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HI Barbara,
I haven’t been to the summer school but I have been to one of her harp weekends and really enjoyed it.
I’m pretty sure Paddy Cafferky is still around so the best thing would be to ask him, I would think.
Something like this one?
http://www.ardival.com/index.asp?pageid=200770Ardival specialize in medieval harps and although I haven’t played this one their bray harps and wire strung harps are very good.
It’s an interesting question. To me it sounds like a very classical question, by which I mean along the classical music tradition.
I did not study in a conservatory or music school and I didn’t start harp until I was 19 or 20 years old (I’m still under 30 now) so am probably not the type of younger harpist your question was aimed at. I was never exposed to any of the people mentioned in posts above and I never saw a pedal harp until I was in my 20s although I had seen and heard Irish harps. I never heard Harpo Marx. Now I still haven’t heard any recordings of any of the people mentioned in posts above.
I rarely listen to classical music, harp or otherwise.Where I get my standards from is a whole range of places. From my teacher and from my exposure to other teachers, students and performers at festivals (and other places), from harpists who play the kind of music that I would like to play and also from non-harpists. That last one may sound strange but I don’t just want to emulate other harpists I want to make my own sound and to affect other people. Music is not defined by being self expression but music is a form of expression. Sometimes it affects the listeners more than the performer but to me I can take inspiration – and even standards – from other musicians who can touch people in a way that technically perfect performers don’t always.
So I think I evaluate based on musicality rather than musical skill because that’s what I would prioritize.I measure myself against what I would like to be. I aim for flexibility in playing – I aim to sight read and learn new music quickly, I aim to affect people emotionally, I aim to play a variety of different genres, I aim to be able to improvise, I aim to be able to improvise accompaniments from chords on the fly, I aim to be better at trad music – and I measure standards for these things against people who can do some of them.
In particular, I think I get my standards from harpists I have seen perform or met in person rather than ones I have just heard about or seen recordings of, because they are the ones I really come into contact with. Examples that spring to mind are Ray Pool and Park Stickney.
I go to as many concerts and recitals as I can that I’m aware of and all of them affect me.Having said that, I do seek out recordings of all sorts of harpists – I don’t specifically seek out older or contemporary harpists in particular but most of those that I find have been contemporary. It is very difficult to find anything (books, recordings etc) on any harpists here but especially so for older harpists and for classical harpists as opposed to traditional. I don’t know what you mean by asking does it matter how things were played 50 years ago or more? What matters to me is what I play and what I get to hear played, regardless of how old that is. I don’t think I’ve heard (m)any recordings from 50+ years ago. Where would I find them? (haven’t looked but there probably are a few on YouTube, actually. I wouldn’t know what to look for though)
Not sure if this really answers your question(s) but your post was rather vague anyway 🙂
Just a thought that you say things are very different now from your youth and that makes me wonder where you’re talking about? The harp world is NOT homogeneous…
Well I wasn’t flying with SAS and I don’t have a harpsicle but I do have a little harp by another maker that’s almost identical and flew with three separates airlines without problems (one trip return – Aer Lingus, Singapore Airlines and Tiger airlines). I actually didn’t check the carry on requirements but I would think you’d be ok as long as it’s not Ryanair…. I also padded the case out with some clothes to give a bit of padding and put it in the overhead bins.
Sadly there will always be soulless people who don’t like any sound they can’t control… and they should live in houses not apartments!
Do you know the Nordic harp meeting?
Somebody involved in that might be able to help you out.
Where are you?
In the UK:
http://www.affairsoftheharp.com have a few available and Pilgrim harps usually have some as well: http://www.pilgrimharps.co.uk.
You could also try Salvi or Camac directly – they might have some second hand harps available.
Aside from that there’s always the odd one that pops up on ebay or gumtree…Thanks everyone for your input.
I guess it does seem like it depends on your background and perspectiveI’ve always thought of the violin as a difficult instrument but I can’t help but feel that a single line instrument is always going to be easier…
Thank you for your post – I found it oddly reassuring to know that no matter how good I am there will always be music that takes a year (or more) to learn and professionals can’t learn everything quickly either.
And I know exactly what you mean about letting a piece “ferment” between learning and polishing because I have experienced this myself.Hi Sarah,
I just want to echo Alice’s post – I also bought a Blevins Avee last year after considering the Harpsicle Grand for portability.
