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It’s a matter of height, center of gravity, and leverage. I had a strong man, a fireman, moving my harp once, he was about five-foot five, and he almost lost control of it on a set of three steps, because he had to struggle so to get enough leverage to get it moving up again. The taller you are, the easier it is, I think, regardless of strength.
Or, in some cases:
My Harp Belongs to Daddy
and
Harp of my Harp
Harp and Soul
and the unforgettable
I Left My Harp in San Francisco
(or Sam Clam’s Disco, as the case may be)
I don’t believe cracks around the tuning pins are a problem, the cracks in the knee block or between layers are worrisome. Any old harp you buy, you have to figure in the cost of major repairs and the possible need for them. Tuning pins should be cleanable or replaceable, I would think. But you also want to get the original tuning keys with the harps, if you can.
There is also the experience of not playing actually louder, but making a much bigger gesture as if you are, and having that satisfy the conductor.
I have found that a footlight helps, as it shines on the strings. Walter Pfeil equipped one of his harps with an l.e.d. attached to the brass plate.
I have trouble with solid colors, too, when they are the wrong color. Like rusty orange. I can see the strings, but when they start to vibrate, they disappear. Treacherous.
By singling out this one company, you are omitting the facts that every harp manufacturer I can think of has major problems with their instruments at least from time to time. I am not in the least sympathetic to quality cutting when prices are sky-high, well beyond inflation. One has to wonder what kind of profit margin is being supported. But one also has to wonder why no other company has matched the best in quality?
I believe there has been a cluster of Attl technique students in Los Angeles, from Stanley Chaloupka to Lou Anne Neill. There is also Alfred Holy, I don’t know if he counts as a separate school.
I’m not sure if one can order through Amazon alone or if one has to go to this site first. Haven’t been told the exact details.
You can play all kinds of medieval music, with a simple bass line, a drone, or single notes or fifths on the lower strings. They don’t have so much range and are often diatonic. You can also play jigs, reels, and the like, which come by the yard.
It seems clear to me that your expectations and approach to study are what are causing you frustration. Your teachers have been trying to instill a disciplined approach, and to get you to refine your work. You want to play and have fun, and progress through playing. I started out that way. However, it won’t take you very far. It depends how far you want to go, but you might try being more open-minded, and to ask for very detailed instructions on how the teacher wants you to practice and for what goals. What you learn from classical training will totally support and enhance anything you do with folk music. Much of classical music is based on folk music. Ask your teacher to give you such music and show you the connections. Folk music is often based on patterns. Classical will teach you how to play patterns and ones that suit the harp. I think you should give your first teacher another try, or else the second. The harp is not at all easy, it takes a long time. Try committing to five years of study and practicing for an hour a day. You’ll be surprised at where it can get you. I think you are just expecting too much, too soon, with too little effort.
Expression happens naturally when one has control of one’s fingers and of the music. If you teach what the tools of expression are and how to use them, the student will find their way, if you don’t show them.
Tools of expression include: dynamic control, tempo control, evenness of execution thereby allowing for accents, rhythmic control, sense of style, sense of the composer’s intent, music reading and analysis skills. Self-expression is a myth in music. People who express themselves do not express the music, just themselves. Real expression comes from deep within, from the heart, the soul, the spirit. It is released by knowledge. It is inhibited by dwelling too long or being too proud of technical accomplishment. The more the student can relax when playing, be rid of anxiety or self-consciousness, the more the inner music can reveal itself. It is a long process of stripping away the self and ego, over and over and over again until the bare music is exposed. It is a truth-seeking process.
With young harpists, establish evenness, then dynamics, and an awareness of how to achieve dynamics based on actual sound and not intention. In other words, when you play a string, it immediately begins a diminuendo, so you must always crescendo slightly just to maintain a dynamic, and more so to create a crescendo. To control a diminuendo is therefore rather difficult as what you really have to do is a diminishing amount of crescendo on each successive note. You have to learn to listen to all the overtones, all that is happening in the harp and manage that. It comes with time and listening carefully.
