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Bigger fingers with thicker pads mean better tone quality, usually. Try to place less flesh on the string, just the corner of the tip, and try stretching your hand open when you place, a little air between your fingers. That may help solve any problems. If not, try angling your fingers farther down. Watch the videos by Heidi Lehwalder.
Don’t help the insurance companies! We need full replacement value for our harps. As cosmetic damages increase and perhaps repair needs, the tone quality improves, and that never seems to get a monetary value as it should. To not be able to replace a harp that is smashed up, would be a disaster. That said, having a ball-park figure for value is useful, and there is a depreciation formula, I believe, which might be from Lyon & Healy. Beyond that, it is what the market will bear. I think one can see what is overpriced by how long it goes unsold. It doesn’t help when sellers say, “local pick-up only.” People overseas need inexpensive pedal harps, so second-hand ones may be the only option for them.
On the other hand, many second-hand harps should be growing in value, because of the quality of wood they were made with, the quality of workmanship, and that their sounding boards do not need replacing. Lyon & Healy has often produced instruments that should be considered the Stradivarius of harps, yet hooray for us, they are not priced as such.I saw a Chrysler Town & Country van go by me and thought, what a perfect harpmobile. But then, I see Buick Roadmaster station wagons pretty often and those are perfection.
It’s always good to have some short pieces amid the longer ones. I have used the Musical Snuff-Box by Liadov, the Prelude in C by Prokofiev, among others. Variety and delight is key.
There’s a huge difference in difficulty between the Suite of Eight Dances and Ballade. Without knowing your playing, it is impossible to make a useful suggestion. The Suite is 20 minutes, so it would fit very well. But if you want a bigger ending, the Variations would work better, though it’s closer to 15 minutes. But you should discuss this with your teacher. How far off is the recital? Ballade needs more than a year to prepare, I’d say. I don’t relish listening to the Zabel. The Saint-Saens Fantaisie or the Spohr would both be more interesting and challenging. You could also use some pieces that are more recent, Berceuse by Flagello, Four Vignettes by Wagenaar, Four Caprices by Tcherepnin, and Lydian Song by Paul Creston come to mind. And then there’s my Nocturne, published by Harpiana Publications.
There is a point at which one should invest in a pedal harp, and playing pedal repertoire is that point, in my view.
Study harp music. Learn from the examples. See what the masters did. Check your orchestration books. Do not use the playback on the software, use your inner ear. The software will totally mislead you on what is playable. Write what you know will work and build from there. Kudos to Yolanda for taking on that task, it is an enormous one.
I find all versions of the Handel equally hard, no matter how many notes. Nevertheless, it is usually the first one taught. There are many others. The Saint-Saens Morceau de Concert, Virgil Thomson’s Autumn, and one of the many classical-era concertos are all worth considering. The Dittersdorf was my first, that is the most accessible, I think.
I think many of them, particularly brass and percussion do, but they’re not as severe as our problems.
Lyon & Healy used to sell a tool kit, and they had a whole survival kit for people who lived in remote places. Karen Rokos taught me that before you go at the discs, move the adjustable around first to see if you can fix problems that way.
Also, if you are relying on a phone for tuning, then you are also relying on its battery. I tried an app on a phone and it was not that accurate, the microphone is not high quality, and the phone itself is a constant distraction.
Move with the times? How ridiculous. Never.
I did get a Peterson tuner and it is nearly useless. I had to use my Korg with it to verify the pitches, the dials were moving so much. Oddly, different tuners do produce a slightly different overall flavor. I doubt I will ever buy an Apple product in my life. I see my friends constantly go through conniptions with their devices, tablets, and constant problems. No way. Now, I mostly use my oldest, simplest Korg. I clip the pick-up onto the brass handle of the harp for the bass and middle, and clip it to the top end of the brass plate for the highest notes. So, I recommend the cheapest tuner you can get with a needle display. The Matrix metronome with the dial is still the best for practicing with. You can change tempos quickly and easily, and it is easy to hear, fairly sturdy. Digital metronomes require constant button pushing, and complex rhythms are more complex to set up than to practice. As for the sweetening of the Peterson, the stretch tuning settings were interesting to find out, but not worth the $150 price tag. I use my own stretching system, thank you. The ear works best.
