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Since you mention the pedal harp in particular, I would recommend the Prelude, as it has much the same tonal qualities as a smaller pedal harp. What is being called brighter is the presence of more overtones and reverberation. It is close in size as well to a pedal harp, so it makes for an easier transition, as it was designed to do (as far as I know).
As they said about the elephant, one in the back seat, and one in the trunk, and the lever harp in the glove compartment.
I think it would be useful to have an understanding of the way hospitals are run as a business. Are the clinics and practices owned by the hospital or separate organizations that contract with them? If you could create it as a service and contract with them to provide the service with outside funding, that might be a way in, but you would still have to raise the funding.
For one man’s point of view, avoid strapless and spaghetti strap gowns. Believe me, the men are out there wondering what keeps it up, etc.
Where does one find a Nepalese jacket? I quite like the Indian clothes on display at the nearby import store, but sizes are an issue and tailoring is impossible.
Well, I grew up in a house with living-room piano lessons, and it is not easy to deal with. Marriage is not something to just throw away. Surely he knew of your working beforehand? I don’t know how old either of you are, but it might be a question of becoming more mature as well as more flexible. Teaching in the living room of a busy house is not realistic.
Another possible angle is that he is jealous, of course, but it could also be that he is not involved, and maybe there is a way you can involve his skills so he has some personal investment in it. Two-career homes can involve stress on the structure of the relationship, which way the gravity travels. All that needs to be addressed, I think, not abandoned.
I think the simple solution is to build a harp studio onto the house or to rent a separate space. It sounds like there is enough money coming to do that. It is very difficult to lead a normal life while someone is giving lessons in the living room, and it may be that he can’t relax. He sounds like someone with a lot of stress or self-focus needed to do what he does. Perhaps you are being insensitive to his needs, and so he is returning the favor. I don’t assume this is a no-win situation at all. You need to talk about this on a deeper level with each other and work out a mutual solution. You could restrict your teaching to daytime hours when he is at work, or use another location. Perhaps he resents not having your attention and company in his time off. His focus on the amount of money involved could be a decoy to what he really feels. If he is that shallow, then perhaps you can open his eyes. Perhaps he is not ready for that. Marriage is about compromise and working together, not a battle to win, am I right?
Carlos Salzedo wrote an article a long time ago on the Art of Working, it has been reprinted in the American Harp Journal, it might be of use to you. The basic blocks of practicing are: working in small units like one measure and getting everything right, then piecing them together; then working on the flow and tempo, mood and expression of the whole piece. You need to choose your masters program carefully, and it would help a lot to spend a summer in intensive study at a program like Interlochen where you will not only be sure to learn how to practice, not only from your teacher, but by being surrounded by others who are practicing. I have been there, and you can do it, but you have to find what you need.
I have played one. It was very tall, heavy, and the balance point was hard to work with, it was quite a lot of weight on my shoulder. The column design is different. I know of one you could probably buy inexpensively, because it needs repair.
You may be feeling the pressure of personal needs vs. the needs of talent. Finding a balance of the two is very difficult. You may need to look for another marketable skill that you can use to support yourself while you develop as a harpist, such as nursing, though preferably something that would not take so long to learn. You may also have the alternative of graduate school, getting scholarships to continue, going on to a doctoral program. Loving the harp is one thing, being a highly skilled professional is another. Getting into a profession where you can buy a harp and spend time with it is an option. Another possibility is that you have not been taught enough practice skills. I think the one factor that helped me the most in becoming the harpist that I am is that it turned out that the work of it, the daily grind of practicing was totally suited to me, that it never ceased to be interesting, that the process is as great as the result. If you just like playing and enjoying the music, that is not professionalism of that kind. Then it should be your passion, your avocation.
Sometimes, if not often, those fees come from a budget created by the residents or levied upon them. Whether the entire budget goes to performers is another question for a resident to investigate. I once offered to do a free program for practice’s sake, and the resident in charge refused me, and could not understand why I would offer to do it for free, even though I live next door, literally!
