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The Arnold has a very nice harp part that is not too easy. Rimsky-Korsakov and other Russian classic composers have many pieces worth learning, and some are not difficult.
Students minds are much more in an acquiring state of mind, learning all the time. That is much harder for an adult to get back into.
When I performed the Mozart, I wanted it no faster than 126, so I asked the conductor to look at his watch before starting, and use the second hand to establish 60, ergo 120 for a beat. It worked perfectly.
I think it is part of conducting. When I conduct something, it is very hard to feel the tempo in a normal way, and with adrenaline kicking in, one just wants to go fast, and feel it move.
It can be expensive. It means taking the harp apart to replace it. If it is bolted or screwed and glued instead, that is perhaps less expensive, but unsightly.
I tried it once again, and it does not work for me. Stretching up to five cents, that is okay, sometimes inevitable. Aside from all the acoustic properties of the harp, you also have to take into account the regulation and how stretching would affect the intonation.
In my experience, muscle memory is the one most reliable form of memory. If you have enough repetitions under your belt, it will carry you through all sorts of distractions. Mental memorization, ie. analysis, is part of the learning process, but not very reliable for me. Visual memory is more reliable. When I have a piece well learned, I can see an image of the page. I have not mastered literally reading the music from visual memory, but that would be a good trick. If you can start anywhere in the piece, working backwards as well as forwards, if you can say every pedal change, and say the notes as you play, I think that is enough. I don’t know if I’ve ever gone farther than that, technically speaking. Perhaps others can. But, really, the good old essence of it is getting it by heart, literally. If you can put your heart into every note, you’ve got it. Also, you have to practice performing it, and memorize the performing experience as well, and what can go wrong.
It is very important as you practice to learn your mistakes as well. Every time you make a mistake, you must stop and explore it, and figure out ways to recover from it. I am convinced that is why we make them. As for distractions, they need to be acknowledged, and then absorbed into the music.
The most lingering smells on harps I’ve noticed are from perfumes and hair treatments. Oh, you gave me a chuckle, that was the funniest thread, I think, outrageous. (I know who John Doe is, by the way. And Jane.)
I found a better way to clean the strings, which is to wash one’s hands with a bit of mild dish detergent or soap, shake off the drops, then slide your hands and fingers up and down the strings and between them, then wipe it dry with a clean cloth. That way, you remove the oil without much moisture, and any soap film left behind may prevent it from building up. It doesn’t seem to harm coated gut or nylon strings.
Get that furniture out of that room, or move your harp, pronto. And get professional help, or a new house!
I have seen some written material on this, but don’t remember where. You might be able to look up the Wurlitzer patents, or some of Lyon & Healy’s for guidance. I think they are thicker in the center for strength, but sometimes have ribs for reinforcing the sounding board.
The best edition, in my view, is the one by Lucile Lawrence. The edition published by the Bohemian publisher does not distinguish between editorial additions and what is in the original. I haven’t seen the Ut Orpheus edition to compare. The ornament you first encounter in the first movement is a turn, which should sound graceful, but not overly slow, as in all notes of equal value. There are also appoggiaturas which will sound like two eighth-notes, only connected very gracefully and expressively.
