Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I doubt she would know I’m even referencing her, whoever she is.
I didn’t say anything was wrong…it’s something I notice, but I guess no one else does, so she’s perfectly safe….and she got rave reviews, if you go on YouTube and find it there.Gretchen, that is not me playing. A bride sent me that because she wanted it for her exit (Catholic wedding ceremony). I have no interest in playing the SW, and I felt it was totally inappropriate for a Catholic mass.
I was curious if anyone had any comments on the playing. I noticed something, but I guess no one else has.
Ooooh. I had a wire break during a Xmas service once. It sounded like a gun going off. I just kept playing and avoided that string…and I pretended I didn’t hear a thing.
Andelin, when I started taking lessons, I would have been happy to have a teacher who wanted to teach. (My teacher was a man.) As for qualifications, if he could play, he could show me how. Fine with me. (If he could skate, he could show me how, etc.)
I would probably be doing the same playing I’m doing now, no matter who taught me … it just depends on where life leads us. I wouldn’t belong on a recital stage no matter what, but I’ve played orchestra, band, and opera, and I’ve played weddings and events forever.
I do not play the technique I was taught. Just because you are taught by a certain type of person in a certain way doesn’t mean you are locked into that for life. There is a point where you become your own harp self.
I don’t think anyone will be damaged by your inexperienced teaching, Andelin. Go for it.
I’m sorry. I had no idea. I just abbreviate things, and that seemed the natural abbreviation. Maybe S-S?
I have pedal harp strings, but for nylons and guts, I put each octave in a separate ziploc, and the whole bunch in a large ziploc. I put the wires together in their large ziploc.
I found that rubber bands dissolve, and the plastic bags are much better and protective.I’m writing to move this to the top so maybe some of the harp techs will see it.
My Aoyama Etude has squeaks, but she’s pretty old. I greased everything down there…pedal springs clear to the fulcrum, etc….and I still get them. I did NOT take the springs off, as shown in videos….too scary. They stretch when you move them to sharp, so I figured that was good enough.
So I’m wondering what kind of harp you have.I may be on the wrong track again, but I’m wondering why your teachers let you work on music that is too difficult. Easier pieces would increase your skills better, and you could gradually move into harder things. When I was out of college, I had no harp for four years. By the time I saved up (the down payment) to buy one, I couldn’t play at all. I actually started over with Betty Paret’s First Harp Book and worked my way up again …teacherless…and enjoyed every minute.
And it sounds as tho they didn’t give you practice techniques…such as making exercises out of the hard sections by playing long, short, long…and then short, long, short. Someone on the forum called it something else, (I don’t remember what) but that’s what my teacher called it.
You can practice hands separate, then hands together.
I like to use the metronome….not just steadily increasing speed as I was taught, but going back and forth…slow, faster, slow faster, and gradually moving up both the slow level and the fast level to go increasingly faster. Also, I like to just race thru it faster than I can play it…because I have to see it faster, and when I go back to tempo, it seems easier.
I’m sure others on the forum know lots of practice techniques. I remember when I was a student, one day it occurred to me…he’s teaching me how to practice!
I think it is wrong to view a lesson as a performance.I also wonder if you shared your frustrations with those teachers. It sounds like they didn’t know how different your own harp was from theirs and what a challenge it was to try to play theirs. I certainly would have told them! …except about the strings. I’m the Queen of Old Strings…they cost money, so they have to do their job as long as possible.
Sorry I rattled on so long here. I hope you can find your way and enjoy your harp.Thank you, Balfour, but if I’m presentable at all, it is due to my plastic surgeon. That is mentioned in V1 of my book, I believe.
Plastic surgeons are magnificent doctors. These are the guys who sew fingers and hands back on, rebuild faces, etc. I rank them right up there with plumbers and car mechanics.
Back to the performing topic, (altho looking presentable is certainly very important for performing) I’m still wondering if anyone is getting SS weddings. Seems like our business should improve with more people getting married.
