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I checked my twenty-dollar Korg tuner against a Peterson strobe tuner, and it was a perfect match, so either they are both off or they are both right. The second harmonic can also be found below the first node, as well as above. But I think it is not one-third, the string divides in half, and then half again, and again, doesn’t it? Anyway, I suggest reading the articles on acoustics and strings etc., in the Harvard Dictionary of Music.
I think everyone should read the whole Harvard Dictionary of Music.
New Orleans has a long history of harpists. Lucile Lawrence began her studies there with Lucienne Lavedon, who was teaching for a long time afterward. Miss Lawrence’s female relatives were harpists also and taught.
If you put your left thumb on the tuning pin on the side you can see, and reach over with your fingers, they will usually go to the other side of the same pin. Also, don’t take the key off the pin until you are ready to do the next string, so you already know where you are.
I suggest that she start with a tuning fork on E (f-flat)
Susan Jolles at Manhattan School of Music is expert in contemporary music, as is Sara Cutler, a superb harpist who is on the faculty of Brooklyn College, both with post-graduate programs. California Institute of the Arts specializes in that kind of music, and Susan Allen is on the faculty. There is also a lot of activity in Boston, where you could study with Ann Pilot or other teachers. You will find almost any university has contemporary music composing and performing ensembles.
On that note….
All you need is a number one or two pencil, a white eraser, and manuscript paper.
The rest is coordination between your ear, mind and hand. The more you work with these tools, the sharper they will be. Many errors and wonderful things will happen in the process of writing out a piece, and you do get faster at it. You can put a slash or x instead of writing a note-head when you are sketching something out. You can develop your own kind of shorthand. It is important that your tools be part of your process, not dominate it, like the computer. The computer is misleading, and a playback function is perhaps the worst part of it. The only other tool I need is a piano, because I get tired of having to put the harp down to write a note. If you can write left-handedly, you can avoid that. The tools are so important to the process. It’s like synthetically processing food before you cook it to use a computer.
Check your lease for what is allowed, in terms of noise. If playing musical instruments is allowed between certain hours, it is the neighbors’ problem, and they can move. Beyond putting down a thick mat, cork, rubber, rug, hanging cork or draperies on the walls, you are not obligated to do more. Check the city ordinances and tenant’s rights. You have the right to play, and the landlord agreed to that when you signed the lease, unless you concealed the fact that you play. Tell them you are thinking about taking up the piano. This tenant may also have been lying to harass you, he is the only one bothered. You also might put weatherstripping or a towel at the bottom of your front door to minimize what goes out. If your neighbor continues to bother you, complain to the landlord. I doubt you are playing all day long and all night. Some buildings are poorly constructed, which adds to the problems. Is this a new, old or renovated building? Solid walls or wall board? There is acoustical tiling, but I don’t know what it would cost to install. I don’t think you should do anything to the harp itself.
I would suggest cash, though it might seem crude, or gift certificates to a harp music dealer. Jewelry like cufflinks is more risky, he may not have any shirts with french cuffs, or dislike them, etc.
I, too, am interested in some good classical period pieces that can be played on lever harp for a student. I am open to suggestions. I have the Anonymous Variations on a theme of Mozart already, and the Miller and Lawrence transcriptions.
The Lyra edition of Sonatinas is not expensive, and perhaps cheap with the dollar value being so low. There are movements of the Sonatinas that are lever harpable. So are some of the Salzedo Suite of Eight Dances, by the way, if they interest you.
My next question is, which is more important: facility in reading any music vocally, or facility in reading at the harp? I suspect it is reading at the harp that is more important, because of the coordination involved. Sight-singing is perhaps a separate skill altogether.
The simple ethics of advertising are these: honor what you say you offer, for the amount you offer. Honesty is expected and more-or-less required by consumer protection laws. Some tactics businesses commonly use are bait-and-switch, where one product is advertised at a low price to get you into their store, then they only have a more expensive one to offer. Another is to simply not have the product at all, say it’s on order, or take an order and never get it. I will think of more examples later.
Advertising is one way to notify others of your services. It is also not necessarily effective. In the many years I have advertised in the American Harp Journal, not one student has come as a result of the ads, so they are not as useful as one might think. The internet has indeed become a primary means of communication, and these open forums facilitate connections between prospective students and teachers (prospective meaning those who are looking, or thinking about the future). Locally, word of mouth might be as important, or in other circumstances, such as when a student is graduating and their teacher is recommending who they go on to.
I have known too many unethical harpists in New York to be automatically impressed by their opinions. It was the most dog-eat-dog, nasty, crooked environment I ever encountered. While it may foster a desire for ethics, there are not that many who seem to practice them.
I have learned to accept the changes in communications, and that the internet is a primary source of information, even in classical music. If this were a moderated, restricted forum with specific rules it would be different. I will mind myself more carefully, but sometimes I am sleepy and unmindful of what I suggest to posters here. I am highly aware of ethics, having been raised in an ethical system and also studied it in college. I have had a student who went to another teacher while studying with me, so I know how that feels, and I don’t take students who are currently with other teachers. However, that is up to the student, and up to teachers to inform them as to their behavior.
Advertising is very expensive,
The Sonatinas and Sonatas are completely different. There are no public domain editions, they have to be purchased from dealers, which supports the publishers so they can publish more music. Many historic pieces are in hard-to-reach libraries in Europe, and it is not so easy to walk in and ask for a photocopy. Plus, they are often very hard to read. There are two editions of the Sonatinas, one by Lawrence, published by Lyra, which is considered standard, and one published in Europe, that is meant to be urtext, but has errors and unstylistic ornamentation. I have both, and will combine them to make my own interpretation the next time I perform the Sonatinas. There are two editions of one Sonata, again one Lyra, and one European. The others have only one edition. There is one that is a transcription of a concerto by Jarnovich by Sophia Dussek, I think, that is completely different. I think the Sonatinas are the most interesting, and the Sonata in C Minor, which I consider to be by Jan Dussek as published. The others vary in interest, are somewhat lighter in style, less
I wouldn’t call that fishing, either, but there’s nothing wrong with fishing, if you’re trying to catch fish. How else to get fish? They don’t jump in your lap, usually. Anyhow, these are open forums. But, here, I’ll make a statement that is clear cut, and not baited in any way: I love to teach, and
