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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.
And one more reminder, the very point of many of our posts is that the gestures are in no way extraneous to the note production. The whole point is their integration. I was far more disturbed to watch a French harpist gesture and wave her arms about with gestures that were not integrated to the notes. And how about those harpists who rock their harps up and down while playing, like inducing motion sickness is more expressive? It always makes me think of a ship deck, bobbing up and down in the waves. I have seen them lose control of it too. It’s a bad idea. Or rather, tasteless.
Gefilte fish.
Other instrumentalists, not to mention singers, certainly do use gestures. Watch Artur Rubinstein at the piano. Pianists who use the space above the keyboard definitely get more sound. How string players remove the bow is a controlled gesture. Singers gesture to help their tone. I’m afraid you’re wrong there, or just haven’t been exposed to the right performers. Because the harp is performed in such a large space facing the audience, it is that much more visual and benefits from an esthetic approach. And remember that the gestures were developed with the aid of Nijinsky, the God of the Dance, so they go back to 1916 or earlier! Sure, many musicians don’t think about them, but they might be a lot better if they did.
That is the same advice Miss Lawrence would have given you. But you do have to re-learn old pieces, lest you slip back into old habits.
A “blind test” does not necessarily prove anything. Who was listening? There is an obvious difference between silver and nickel strings. Maybe they were using old silver strings. They are far brighter sounding.
As for physics, I remembered an example I heard from a physicist. When one object is divided in two and sent into an orbit, if something affects one object, the other object is also affected. I probably am not remembering it exactly, but it proves that there is a perceived delayed effect on objects in transit and it is possible to affect their transit after they have left. It’s like the difference between a pitch and a spitball. If you put a spin on the ball, it starts out straight and then curves its path. Also, regarding Salzedo, even if he himself played one way, it is what he taught that is more significant, because that was what he wanted others to do. I listened to the Angelaires recording, and the quality of their playing is magical, and on a much higher level than I anticipated or have heard in any other ensemble. They rehearsed all day for six weeks before touring, AND THEY PLAYED ALL OF THEIR TWENTY OR SO PARTS FROM MEMORY!!!! Isn’t that unbelievable? But they did it.
“And as far as raising extending the actual duration of the sound, any first-year physics student would laugh that out of court.
Most of my landmark recordings are on vinyl and not cds. The standouts are by Carlos Salzedo, Heidi Lehwalder, Costello, Otis, Wong, and of course, Zabaleta.
