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A padded cover is not nearly enough protection for a harp. Would you put a baby in a car without a car seat? It needs to be fully cushioned, with a mattress or thick foam pad, or the like.
The last time I tried Chicago harps, they sounded fine, and they look very nice, and are perfectly appropriate to use. However they are made, they are a better option than the others mentioned, in my opinion, expert or not.
If you feel you cannot place all the notes on a chord with large intervals, you may place 4 and 3, and after you play 4, shift and place 2 and 1 as you play 3. You could place one finger at a time, but it will slow you down a bit.
Tarnish-resistant strings do not sound fine. Do you wear silver necklaces or nickel? Nickel is much lower-grade and duller, just as you can see by looking at a nickel, and the sound difference is exactly the same. They are duller to begin with, and get more dull with age. Why sacrifice quality? Quality is far more important than mere convenience if you are at all serious about music. I was all excited about them when they first came out, and it did not take long to get disenchanted. So don’t tell me they are “fine.” They are, at best, adequate. If you can’t hear the difference, that’s a problem. But the coloring of the strings is a real problem, as one easily becomes dependent upon it. Without it, you can do just fine, but with it, you end up thinking you can’t do without it.
You should definitely go for a pedal harp as long as you can swing it. You’ll want to get into your old repertoire at some point, and enjoy discovering all the new, and lessons are definitely in order. Lever harps are very limiting.
I discovered that a tiny bit of Ivory bar soap really cut through that grime, on a slightly damp cloth, rub gently.
If you’re buying a Lyon & Healy harp, a natural finish generally means the best-looking, best-matched wood, as there is no coloring. They are very white at first, but age into a beautiful blond color. I went with a walnut harp at first, but it faded into a lovely more-mahogany color. A natural finish harp looks best on stage. Ebony affects the sound, and I suspect any other coloring will, as well.
Older 100s are only 46 strings, and have a different sound from the recent 100s. The string spacing is also different at the top. I don’t presume $10,000 is unfair for a pedal harp in good order. But I always prefer a Lyon & Healy harp to any other, especially Camacs, which are not all wood (and metal).
No, the tarnish-resistant strings sound lousy, except for the bronze ones. You should not use any product on the strings. Might it just be discoloration? They should not rust at all. Silver strings will eventually tarnish, and you can rub them with a damp cloth or a nylon scrubber, gently. Copper strings will get greenish. If the tone gets dull, then it is time to replace them. Tarnish-resistant strings also have to be replaced every two years or less, so they really are no help. Where did you get this harp? It must have been sitting around a long time.
I finished college and realized I did not really know how to play yet, so I went to study with Lucile Lawrence. After ten years of playing, I remember being really impressed with myself and how advanced I was. Ten years later, I thought the same thing, and laughed at myself ten years earlier. I think when I have been playing 50 years, I’ll have finally figured it all out.
The best and most concise, constructive method book I have seen is the Method for the Harp by Lucile Lawrence and Carlos Salzedo. It is preceded by Pathfinder Studies for the Harp and the ABC of Harp Playing. The Method has instructive photos for position, and gives basic exercises to build strength and coordination, and then a series of pieces to develop musicianship, culminating in the famous Chanson dans la Nuit. Before this method was published, the Universal Method of Bochsa was most commonly used, and is still useful in many ways, having 30 fairly basic one-page etudes. But if you don’t have time for etudes, there is much repertoire that works perfectly well as an etude. Several pieces in Lawrence’s Solos for the Harp Player serve that purpose quite well. The two pieces by Rameau, the Arabesque by Debussy, the Giga by Corelli, the Pavane, and the first Prelude by Srebotnjak at the end. Nadermans Seven Progressive Sonatas are both etudes and solos.
The piano version is not the original harp part. There is an earlier version, Legende for harp and orchestra, but the part seems the same.
I hope it will be reprinted soon. It is vital for any student or orchestral harpist. Actually, any harpist, as it has very important fingering formulas in it.
