Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Please tell me who published the Prelude by Enescu. I would disagree with one thing. I rarely see programs that are arranged chronologically. One positive attribute of such a program is that the ear is not shocked by sudden contrasts, but gradually led through styles. Pianists tend to start with classical sonatas or Bach. That is more of a cliche to me, and we don’t have very many classical sonatas anyway. We do have some nice modern classical pieces, the Maghini Suites being two of those.
They’re really not that hard to find. They are in the exact half-way point of the string. Unless you have trouble with spatial relations, this is not so hard to find. It is probably just above where you normally play. If you glance at the bottom of the string and glance at the top, not where the discs are but the stationary nut, then divide it in half visually, your hand will go to the half-way point. Just practice it. Remember that it’s higher on a flat string and lower on a sharp string. Don’t mark your strings, please. They are horribly expensive now.
Arnica will relieve pain, but in my experience it does not correct anything. I am having good results with Blue Emu, which contains glucosamine, chondroitin, msm, collagen, allantoin, etc. It absorbs quickly and deeply. I recommend seeing a doctor who will use ultrasound to examine your shoulders and read exactly what is happening in there. My doctor is called an ultrasound radiologist, doing investigative ultrasound therapy. He can see pockets of inflammation, scar tissue, whatever, and if you need a cortisone injection or lidocaine, he can see exactly where to put it with the ultrasound image.
I have found that setting my bench in front of an open door, and reaching behind me to hold the doorknobs is the perfect stretch for my shoulders. You have to hold a stretching position for more than 30 seconds for the fibers to loosen.
The Blue Emu has helped prevent my tennis elbow from recurring after flare-ups. Exercise, unfortunately, can exacerbate all these problems. I have had very little help from most physical therapists. Some are okay. A good massage can do wonders. Also a sensitive and skilled trainer. “Body Workers” can seem to get too much into their personal theories and interpretations of what you are experiencing, and color it with emotions, so I don’t automatically recommend that approach. There are movement coaches like Feldenkrais or Alexander that may help.
Changing your bench, lowering it for a while may provide some relief. Make sure your shoulders aren’t raised or hunched at all. Even when they are down, it’s amazing how tense they can be. A muscle relaxer like baclofen can also be helpful, along with any kind of anti-inflammatory medicine you can tolerate. It may not be serious if you are young, but if you don’t get to the bottom of this, it can become chronic and a real problem in the future. I don’t think diet is the issue. You can also be terribly stiff from a build-up of lactic acid in your muscles from heavy use without massage. Massage will clear that up.
Yes, they will. Six hours is too much when three of them are performing. You need to stretch. Do you take breaks every hour while on the job? Sometimes you need to adjust your position or posture to give your body a break. I found that I need to sit on my bench in front of a door, and reach behind me to hold the doorknobs in order to stretch my shoulders. Rules, schmules, it’s how it feels. You need to feel completely effortless and relaxed while playing.
I have spoken with one of the jury members. It was all handled extremely professionally and fairly as can be. A consensus apparently emerged through voting that there were certain qualities absent in the finalists that were desired, and each contestant was different. I’m not sure there was any discussion at all, certainly no fighting. It is handled extremely carefully to avoid that, not like in the old days. I think the youth of the contestants was a factor in that they may have needed more maturity. It seems to me that the lessons from this are, to not push very young players into the ultimate competition, and to make sure they have musical understanding, not just technical and performance security. It is also important to arrive early, in case of any sickness or jet lag.
It is easy to look at the careers of competition winners and say that their careers validate their winning. That is like looking at an eclair and saying that must be a pastry. Winning the competition ensures a number of engagements and exposure that leads to at least some success, moreso in the “old days”, which, as Emily points out, are gone. There are many winnners who are not in the spotlight constantly. It is truly no measure of anything but what happened that day with those people. It is also not very possible for a talented harpist who doesn’t have money or sponsors to prepare for and go to a competition like Israel. Or there are those who are too busy to take the time. It’s an enormous investment for a very slim chance. And winning is no guarantee of very much. That is one of the reasons I started the Harp Festival of Philadelphia: To provide a forum in which harpists can present their art without competition and required repertoire (other than what I request).
As important as it is to develop a natural ability to memorize, it can’t be a substitute for reading. As you found, it leads to errors, and the intellectual aspects of the music aren’t learned. Miss Lawrence ran into this frequently, and her approach to handling it was what she wrote in her ABC of Harp Playing. Have the student point to the note and say it as they play it. You have to work at their reading skills, and sight reading too. It sounds like you have tried a similar approach. Perhaps giving her a piece and not letting her take it home, only showing it in the lesson might work. You can also try covering up all but the part about to be played with another piece of paper. I think you will conquer this in time. Having mistakes pointed out tends to cure, as no one wants to be embarassed.
As important as it is to develop a natural ability to memorize, it can’t be a substitute for reading. As you found, it leads to errors, and the intellectual aspects of the music aren’t learned. Miss Lawrence ran into this frequently, and her approach to handling it was what she wrote in her ABC of Harp Playing. Have the student point to the note and say it as they play it. You have to work at their reading skills, and sight reading too. It sounds like you have tried a similar approach. Perhaps giving her a piece and not letting her take it home, only showing it in the lesson might work. You can also try covering up all but the part about to be played with another piece of paper. I think you will conquer this in time. Having mistakes pointed out tends to cure, as no one wants to be embarassed.
As important as it is to develop a natural ability to memorize, it can’t be a substitute for reading. As you found, it leads to errors, and the intellectual aspects of the music aren’t learned. Miss Lawrence ran into this frequently, and her approach to handling it was what she wrote in her ABC of Harp Playing. Have the student point to the note and say it as they play it. You have to work at their reading skills, and sight reading too. It sounds like you have tried a similar approach. Perhaps giving her a piece and not letting her take it home, only showing it in the lesson might work. You can also try covering up all but the part about to be played with another piece of paper. I think you will conquer this in time. Having mistakes pointed out tends to cure, as no one wants to be embarassed.
Unfortunately, I think you really can’t do anything except to say something simple like get whatever help you need. It is beyond our scope. It may be a resolved problem, the student may already be in treatment, it can mean anything. People are strangely touchy about boundaries and what they expect from us. If there is already a counseling aspect to the lessons, then it is perhaps approachable. We can’t do interventions, much as we might like to.
I think a harp in a trunk will go into an Airbus jet. You have to find out the size of the cargo door opening. They can be quite small. You need a shipping trunk that has padding all around and underneath the harp. There is a Lyon Healy dealer in Germany as well as in London. From London, you could go by ship.
Some of this goes to your expectations, what your image of a harp is and how it should sound or affect you. If someone plays it much like a concert grand piano, to someone who thinks harps should always sound soothing or pretty or angelic, they may be shocked. The harp actually has an extremely wide dynamic range, and emotional range as well.
