 8 lessons since April and guess what, we have been asked to play two pieces in a harp lunchtime concert next Thursday at Chethams. I am going to Trinity Laban to cintinue my classical study under Gabriella Dall’ Olio, but I know that I will end up a Paraguayan harpist now. My intention is to go to Paraguay in a few years and stay for a year to study with Nicholas Caballero, Martin Portillo and Marcello Rojas.
NiinaI have been looking at the Roland AC33 for busking Tristan. I also want a really good quality pick up, so am considering the Fishman SBT-H which attaches to the soundboard and is specifically for Harp.
http://www.fishman.com/products/view/sbt-hp-soundboard-transducer-for-harp-pianoOscar is considered to be the best Paraguayan harp maker in the World. He has resisted the urge to upsize and go all modern on favour of working with friends and family the same as he has always done. His harps are very nice. Having said that, they are a little high in price as he doesn’t normally sell directly abroad, instead selling through Gustavio Arias (paraguayanharps.com). There are many good harp makers and also many not so good ones in Paraguay. The good: Oscar (El Ray), Gustavo Arias, Constancio Sanabria, Gustavo Sanabria and others……
Although I mainly play the classical Harp, I have recently started playing the Paraguayan and have had 8 lessons with who I believe to be the only teacher currently in the UK. I consider myself lucky to have found him.Here I am playing on a Gustavo Arias Harp with my new teacher (but only until Sept as he leaves for Paraguay) Luis Martinez.
He has taught me 8 tunes in as many lessons and he is a lovely man.http://www.youtube.com/user/lizlops007
I hope you have, by now found a great harp and are enjoying playing it.
Niina
Thanks Alison, my auditions are during the previous week plus one on the 10th. I have found out that Marisa is one of the professors at the RCM !! Hope she wont be judging me! I looked on Wiki, and although there is plenty about Guridi, there is nothing about the piece I am playing. But it’s okay now. I have everything I need. Naughty Gabriella, she never told me she recorded the piece. I have her CD, but not the one with this recording.
NiinaThanks very much Sherri and Patricia. That all helps. I will prepare something from what I have and what you have helped with. I am trying for Trinity Laban with Gabriella Dal’olio, Royal College of Music with Ieuan Jones and Royal Northern College of Music with Eira-Lynne Jones. I’ll let you know how it goes before Christmas.
Thanks Diane
That worked for the first few bars. Thankfully though I now have a 2nd harpist. We will share the top and bottom notes between us.Hi Kim
I have just added it into the library. When you say ‘tag it’, how should I do that, with a link?Niina
Hi Catherine
Thanks for your reply, but guess what? That is after I rewrote it enharmonically!! You should have seen it before. In this section, the Harp can be heard quite clearly.
NiinaI have to say that I disagree quoting a professional rate. They are not yet professional, and I think it belittles a true professional’s abilities. I am only 17 and have been playing for less than 4 years. I have done 16 free concerts, 7 paying ones (costs + about £35) and many others in concert halls for my school. I consider all this as part of my training to becoming a professional. If I were one of the students, I would be happy if they paid my transport costs and a £35 fee. If on the other hand, I were already in conservatoire, I would hope that my teacher puts as much work my way as possible, and makes sure I get a rate commensurate to my abilities.
If the home keeps trying to cut the rate of professional musicians, that’s one thing, in this case, the home get a concert and the children (as they are still children) get some money and the chance to perform. Money is important (and nobody wants to deprive a professional of their proper rate), but it isn’t the only thing to consider. And the all the money should go to the students.That may be true of some Western beginners Aaron, but not as far as I can find out in Paraguay or Japan. There are more than 5,000 players in Japan BTW, probably more than in Paraguay.
Hi
I can tell you about Paraguayanharps.com.
The man who owns the company is Gustavo Arias. He speaks English very well and makes lovely Harps and Guitars. He is friends with all the master Harp players in Paraguay. We have bought 3 from him and my father has become his friend.
You can get levers on Paraguayan harps now which are the same as on Clarsach, ie Camac. My Harps are about 5kg, so very portable. I think ours cost about $1200 plus carriage by DHL to the UK whereas my Clarsach cost $6,000.
The great thing about them is that you are not tied to just Latin American music. You can play modern pop, easy listening and Latin music on them very easily. For me the really annoying thing is there are NO Paraguayan harp teachers in the UK, so I have to teach myself, you’re lucky in the USA.
I recently uploaded a video of an Ed Sherran song I arranged, so you can see and hear one of Gustavo’s harps for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/user/lizlops007?feature=mhee
Good Luck
I agree with the Naderman suggestion. The 7th is the most difficult, but because it is so technical it sounds like a study. The 6th on the other hand is difficult but because it’s melodic, allows for more musicality.
Good luck whatever you choose
Niina
This sounds to me just like ‘In Your Face’ theatre. Where the whole idea is to shock and upset the audience into thinking more deeply about issues that are going on around them in society. These people write plays or compose music with the arrogant thought that they are the only ones with any sense of what is happening, and they must teach us about it. Just like the yob who drives his car down the street with very loud music playing and his windows wound down. “Listen to this NEW band, they are amazing and have something to say and I must make you listen too”. I think most of us, even at my young age know full well what is going on in the World, without someone forcing it on us in the guise of art and getting us to PAY THEM for it!!!
The more we try to push boundaries in this way through art, the more desenitised we become to those horrors, and the less likely we are to want to listen to any messages, from wherever they come. I’d rather be told about them via campaigns, charities, documentary makers or news; not from composers and writers who feel they need to educate us and charge us at the same time.
The other thing I do Kay, is after having played a section slowly then speeding up as Carl says, I sometimes don’t even touch the strings at all. I look at the score, imagine playing in my head, I think about how I am playing and all that is needed to play it well. Sometimes playing over the strings without touching them. This is a good technique if your fingers are sore but you still need practise.
Niina
