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Another way to stretch the new strings faster is to push on the string and then wind. I saw my teacher do that once and asked what he was doing. That stretches it faster than just winding. Teachers should always volunteer info like that, but I guess they just don’t think about it as part of teaching the instrument.
I’m a memorizer, too, and I memorize the hard stuff…but when using music like in an orchestral setting, I put as much as possible on the right side of the stand…in other words, copy whatever, and tape a blank paper to cover the music on the left side of the stand. (I use my own parts), so the hard stuff is on the right side. Sometimes there aren’t rest measures, so that’s where I sometimes can cut out a section of the page to put it with stuff on the right and move some of what’s on the right onto the next section…if you follow what I’m saying. It also helps me to enlarge to make it easier to see.
I use colored markers to indicate places on the page so I don’t look at it and have to try to find the spot… I know that Bb chord has blue marker by it, etc.
I sometimes take the marker and draw around the phrase if it’s like another one so I don’t go to the wrong one.
Every harpist is different, so I know probably others don’t have to do these things, but especially since I don’t read off sheet music for my other playing, I have to survive. I do whatever it takes to make myself comfortable. As for not looking at my hands….forget that. I have to see the patterns on the strings.If it was re-strung, it will go flat for a long time. You didn’t mention if the bass wires also went flat. Chances are, it’s the others. I hate new strings, and I go crank them up many times a day for a long time till they settle.
Personally, I don’t believe a harp can be regulated with new strings. Because the strings are constantly stretching, there’s no way the regulation can be accurate.Thank goodness I have it! We haven’t played it, but if the maestro even talks about an opera, I get it, just in case.
Looks like I got under the wire on this one. I don’t remember what year I bought it.I own both parts of Turandot. I don’t remember what company I bought it from. I buy from Kalmus and Luck’s Music Library…so maybe it was Luck’s.
It says Ricordi (printed in Italy).
I also own the score.This is just me…but I had to laugh when I saw this thread. I got my first pedal harp (LH15) after four years of being harpless (end of school…saving my pennies for the down payment). I don’t think I would have noticed if it had sounded like a ukulele. I was so thrilled and felt so blessed to have my harp!
It’s long, but it’s well worth reading. Thank you for posting this.
Wow. What a journey he’s had. I had no idea perfect pitch leaves people, and I wonder why that would bother someone while playing because you’re hearing what you play. It’s amazing that his hearing seems to still be good…didn’t look like he had hearing aids.
That was very poignant…seeing both Elster and Levine in their wheelchairs.
I notice the stagehand remembered him because he “lugged his harp all over the place.” Sure glad someone did.
Interesting to see the harp used in the Wagner, and that they play off the same part used for decades.No one has mentioned this. I’m wondering if you know how to change the wires because they don’t stretch like other strings. I was taught to hold it at the top of the harp above the pin and then lower it to start the wind. That gives enough slack to make the wind.
Also, removing the old ones, I learned to loosen and then cut, rather than unwind because unwinding the whole thing grinds out the hole.
Anyway, I got to worrying about you, so I thought I’d throw my two cents in.
If you’ve never changed wires, research first.
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=changing%20a%20wire%20harp%20stringI don’t know the answer, but I will cheer you on.
You say, “I play a lot of folk music and can improvise and play from ear very easily.”
If you’re a folk harpist, I personally don’t see any reason why you should have to sight read. I question why the teacher wants you to. Maybe you don’t need a teacher.
You are not the worst sight reader. I am. For opera parts, etc., I learn the hard sections because I can manage the easy things like isolated chords or whatever. I always get parts way ahead of time (buy them). All my personal rep is memorized, with a free left hand. I can’t play by ear. As for reading through piles of stuff to try to sight read, I simply won’t spend my time doing that…it wouldn’t work anyway. I’ve tried that. It’s not me.
Since you’re not playing anything like orchestral parts, your gift of memorization and playing by ear is just that…your gift. I’ll bet your teacher can’t do that.
I admire people who can look at music and play it at the same time, but if I had to do that, I’d never play anywhere. We’re all different.Basel, I hope your post means that you are in a safe place, have a harp to play on and have a place to perform!
I had never heard pedal patterns referred to as Salzedo diagrams, and Salzedo was my teacher’s teacher. (I left that camp decades ago, but pedal patterns are essential…no matter who invented them.)
It’s probably not too important what they put in the code book. I think they just want the code to cover all types of music.
However, it really made me wonder what other people called muffling.
Pedal patterns are called “Salzedo diagrams.” I have always used the patterns, but I didn’t know Salzedo invented the diagram, and I wonder if he really did.“Maybe they’re inspired by pianos and the damper pedal.”
Indeed. He did mention that the word was used in relation to pianos.
So far, my little survey is resoundingly in favor of muffle.How many times do you tune? and where on the harp do you start?
I don’t know how other people tune, but I use a tuner, and I tune lower strings and then higher. Then I go back to the bottom and do it again….and again, and again, until it is stable. I used to go over it once, and then I discovered…mmm, the ones I tuned first were not the same when I went back to them as when I left them. The change in soundboard pressure is probably what causes that.
