Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Are you playing from a harp arrangement? Another option is to transpose the piece into a key that suits your harp better.
I would say exactly the opposite to Catherine – I rest the pedal harp on my knees primarily and only occasionally take it on the shoulder/chest when pedaling requires. I would rather take what weight there is on the nice straight bones of my legs than lopsided on my spine. I ensure my harp is near the balance point so there isn’t much weight, but it did add up over long practice sessions.
But there are lots of playing positions that work for different people – you need to ensure you have one that works for you, and that you have really paid attention to your body and it does work for you. Little niggles you hardly notice can grow and be harder to sort later.
I haven’t tried it, but it seems to me that a lever which isn’t too sensitive to the exact height of the string from the neck should (like blades) be able to work without bridge pins. Perhaps Pilgrim’s cam levers would be worth trying for this as they dcontact the string sideways relative to the neck.
Fluffy’s harp is a 19th century Grecian – can’t tell the maker, many were made by Erard but other makers made them too. I think I remember seeing it or a similar harp lurking in the back of the Hogwarts school orchestra in one of the early films. Are there any others?
If you change the pitch of a string by much when it is in natural or sharp you are pulling the string through the forks. Firstly this will lead to a bit more wear on both string and harp, which can add up over time. This will be of most issue with big changes in tuning, like a new string and with bass wires. Secondly, because of the grip of the fork on the string the tension may be different on either side. If you tune a string in natural then take the pedal to flat and back to natural the pitch of the string may change slightly as the tension evens out. As you have been happy with the results from tuning your harp in naturals all these years this is obviously not a big issue for you, but my teachers and harp technicians I have discussed harp care with all say to tune in flats. If the regulation of the harp isn’t spot on, then confirm the tuning in the key you will be playing in (but I do this with a foot on the pedal so when actually changing the pitch of a string it is in flat).
You cannot play the full grade 2 scale requirements on the harpsicle range, at least one of the two handed scales will need notes outside this range in all the tuning groups. You would need to ask them beforehand in writing if this would be OK.
Are you keeping a record of which strings are breaking? Is it just the old strings, or are some of the replacements going too?
I expect gut strings which have been on a harp but not kept to tune to be more prone to breakage.
To get a blade to raise the tone by less than it currently is, you need it to either contact the string further up, or to push on the string less so it is less stretched. But pushing on the string less may cause buzzes. Are the blades with this issue in a group? This can happen where the soundboard has a bow and has shortened the string lengths.
The simplest thing to try is to twist the blade more in the engaged position so it angles up more rather than just putting it horizontal.
I would look into it with a fair degree of caution because of their reputation. Also because of the harp’s age it will need to be considered as an individual instrument; not all harps age in the same way and at the same speed and not all have been equally well treated or maintained. It might be worth it if cheap enough, but may be hard to sell when you grow out of it.
I would consult Pilgrim about it and/or the technician who last serviced the harp.
I don’t remember the discussion about putty, but someone (I think Howard Bryan) pointed out that a single string with odd resonance can sometimes be cured by using a heavy washer to add mass between the string rib and knot. It is a usefully removable thing to try.
Thank you gentlemen.
For the record I did not, of course, mean an unwillingness to help, but an inability to be helpfully specific. There are a few people whose food tastes I know well enough to order for them in a restaurant, and a few harpists whose harp playing I know well enough to anticipate their taste in instruments. I have seen so much variation in the match of musician to instrument that I know I can’t tell you what you will like on what you have written here, and don’t think anyone can, just to try widely and with a broad range of specifications.
Your background does make me think you will appreciate a high quality instrument and that will be expensive. I can’t think of any lever harp model I have encountered made by an established maker in the middle to high expense range that I would think a waste of money for someone who liked it in particular and appreciated any special properties (such as the extreme lightness of Heartlands). Makers wouldn’t stay in business if they made bad, expensive harps.
You mention people being reluctant to make definite recommendations – I think it is partly because we don’t know you well enough. Some harps are better quality than others, which is easy enough to advise on and often follows the price, but then there is personal preference. For instance Dusty Strings have two similar models with similar technology and quality – the Ravenna and the Boulevard. Personally, I really like the Boulevard and am left unmoved by the Ravenna. But that isn’t really a reason to recommend one over the other to other harpists.
Have you tried many gut strung lever harps?
Op 157? Not 175?
