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Tacye thanks for posting- I was just about to mention that too. The kodaly rhythm work is wonderful.
I had kids as little as first grade reading rhythm patterns accurately with no help, and older kids could read almost anything after a year of instruction.
I often wonder why Kodaly techniques aren’t more popular in the US.
I think part of the problem may be that there is so much emphasis here on entertaining moms and dads as opposed to actual music instruction.
I’m taking a college course. The first time I took the course (45 years ago) the teacher was a very nice man with a wonderful bass voice who was a terrible teacher, and I learned nothing except how many symphonies Mozart wrote.
This is the system in which the phrase is identified as ( a ), two phrases are a period, identified as ( A ), antecedent and consequent phrases and so on.
My specific question is whether a phrase that is repeated exactly can be referred to as the small letter designation alone, or whether it should be called smaller letter prime ( a’ ).
I doubt that the teacher (excellent) who is teaching this is as OCD about it as I am, but I have a 4.0 average and I do not wish to louse it up.
Someone posted on the Yahoo that the duet is called “Harp Attack”. Does anyone know what piece they were playing?
Are you working with a PT or hand specialist? Since you seem to have some questions in your mind about what would or could actually benefit your situation, it might be a really good idea to have a consult.
I went into playing thinking I’d need a low tension harp but after playing for four years I’ve learned that that’s not necessarily true.
It would be a shame to make an investment and then find out that you’d have been better with something else.
Good luck with your search.
Of all of the instruments on which one can begin, I think harp is actually in the category of the harder ones.
Yes it is possible to make beautiful sounds quickly, but if one aspires to play a certain style of music, and play well, that result can be elusive.
Over my five years of lessons I have often become frustrated but in the last 6 months or so, I’ve been feeling much more positive about my goals. Some musicians can’t deal with that kind of frustration.
Also, when some young people come to the harp they’ve played piano for a period of time and are shocked to learn that they need to go back to the beginning to develop good technique for the harp, then wish to quit and go back to piano.
Beginning harpists need ongoing encouragement. If they receive it, at least for me, it’s hard to rip the harp out of my gnarled little fingers.
Notice that this is a very old post. When I was trying to rent, or even rent-to-own last year, I had NO luck.
Things have a way of working out though, because I now own 2 pedal harps, and that was just a matter of luck.
IF anyone actually KNOWS of a business that rents, or has rented recently (pedal harp only, some do rent lever harps) it would be helpful to others for them to post.
Even if you LOVE a pedal harp, unless you’ve actually housed one it’s hard to imagine the size, and they are really big!
Does she read music? If so, there are lots of very simple things that will be stimulating for her to figure out, like the melody line of many of the Sylvia Wood
books. If she doesn’t read, ask her what she’d like to play, and see if she can play follow the leader by ear while you play for her.
Ask her what she’d like to do, and what she’d like to set as musical goals for herself. Does she want to play for friends, or is she playing mostly to listen to herself? Hopefully she’ll want to play for others in her facility, and the feedback from others is wonderful!
If her hand position may cause her physical pain or damage, show her how to play more comfortably. If not, ask if she’d like you to show her a way to sound better, then alter her position accordingly.
I’m guessing that she loves the sound of the harp, and having a teacher/mentor is a wonderful bonus. Don’t let yourself get too frustrated by what you have to do until you have a clearer idea of what she’s thinking about her playing.
Although I’m not 92, I am an old beginner, and those are the kinds of things my teacher did when I began, and i’ve loved every minute. I’m sure both you and she will be enriched by what you do together.
Hi Nikki- What kind of harp did you play in college? There are lots of opportunities for playing that are relatively reasonable, unless your heart is set on one specific sort of harp.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear a Wurlitzer or Lyon and Healy that didn’t make it to the selling floor because it wasn’t up to snuff?
My teacher, who is tiny, plays a HUGE Salvi, and when she’s playing, she is clearly the master of that great big harp, with magnificent tone to match.
Your teacher is definitely the right person to decide what you should be doing concerning this decision.
If you’re a very novice player take an experienced harpist or your teacher with you. I bought my Wurlitzer from Howard Bryan, who told me all kinds of interesting things about it, and when my teacher played it for the first time she told me several more interesting things.
Harps are quite unlike many other instruments in that they can sound pretty good and be a mess.
ALSO they are so darned pretty to look at that they can sway you too far away from reality.
