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I think tuning forks are the way to start, a B and an E or C and F. That way you can teach about fifths and overtones.
Youtube videos are not different, as far as I know. You need permission to post copyrighted music. Hence the apologetic statements by people who post, and definitely do not monetize your uploads. It is the sheer volume that prevents regulation, and YouTube’s unwillingness to do it. So, you may find a computer noticing your arrangement and blocking it. The simple solution is, keep it private, not public. Should it be public, anyway? What is your purpose in posting it? An alternative is to make a website and post it there, or on perhaps a Facebook page. Frankly, YouTube is so clogged with junk, it is a trial to find anything.
If you are going to do any kind of recital, ideally, you memorize the music thoroughly. Then, if you play from the music, you can consult it rather than depend on it, and read it for its meaning rather than its necessity. If you get the music to that point, your anxiety will probably have disappeared long before. At this point, you need to finish learning by a month prior, and spend the next month making it secure. So pick something that seems fairly easy. No music is really easy.
Tournier loved to write the musically correct pitch, and not the enharmonic that was played. Writing the enharmonic pitch prevents one from following the harmonic flow of the music.
Salzedo, being the artistic genius that he was, unparalleled except perhaps for Bochsa, was anything but “idiotic.” For one, he followed the custom of other instruments where harmonics are notated where they SOUND, and when you are editing printed music, then of course, you are notating a harmonic as it sounds. He made many improvements in the “traditional” notation for harp, which was anything but consistent. I have no doubt that once he adopted that improved notation, he discovered that everyone was playing harmonics better, because they were focused on the result and not the execution, which is so often faulty. I know that I find my harmonics are always better when they are notated as sounding, not as played. And that is why I maintain use of Salzedo’s notation in my music.
Of course, a pianist is not at all qualified to talk about harp notation. It takes a lot of expertise to do so.
As for Mahler, his harp writing is clearly not literal. It is approximate. You are free to play the chord notes you can reach. I hope you know that you can omit any note that is played in a lower octave. The harmonics are indicated as sounds he wants, not how they are played, just as the chords are not. The ones in thirds I would say are definitely both harmonics, and since they cannot be played as written, they definitely have to be played one octave below. Use your ears, listen to the context and think of the time in which it was written, and Mahler’s music, which was lush in tone color. I’m sure the massive chords are meant to be divided. I hope you have a second harpist playing. I would actually suggest four harps, since he was apparently dreaming of a massive, masculine sound.
My favorite puzzle in a Mahler part was when he wrote “mediator” in the harp part, apparently calling for a plectrum/pick.There is no one set system of levels. Publishers have their own systems, too. I have often wondered if it would help to have one set system. Many of them use five levels, but ten seems more accurate. It’s somewhat arbitrary assigning levels. I believe the American Harp Society has some sort of system for its competitions, unless it is up to whoever is doing the organizing. You certainly have Beginners, Advanced Beginners, Beginning Intermediate, Intermediate, Advanced Intermediate, Advanced; then you diverge into collegiate or conservatory tracks, Young Professional, and one can go on to Professional and Artist. But from Advanced on, the repertoire might all be the same. One thing I strongly disagree with is categorizing people by age. It discriminates against those who start later. I think how long one has studied is more relevant. As for assigning music, it depends if you are baby-stepping progress or allowing for big steps, or both. But generally speaking, one can assign a general valuation to most pieces. How it is used is another matter. And then, there are editions of the Sonata by CPE Bach that range from somewhat difficult to very difficult, and the same for the Handel Concerto. There is a base level of musical challenge that remains regardless of edition. I think it would probably be worthwhile to establish a committee to assign levels to music to have a consistent point of reference. But, then, there are musical difficulties and technical difficulties, two completely different animals. Not an easy task.
Salzedo did use a squared fermata for a brief hold, but that doesn’t look appropriate there. I can’t think of any other reason for a symbol there.
It is due to the software used to copy the music, which did not give the proper choices of symbols. It’s not a likely spot for an accent or a fermata. Unless Galais makes it clear elsewhere, I would ignore it until a musical reason becomes clear. You could also write to Galais or to the publisher for clarification. This is why uniform notation symbols are so important.
Just playing through etudes will not accomplish much of anything. You may end up with a very stiff, thick way of playing. It’s how you play them that matters. It’s how you use exercises, or repertoire, that matters. It’s all in the way you move.
There isn’t so much of a separate technique for doing different things on the harp, but having your fingers all work the same way all the time, so it is consistent, controlled, coordinated and even.
Salzedo’s Tiny Tales and Sketches for Harpist Beginners would be a starting point, and that is almost half an hour of music, if not more. Also his solos in the Art of Modulating.
You can challenge the student by, instead of giving them something more difficult, giving them something more easy. That could spur them to work harder, or to work better.
Are there any differences? I’m not particularly impressed. While it has the appoggiaturas written as such, it does not make it clear how to play them correctly, which is a shame. I’ll stick with the Salzedo edition. What we need is to publish Salzedo’s orchestration to go with it.
