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I am sorry if that came out harshly. I think my underlying point has been, it is hard to believe you have the time to do a blog while preparing, it may be a distraction from your real efforts. It is excellent to be thoughtful about what you are doing, and I recommend keeping a journal of one’s work, to be sure. There is something about the nature of making public one’s preparation for a competition that seems wrong to me somehow, perhaps just because it is customary that contestants appear as unknowns with unknown preparation when they compete, and that is part of the show and excitement of it all. Making one’s preparation public changes all that, it seems to me.
I believe Jane was working on it in 1980 or so. The actual date is not that significant, I don’t think.
The best thing is not to get them. You can do that by practicing a regular amount, and not overdoing glissandos until you have enough callous. You can play them very softly to mark where they are, until the skin toughens. You need to practice them the same amount each day. The blisters come from sudden overuse, and it is a pain when they come off. You also have to watch for white marks under the skin, which means the layers separated underneath, and as they reach the surface of the skin, they will then come off like a blister, and you will have to redevelop the callous.
That is the problem with competitions. Rewarding technical ability over artistry is and has been destructive to classical music for a long time now. Performing is about artistry, not accomplishment, and if artistic talents don’t thrive in competitions, then we need a different format altogether.
I don’t see why you are doing a blog. I never presumed to have advice for others until I finished studies. Gathering information that is helpful would make sense, but documenting your process seems like attention gathering. I wouldn’t spend time on it. The fact that you play as musically as you do is a great asset, a great compliment to your teachers who instilled that in you. Technical security comes from, in my experience, a teacher who knows how to give it, who gives you tools, a comprehensive understanding and vision of what a fine technique is, how it works, what it does, an understanding of the harpistic medium, and many, many hours of repetition and most importantly, exercises. That’s why it takes five hours of daily practice for several years to get there. And likely more to prepare a big repertoire list. Israel contestants I knew of did more like seven hours a day. I hope you will become a well-known performer when you are ready, because I think you have much of what you need to do that.
Well it sounds to me like you are great friends, or could be, you just need to learn how to listen to or accomodate each other. Express your feelings and see what happens. After all, being opinionated is not a bad thing. You should learn how to handle other people’s opinions without feeling hurt.
There are many things worth commenting on there. The most important aspect of preparation, apart from practicing and memorizing, and developing a real interpretation would be practice performing a sufficient number of times. When that is not possible, there are a few additional ways I have devised to help make one’s performance indestructible:
Playing with many distractions going on
Playing in the dark
Playing with your eyes closed
Playing in odd clothing and shoes
Playing naked
Playing on videotape for scrutiny
Playing for sound recording
Playing pieces backwards
Developing a visual memory of each piece
As to why compete, I don’t know. It really distorts your life. Are the prizes worth it? Is losing worth it? It is good experience for performing and competing. It can also be destructive. My teacher always held it was best to simply perform recitals, preferably where one can get reviewed. Competitions do not seem to support artistry. Having something to say, something worth saying, in a compelling way is necessary to merit an audience’s interest. I think any jury would be relieved to hear greatly musical playing as opposed to yet another technical whirlwind. Get beyond the notes.
It is better to use the second harp to double the first harp when not playing very much than to forego it. It is not really up to the conductor, but the composer and the audience. Of course, the conductor and manager mind the budget, but a second harp adds more dimension to an orchestra than one more violin. But who listens to us?
Certainly not the Gliere. The Debussy Danses or the Ravel Introduction et Allegro certainly could have a spot, or the Faure Impromptu or several other pieces. The most likely would be the Ginastera Concerto. But no, ordinary people are still unacquainted with the harp, sad to say.
I don’t think the harp will have a great effect compared to taking vitamin D. It will be soothing, comforting and give you something interesting to do, all of which are good, but the only things I know of that affect SAD are bright light and vitamin D.
