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But what happens if they don’t die, if they recover, or worse yet, don’t know they are dying? I think I would not reveal it in my job title.
What is a vlog?
It seems to me your preparation should be private. I don’t think you need to broadcast yourself, especially if it is in a way that cannot be controlled, or removed from the internet. I would call it overexposure. And possibly quite embarassing. A written journal might be quite interesting to some people. I just don’t like the idea of living publicly, especially for the young adults.I haven’t bought Burgundy strings for two years or so, so I don’t know how they are currently. At that time, I was finding them to be more inferior than simply having cosmetic problems, as advertised. Perhaps at that time all the strings were less true in pitch, I don’t know. I had several where the varnish shattered when I bent the string to tie the knot. That ruined the sound pretty well. It didn’t fall off, but lost its clarity and integrity. Hopefully, since Emily opened up the discussion, Bow is going to work on providing what we need, which I hope will include improved Burgundy strings.
I have published some articles on these subjects, mostly in String Notes, the Minnesota ASTA publication.
One of the key problems (aside from keys) in playing Mozart’s music on the harp is the extreme length of his phrases, sections and movements, not to mention the chromaticism. Very few advanced pieces are playable, and are not really suitable. You find more possibilities in Haydn, Benda and other composers. We don’t need to play Mozart, anyway. We have a lot of Dussek, and other classical composers. People who love Mozart want to hear it on piano, not harp.
Schubert’s music lays too low on the harp, frequently, and is too thickly written. He uses harp patterns in some pieces, particularly song accompaniments. Again, his fantasies and such are too long-winded for the harp.
Harp music is generally shorter, most solos being 10 minutes or less. Most concert pieces are 6-8 minutes in length. Fatigue is a factor.
My father commented on how harp music needs to move slower because it takes longer for the notes to register in the ear, there is not the clarity other instruments have. That is perhaps part of why we are pattern dependent in our music.
There were few professional harpists in the classical era, though many accomplished amateurs, in Paris, anyway. In the time of Berlioz, this was still a major problem.
Again, our perception of limitations has a lot to with the limitations of what has been available. J.C. Bach wrote quite a bit for harp, as did Dussek, and of course, Spohr.
Salzedo’s transcriptions of classical music are an excellent guide to how to adapt them, and what is as instructive is what he did not transcribe.
If you are a sensitive listener, then you will notice when the articulations that are necessary to a piece are not possible on the harp. A good example of this is the opening of Bach’s Italian Concerto. The only way we can separate those notes is by muffling them. And in the second movement, there are two places of chromatic conflict between the bass and melody. Therefore, I would only attempt it as a two-harp piece.The most important thing is to put in all pedals or none, but never do only some of them!
The accidental of a pedal change should be under the notehead that is changing or slightly before.
If you write a pedal change earlier than that, then you need to be sure there won’t be a noise if it is changed early.I don’t think a harp was that small in sound. Smaller harps can be very live and full. I think they were quite comparable to harpsichords, though less penetrating. A clavichord is much softer than a harp, I think.
I think the harp was slighted because of its chromatic limitations, and probably practical concerns as well. What is odd is that more composers of that time didn’t write about it, even the fact that it didn’t interest them more.
The harpists of that time were not commissioning much music, and the harp masters were busy writing themselves, not seeking others to do so, so the die was cast then.
The other likelihood is that there is much more music of that period than what we currently know about, and that it will come to light someday. There have not been enough harp musicologists. So far, several things have come to light with the internet, and we know of many works that were lost or remain hidden in private collections.
All I can say is that my way is the fastest and best way that I can teach, because of the results I have gotten, but that is because it is me I am talking about. But, seriously, I have gotten very fast results.
You have a very organized approach to practice which is good. If I hadn’t prepared well for my lesson or mastered something I needed to, we certainly did spend the whole lesson repeating it with the metronome until I got it. I dreaded those lessons, but they were the most important ones. I learned how to practice productively and concentrate that way.
This kind of teachings is available from the beginning if you choose that kind of teacher. It is up to the student to show initiative to do more than just what is assigned. I don’t think it is ever about just learning the notes. You have to learn how your body works, but musicality, if you have it, should happen right along with the notes. You cannot separate technique and music. Students must attend every harp concert and event.
It is probably for that reason that Lucile Lawrence only recommended dollys that consisted of wheels alone, so you had your hands on the harp itself at all times. I don’t know if there are any like that currently, but they are much lighter.
Never mind, I found it:
Prokofiev’s Ode to the End of the War:
Orchestration: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, english horn, 2 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 saxophones, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 3 tubas, timpani, percussion (tam-tam, tubular bells, snare drum, bass drum, triangle, cymbals, xylophone), 8 harps, 4 pianos, and 8 double basses.
If there is one part for multiple harps, then it is meant to be a choir of harps, all on the same part.
I recall a Soviet work, perhaps a cantata in memory of Stalin that has six harps in it, but I haven’t found a listing yet. Perhaps Clint knows what I am thinking of.
It is normal to learn the notes of a piece and then put it aside to let it rest a while, but one must come back to it, to fully memorize it, and to refine it and deepen it. Performing music is no different from acting. Each piece is a role we play with its own unique demands of interpretation. The deeper you go into it, the more rewarding it is for you and for the audience.
I was never impressed by the results of the “learn the notes fast” school of teaching. The performances were shallow and uninformed.
Learning a piece also requires some research. You have to learn about the composer, the context of the composer’s life and milieu, and the musical style. If there are ornaments, you must research exactly how they are meant to be played, and how they should be played on the harp, because they cannot always be done exactly as they would be on a harpsichord. Dynamics require a different approach when playing harpsichord music. So does rhythm.
If someone came up to you after hearing you play a piece, you should be able to answer any intelligent question about it.
And that is why I think competitions should really allow a full two years at the very least to prepare repertoire, especially the pieces that have been commissioned, and preferably three years or more. If Israel would announce repertoire two competitions at a time, one would better be able to prepare and better able to choose which year to enter.
The fact that the harp sounds beautiful almost no matter what you do is our reward, but it is not an excuse to not work at it.
