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Follow the piano sounds to me like they wanted you to play after the piano stops, which would mean waiting for a solo, no?
To me, the best programs provide at least four, and up to eight weeks of continuous, intensive study. It takes at least six weeks to learn a new piece. There are only a small number of such programs, but there might be a few teachers who have more than one program that would add up to six weeks.
It is true that focusing solely on technique does not help musicianship, but believe me, any serious musician works very hard on their playing. Technique is the tool of expression.
A sense of style is essential to good musicianship, as is a good understanding of ornaments. One’s classical music should sound classical and not romantic, French should sound French, Russian should sound Russian, etcetera. It is much more than good or great technique. It is also having something deep to express through music, or rather, to express what is in the music deeply, because it is not self-expression.
A good musician has a sensitive ear. A good musician plays lyrically, with color and contrasts. A good musician uses technique to musical effect.
Playing musically is more than making it “pretty.” Its more than playing nicely. It takes courage, and thought, and delving deep.
And, so, you want to make your accompaniments supportive in role, complementary, not competing for attention. It’s just like the difference in listening to a singer accompanied by a solo pianist or an accompanist. The approach and sensitivity are different.
One exercise is to practice moving your eyeballs, but not your head. What is most distracting is the head movement. If your eyelids are half-closed, it would also be less noticable. Another technique would be to arrange your accompaniments so that once you are placed on the strings, you never leave them, so everything is connected and placeable.
One has to know the harp extremely well to really judge pieces for their suitability. It takes years to fully understand not only the sound of the harp and what it can do well, but to understand other instruments and what is lost in transcription. There are many pieces where the notes are physically possible, but not esthetically. In student years, it is easy to be led down a rosy path of misdirection, and it is for that reason it is most important to study thoroughly the masterpieces and standard literature that suit the harp well. If I had not had strong guidance in this, I would have terrible taste in transcriptions! Sometimes a piece may be perfectly suited to the harp, such as Chopin’s Minute Waltz, but what audience wants to hear it on the harp when they are used to fantastic pianists playing it? Plus, the piano is so much smoother. It is also far more work to play such pieces on the harp than on the piano, so we should choose wisely, as our time is more limited than we think.
There are pieces that are very instructive, to compare the transcription to the original. Compare the Salzedo transcription of the Pescetti Sonata to the original and you will be surprised. A thorough study of his transcriptions is essential to developing a wise approach to transcription.
Another example of superb work is Dewey Owens’s first edition of the Bach Chaconne.
Marjan Mozetich’s Song of the Nymphs has been making the rounds for a while. I was coaching a student in it today, and enjoying it thoroughly. Another great Canadian piece is by Milton Barnes, Dance of the Poplars. I have a large number of solos I hope to make public fairly soon.
Some great Stravinsky parts to play: Symphony in Three Movements, Orpheus, Ebony Concerto, Firebird Suite, Petrouchka 1947. The first two would be the most exposed.
One thing I noticed about self-accompanying: if you are accustomed to playing the harp as a soloist, you have to adjust to the role of accompanist, which is quite different, otherwise your voice and harp will be dueling for attention. I think sitting and looking at the strings affects vocal projection, so you should be able to play your accompaniments without looking. That will be all the more impressive, and allow you to keep your focus on the audience while singing.
Check the terms, their tech support is very limited unless you pay a lot. Yours will run out at some point, I imagine. Daniel stopped responding to my questions in the yahoo sibelius-users group, which is otherwise a pretty good place to get advice. I haven’t upgraded. How many improvements are there that affect harp music?
