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The other factor is tipping. Will the restaurant do anything to encourage it? Or will they put a music charge on each bill? That adds to your pay.
There are also cultural differences in how people speak that one might not be aware of, so it is generally a good principle to give others the benefit of the doubt, and ask them to clarify their tone or response. For example, if a Scandinavian-cultured person asks you to go somewhere, and you say, “Well,” meaning you want to consider it, they will interpret that as a no. Jewish people argue vividly and interrupt each other or comment as one is talking, and there are set patterns of argument as well. So, best not to jump to conclusions. If someone is even talking to you at all, then they probably like you.
You can make the fourth octave strings secure by also making a second loop over the knot, this works quite well. In fact, it makes me question the use of splines altogether. Why don’t we simply make two or three extra loops so the knot is big enough to hold itself? This should work on all strings. Adding any other object can cause buzzing, but especially, anything that is not string will affect the sound. Some harpists used cotton pieces like cigarette filters, and they totally dulled the string.
It is not simply a matter of stacking them. As I was told by Alice Chalifoux, the only way to do that is to reverse one harp, loading it disc side down, so that the strings part of the harps are next to each other and not the bodies. If you could use a van, then you could column-load them side by side. If your vehicle is long enough, then something else might work.
The principle concerns in placing a harp in a car are these: to protect the harp from impact, bumps, swerves, and stress. This is accomplished by adequately padding the harp, such as with a mattress, or thick foam pad underneath, and laying it flat. It must be flat so that the neck is supported evenly and equally all the way across it. If not, you will find you have trouble tuning the harp after you arrive, I do. If you column load, the harp must be within a frame that holds it still, and equalizes the pressure on the neck, and still suspends it from all bumps, only now you also have to deal with turning. You can get torquing in the neck otherwise. If you braced it against the wall of a van against padding, it would work, but it must be braced evenly and fully. A seat belt alone will not do that. A harp must be coddled.
A colleague of mine was column loading her harp between van seats and showing me how simple it was and how it did no harm to the harp, and I had to point out to her, “Didn’t you just have to have the neck replaced?”
The old-school approach is still the best, I say, flat-loading the harp onto a full-size bed in a station wagon, like a Ford Flex, and ideally, you can use bungee cords to hold it in place in case of sliding. Mrs. Frances Miller had a frame constructed that was like half a trunk, it had padding and hand-holes along the sides. She could pull it out, lean it against the car, set the harp in it, lift it up and slide it in, and secure it to the wheel-wells with bungee cords. I never saw anything better than that. They should be made and sold. One alternative is to have plastic/acrylic sheets in the car, one on top of the other, with a foam pad on top, and slide the top one out, put the harp on it and slide it in. Or a couple of vinyl-covered exercise mats. Only, I don’t think they are adequate suspension by themselves.
It also helps when putting the harp in, as Virginia Flanagan showed me, to hold the harp and stand between it and the car, to sit down on the edge of the car and at the same time lower the harp into your lap, then slide out from under it, and, voila, it is gently loaded onto the car.
It may be safe to column load, but my experience has clearly indicated the effect of torquing on the neck. I believe, that in the long run, this will necessitate replacing the neck. It may be that one would have to do that anyway, but why tempt fate, and why have tuning problems? This is all based on my experience with a Lyon & Healy Style 23 manufactured in 1979.
I have never tried a wheelchair lift, but as they can hold the harp suspended in belts, they might be very good, or perhaps not. The ramp is certainly helpful.
The way people phrase things or talk is a reflection of their state of mind and upbringing, it has nothing to do with you, so don’t react to the way it is said. He has a point, in that the act of moving a harp from one location to another will cause it to de-tune, so you are wasting effort. Better you should tune as soon as you arrive, then re-tune just before playing. The new temperature is where you arrive, not where you depart from.
If it was Ormandy, then it was probably the Philadelphia Orchestra, featuring Marilyn Costello and Margarita Czonka Montanaro.
Your nails should be plenty strong if you have a regular diet, without adding polish. Because they are such a visual nuisance, polished nails are considered a no-no. The polish also thickens the nails enough to cause more buzzing.
I think it is his own, and he is going up and down the same chord in arpeggio fashion. It is actually an eingang, an elaborated entrance.
It is important to keep a journal of your practice. How else do we spend so much time on one thing? Why not have a record of it. Keep track of when you change strings, change tempo. And bring a journal to lessons to show your teacher, and definitely write down everything he or she says.
Do plan to pay for music, even if downloads, unless it is public domain and you don’t mind playing from loose sheets that fall on the floor. If you don’t shop for music, no one can afford to publish it, and we all suffer.
Yes, but my point was to look for pieces with musical substance, not just people pleasers, which many of you are not doing. Andres is very much like Tournier and Damase, but less substantial in many pieces, I believe, from my limited exposure. There is a lot more out there to discover, people, so please buy music and search out new composers.
Carl: did you ever notice how low Miss Lawrence’s elbows could be when playing? Check out her video.
And making negative comments to help define one’s positive comments, I found out, is an ancient method of Jewish argument, and to me, she had a very Jewish mind.
That’s easy, Tony, just send me a Salzedo model or a Style 3, and I’ll play it! And, Carl, my elbows are lower whenever they need to be. It’s all about freedom of movement and dynamically energized sound. Heavy gauge are not offered on the webpages, so I forgot to ask for it. And these are thin. I hate losing the harmonics, but I wanted a little less “ping” in the sound. It is frustrating not having the perfect string. At least my harp is nearly perfect. I should have video available someday soon. Sooner if you want to help, Tony.
