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I don’t think the Subaru is large enough and it does have an edge that can be difficult to get over when the door meets the body of the car.
As I suppose everyone already knows, we LOVE our Ford Flex and it is great for loading, and the Ford Taurus X is approximately the same body size but since they’re not making them anymore, if you can find one and it works for you, you’ll probably get a good price. As
Thanks so much for all the ideas. I’m sure I would be much happier with a fan, but I was afraid the harp would regard one as causing a forbidden draft. I’m going to try all the ideas though. It’s to be in excess of 100 degrees again today.
We are scheduled to attend a wedding in an un-air-conditioned church. Probably the only situation in which I would be happy not to see a harpist playing!
Hi Calista- I don’t know where you are writing from, but in the NY Metropolitan area, car dealers are just thrilled to have you come and try a harp in a few of their cars, and don’t expect you to buy. At least that was our experience.
Doing that, you could try a car and still buy from an auction. You can also check for used cars near you online and find dealers who have a particular car on their lots.
You could return the favor by recommending cooperative dealers to friends who wish to buy new cars.
The Flex we have was actually a demo so we got a good price (although not as good as auction) for a “used” car in very good shape with low mileage. We talk about the Flex all the time. I’m not sure whether I could column load though. The car is quite low.
I’m glad someone has posted on this topic again. Last night when I was trying to practice my strings were whistling loudly.
If it hadn’t been so annoying it would have been funny. I wipe my strings down with a clean cloth every time I play, and I practically sterilize my hands before I play.
Is there anything else I could use on my (gut) strings to keep them clean? I know it’s the humidity that makes them whistle.See if you can find someone who does foam packing. When my harp was shipped, the packing was unbelievable- it was like a cocoon. My harp also had to endure being packed for a long time. I think the foam is blown in around the instrument. See if you can find out from USPS or Fedex.
Anyone looking for a harp in the US owes it to him/herself to keep an eye on the CPO column on the Lyon&Healy site. Some of the bargains there are amazing.
I love the look of Dragonhearts, and I have to say it- I think it’s one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. The artwork is just tops. Enjoy many happy moments with it.
Interesting question. My entire musical background was with single note instruments. I was able to play most of them fairly well, and achieved enough expertise in woodwinds (flute clarinet oboe English horn) to enter a master’s degree program as a woodwind specialist.
I never had much facility with piano, although I took several years’ instruction on piano to get my bachelor’s degree in voice.
When I began harp I was amazed at how easy it is to do things the wrong way. I had trouble with intervals changing places and fingers. But there was always enough of what I was doing that sounded wonderful that I didn’t want to give up.
I’ve been playing a pedal harp for about 3 months, and I have noticed that chromatics are subtly different from other instruments in that you stay in place and alter the pedal, as opposed to moving to a different place altogether.
That requires some additional thought. Overall, I would say that things that seem as though they should be easy on harp are not easy, and things that might seem hard at the beginning do get somewhat easier as you continue to work on them.
Of all the instruments I’ve ever played, I think harp is the hardest to attempt without actual lessons.
I was so afraid when I saw those marks on the board, but I convinced myself that no one could be that dopey. It’s still SO beautiful. I hope someone rescues it.
Also be sure to realize that many people who can learn to sing just fine don’t always know if they can sing on pitch or not.
Singing is a rather subjective process and often people are self conscious about what they perceive to be the quality of their voices. Matching pitch and singing pitch accurately is a different process than making pleasant sounds.
If you know of a really fine high school vocal music program, ask that teacher to suggest a voice teacher to give you an exploratory lesson or two. My teacher has often said that Pierre Jamet, a very well-known harp instructor, would tell her to sing a part while learning to play it.
Don’t give up your search for a teacher, even if you can only take lessons on a semi regular basis. Nothing beats having a teacher grab your hand and push it into shape. (gently of course)! 🙂
I’m sorry Karen, but your statement about seeing Truitts is just not accurate in respect to the visual issues I described.
With a focus/muscle balance problem, going from the strings to the music to the levers is not easier with additional individual string enhancements, and I’ve tried them all. Many older adults have vision issues that become more complicated with aging, and even smaller differences in visual-motor response are made greater as vision weakens.
The Truitt lever is smaller than the Camac, and no matter what I put on it, the split second connection between finger and lever is harder.
I have absolutely no bias against or for one or the other, but for older beginners, such as myself, vision caps other issues including string wear. If I can’t see the lever fast enough it doesn’t, and didn’t matter to me what color it was.
I don’t think there’s any more fair way to judge what works for each individual than to play all three types of levers. I also can’t think anyone would find some bias in this suggestion. I do think that for someone who has not played a certain lever, any of them, to think that they could rectify a vision based issue in an easy obvious way, may open the door to disappointment.
My experience with the L&H CPO program has been very good.
As for size, my teacher is a very small woman and she handles a Salvi (I think it’s a Diana, but definitely one of Salvi’s larger harps) with no problems. When I started playing her harp I felt it was overwhelming, but after about six months of lessons once a week on it, it feels perfectly comfortable and natural. I do have to remind myself though, to really reach for the “A” pedal, since the pedals on my smaller harp are closer to my feet.
