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My solo choices are pieces like obviously, Priere or Prelude by Hasselmans, Songs Without Words by Mendelssohn, the second and third of the Preludes Intimes by Salzedo, his Introspection or Quietude, or Offrande by Tournier.
PDLT is NOT Guitaric Sounds! Do not mistake the two for each other. Guitaric and Plectric Sounds are played at the BOTTOM of the string, while PDLT is only “near” the bottom, which is usually quite a bit higher. Please watch the video made by Lucile Lawrence to understand his notation clearly and how to play it. Isolated Sounds is a kind of legato unique to the harp in which the note just played is muffled by the preceding finger as the next note is played, which is why in passages of that sound, there are two rows of fingerings above and below the continuing line. If anyone is going to play Salzedo’s pieces properly, you must seek out a full understanding of what the notation means. It is usually clearly explained in the preface to each piece, or in Modern Study of the Harp or the Method for the Harp. The Preludes for Beginners in the Method should be thoroughly studied in preparation for playing his solos. Each tone color has a unique sound. To recap, Guitaric Sounds are not a version of PDLT playing, but an entirely different sound, with the goal of maximum contrast to playing in the middle of the string. Also, you do not drop or slide down the string into those notes, but you turn your hand a bit more sideways so you can reach the bottoms with your fingertips.
I think you need to do a lot more exercises to build up your strength, coordination, facility, and relaxation. It is tempting to use tension to reassure you of what you are doing, but it is a bad habit. The repeated chords of the famous Tango are quite difficult to get, and require fast closing. You may be trying to go faster than what you can do. You cannot play any faster than you can relax after playing a note, that is a rule. So concentrate on playing that first chord and relaxing. Then you are free to re-open your fingers. People think it is a suitable piece for young players, but while it is possible, it is very hard, and doesn’t get easier for many years!
I think it is good to remind us to have cameraderie underlying it all. We do love the same thing, more or less.
I definitely recommend a hardwood floor, preferably somewhat hollow underneath. It will give you a good bass resonance, to complement the treble that nice ten-foot ceiling will give you. I would try to divide the room, so the office part is not visible or audible. A large mirror is very helpful to have on a wall by the harp, especially for teaching. I think the ceiling can’t be too high.
I’m not sure, but balance is very difficult in this piece. You can’t let them play too loud or your lines won’t come out. There’s something about how string players can blend into each other and double their collective volume.
Automne by Marcel Grandjany works beautifully in many situations. You might also use Priere by Alphonse Hasselmans.
It depends how clean the snow is. If it has no salt in it, you can brush it off the feet of the harp.
Not only do you have to warm up your car, you need to gradually cool down the harp or the veneer may crack. You also have to allow a couple of hours if you want the harp to warm up to the room you take it to, and then tune it.There are European stores that have a good stock of harp music, full service, like Broekman and Poppel in the Netherlands, to name one. We should have such stores here. I used to stop into Lyra Music every Friday afternoon on my way home, and browse through their boxes and chat with Don Henry and whoever was there. There is nothing a store that has everything right there to look at. The closest thing to that is a conference where all the dealers show up with their rarest and most unusual stock as they did in Philadelphia.
I mostly order online from the major distributors, Vanderbilt, Harp.com or HarpConnection.com, and sometimes from websites that sell tons of music, where they may have an import or less-popular piece direct from the publisher. One of the beauties of Lyra was that they had the most eclectic selection, no matter how obscure, and they kept it on the shelves until someone called for it. Sometimes Don had to borrow a copy from me to fulfill someone’s order. He also knew how to print his own copies if the publisher allowed it, if it was out of print. He was as fascinating as his store.
I always browse by composer, it’s the logical way, to me, but some sites make that difficult and list only by title, or by first name, not last name. To me, it would be a nightmare to have to sell through my own website, but the few dealers we have don’t often want to stock new music. Sadly, the temptation of photocopying permanently killed the major publishers’ interest in publishing harp music, at least in this country. Now, people seem to have no interest in collecting, and only buy what they immediately need, if I am right.
I always thought repertoir was an asset, and if you had the music on hand, it was much easier to accept an engagement. I have collected as much as possible. It fills eight file drawers and then some. I think we should have a competition to see who can build the biggest collection of music, and who has the rarest music.I can no longer stand Manhasset stands. I invested in new ones, and found them unable to support the weight of a stack of music. The extra-wide is very unstable and prone to falling over. I bought one from Musician’s Friend, I think, that has a removable desk and collapsing legs, and it quickly became my primary stand. It is one of their best sellers, so it should be easy to find. It is strong, and I can get it very close to me. The spread of the legs is adjustable. The desk is a little taller and less wide, so that takes an adjustment. It’s lip is narrow enough that I could fit a plastic shelf attachment on it. Otherwise, my Hamilton stand would still be my main stand, tremendously sturdy.
My worst experience with that was at Carnegie Hall, where you were not allowed to bring your own instrument on stage, the stagehands had to do it. And, after the concert, I found my naked harp standing alone on 56th Street, shivering in the December wind. But, as I found out, you can’t say anything to the stagehands, and neither could the management.
I’m sure the banging of the base of my harp is part of what led to its needing to have the bottom body frame replaced. Also, the trunks had no padding underneath the harp, and the cushions were not enough to prevent the point from hitting the trunk on impact. Professonal movers can be the best and the worst.
