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Well that explains how Harpo’s strings could be so loose, they weren’t even tuned up. That is also how musical numbers were filmed, the singing was prerecorded, and the stars would lip-synch to the vocals, whoever was doing the singing.
That is an excellent point, and there are other aspects of muscle fiber too, whether it is flexible and stretchable or tight, and it can vary from muscle to muscle. When I was dancing I could sit and open my legs out to the side to a very wide angle, but I could not really stretch hamstrings; I could only do splits by stretching the front of the other hip.
I agree as for Zabaleta’s playing, it was very fast and rather light. Not a great tone quality. As for your speed limits, it has a lot to do with practice
I’m certain you are remembering that incorrectly, you should have re-viewed it first before casting any aspersions on it.
People always make their own choices, to be sure. I disagree about whether fingerings only suit certain hands. We all have the same basic equipment. I think the rest is a matter of technical ability and practice methods. My hands are not the same size as Salzedo’s, but given enough time, his fingerings always work. They convey a certain phrasing, but even so, I am able to find my own using them. Same for Miss Lawrence’s fingerings: they may seem awkward at first, but it is always to bring out certain notes that otherwise are lost, or to delineate a phrasing, an articulation or to show which notes belong together. She was very taken with the coming off the strings, not only to aspirate, but to have a fresh attack on the next note, which refreshes the dynamic, the phrase, everything. That is the beauty of having multiple editions of the same works, so we can learn from different artist’s approaches.
I believe it is a rental only item now. It should be in library somewhere. I don’t know anyone local who has a copy.
Lucile Lawrence firmly stated that the hands should never go past the harp’s neck. Slightly in the first octave is unavoidable, but it should never be like an athlete or v for victory. That is not esthetic, that is tasteless.
Not to break up the mystery too much, but there is an appointed leader for each piece, usually the concertmaster, I think, and he sets the tempi and the interpretation, so I think they are really conducted, in essence, but in concert you see them render the prepared interpretation, so it is pat already, rather than spontaneous. That is what I have read about their method of work. In the ’80s their harpist was Heidi Lehwalder.
Now Carl, the key to your conundrum is, you were at Camden when Alice Chalifoux was teaching. She started teaching the low-thumb position to some or many of her students as an expedience to closing faster. Her students, some of them,
It was my understanding that the tuners were already tempered, and that octaves that sound good to us are actually going to veer far too sharp in the top, if I let myself do that, they get sharper and sharper. When I do stretch, it is only the last three strings at top or bottom. From what Mr. Schmidt is describing it sounds as though his harp would be in another key. Can you tell us exactly how many cents you are raising and lowering the pitches by? I would like to try your tuning.
I am old enough to remember when there were only the rare strobotuners, and no portables and we all had to tune by ear, so there is no excuse in my book for not learning to do it. It may just be taking longer than you would think. It took many years for my ears to start remembering pitch. Don’t give up on it just because it doesn’t seem to have been there. Crutches are made to be used as needed, but they remain crutches. And when Peak Oil comes, we’ll have to be ready to go “off the grid” and power free!
There have certainly been warring camps in pianoland: Leschetizky vs. Taussig, Schnabel vs. Neuhaus, and I suspect in most music fields. Kodaly vs. Orff!
I don’t think students should use electronic tuners. They will never make the effort to learn to tune by ear. If you can catch them before they’ve gotten one, have them get tuning forks for B and E, not too hard to find. Teach them the old fashioned way, and then when they have gotten the hang of it, they can use the tuner to fine-tune. Alternatively, have them get a tuner that plays the pitches, like a Korg, so they are still using and training their ear, and not using their eyes on a needle or strobe display. I personally can’t abide strobes. I have always used Korg tuners, and still use my tuning forks.
What is really difficult is when you have a student who is riddled with tension, coming from years of study of another instrument, and they cannot approach playing from a base point of relaxation.
There was once an underwater harp made, and they photographed a model playing in a swimming pool, and she said “I love its liquid tones.” This might have been in a Life magazine. I think the harp was made of plastic, or lucite/acrylic. Whatever became of it? I often wonder what became of all those harps that appeared in the movies? Some were just gorgeous. By the way, have any of you heard the Angelaires cd yet? It is astonishing.
I know we went over this before. It is only in “The Big Store” that Gail Laughton is visibly dubbing Harpo’s playing, and the two men have completely different sounds. One thing Harpo did to be so relaxed is to lower the tension on his strings. Notice how he can pull them out of position and then play on them? He either used thinner strings, or a different weight, or tuned much lower. He had one or some lessons with Salzedo, who declined to try to change his approach. After all, Harpo made far more money than he did. Harpo was also known to take lessons over the telephone, probably with Mildred Dilling. I never cared for his musicianship so much as his personality and humor. I have two lps he made, one kind of stinks, and the other is terrific jazz/pop playing.
