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While divided attention can be an issue if you don’t have the time to devote sufficiently to both, I think that generally studying a second instrument can be extremely helpful.
Piano is particularly helpful because it is so clear to see the structure of what you are playing on it. If you want to understand theory the single best way is to study it on the piano because visually it shows you the relationships between the notes of the chromatic pitch collection better than any other format (I should say ‘keyboard’ rather than just piano because it is the keyboard that works the wonder).
However, I think studying instruments that work differently than your main instrument can give you insights into music and possibilities that you might not grasp due to the limitations of your particular instrument. All instruments have their limitations, and playing a second instrument that has different limitations (and thus different possibilities) can be enlightening.
Anything that increases your overall understanding of music can’t help but make you a better musician.
The question is not possible to answer without knowing what her harp background is. It is quite possible she is accomplished on the harp as well as violin. I would want to know where she studied the harp and how long she has been playing first.
Remember, many harpists started on other instruments. Derek Bell, most famous as the Irish harp player for The Chieftains, was principle harpist for the Northern Irish BBC Orchestra. But before that he was a principle Oboist. He taught both instruments
The question is not possible to answer without knowing what her harp background is. It is quite possible she is accomplished on the harp as well as violin. I would want to know where she studied the harp and how long she has been playing first.
Remember, many harpists started on other instruments. Derek Bell, most famous as the Irish harp player for The Chieftains, was principle harpist for the Northern Irish BBC Orchestra. But before that he was a principle Oboist. He taught both instruments
The question is not possible to answer without knowing what her harp background is. It is quite possible she is accomplished on the harp as well as violin. I would want to know where she studied the harp and how long she has been playing first.
Remember, many harpists started on other instruments. Derek Bell, most famous as the Irish harp player for The Chieftains, was principle harpist for the Northern Irish BBC Orchestra. But before that he was a principle Oboist. He taught both instruments
China is great, and I hope you will have some time to do some sightseeing along the way.
Since the details of your travel will be arranged for you count yourself lucky. China is a bit like the US in that tourism is geared for it’s own citizens first. The Chinese like to visit other parts of China and their tourism industry is focused on that, so unlike many other countries were you can get by, at least in tourist areas, on English, China you really can’t. At least outside of your start and stop cities, and even there you can run into trouble.
And of course the trouble is that even in those cities the places that do cater to the English speaking tourist are either high end places where you are removed from contact with the local Chinese, or tourist traps that are sub par.
On the up side the people are generally very friendly and patient, so if you venture out to non touristy places and just do your
Is that a different piece from his “Madam Judge”? If not then there is a very nice arrangement of it alredy done by Maire Ni Chathasaigh in her book The Irish Harper Vol II.
I never loan anything. If I am not willing to give it to that person then I tell them “sorry”. If I am willing to give it to them then I just give it to them and if they return it then they return it and if they don’t they don’t.
Often I get things back anyway, but I never count on it.
It is OK to say ‘No’.
I never loan anything. If I am not willing to give it to that person then I tell them “sorry”. If I am willing to give it to them then I just give it to them and if they return it then they return it and if they don’t they don’t.
Often I get things back anyway, but I never count on it.
It is OK to say ‘No’.
I never loan anything. If I am not willing to give it to that person then I tell them “sorry”. If I am willing to give it to them then I just give it to them and if they return it then they return it and if they don’t they don’t.
Often I get things back anyway, but I never count on it.
It is OK to say ‘No’.
Well, the fact that she did apologize that once and that she seems to be willing to explain herself to at least some degree shows that she is somewhat approachable. If I were you I would go see her during her office hours and simply ask her what it is that is causing the tension. Perhaps she has certain expectations that she just assumes you know but you don’t.
I think if you go to her with the concern that you want to get the most out of your lessons and that you want it to be a good experience for both of you but you are not sure what is going wrong then perhaps she will be willing to not just explain her thinking but to work with you to find some solution.
Sometimes when things are confusing the best way to address them is simply to address them. To talk about them and express clearly what each person invovled wants and expects. I think a large percentage of these kinds of conflicts are rooted in the idea that each person just assumes the other person is on the same page, but in reality they are not. Sometimes getting on the same page takes some discussion and frank talk about what you both expect and want.
However, she does have one good point. At some point in your studies and
That is definitely wrong. Both the Salzedo and French method (there is no Grandjany method, Grandjany used and taught the French method and it is not correct to refer to it by his name) keep the thumbs up, and when you play the thumb is brought down on top of the knuckle of the pointer finger.
I can’t even imagine bringing the thumb below the fingers or how that would even work.
When placing fingers in advance while other fingers are still on the strings the thumb always passes over the fingers and the fingers pass under the thumb.
And the thumbs are kept up. I can still hear my teacher saying “Thumbs Up!” in my sleep.
And that they would contrast the Salzedo technique with “modern” technique is rather odd as the Salzedo is a modern technique, having been around only
I have heard people refer to this before but to be honest I have never been clear exactly what they mean.
If “thumbs-over” simply means playing with the thumbs up, then that is what I do. I’m a Salzedo player and that is how both Salzedo and French players do it.
I have seen wire strung players who play with the thumb more down because it allows for better use of the nail on the thumb, and many South and Central American players play in a similar way for the same reason.
But for the
Briggsie,
I think you misunderstand my reasoning. I am not saying someone who does not have a teacher will typically be able to play as well as one who does.
What I am saying is that we often assume that when someone decides to learn an instrument that they actually want to play as best they can. The truth is that the vast majority do not want to play the best they can.
To play the best you can takes years of lessons, hours and hours of practice, and lots of pain, sweat and tears.
Most people who take up an instrument don’t want to put that into it. They want to be able to play some music for their own enjoyment and perhaps for their friends, who will be much more forgiving than an audience paying to see a classical harpist perform a concerto with the local symphony.
I just think that advice needs to be geared towards the goals of the individual. If a person just wants to play the folk harp for fun at home in front of the hearth, and maybe play some Christmas carols for family at the holidays, then the idea that they need to dedicate years to study with a teacher isn’t applicable.
It is perfectly possible for most people to be able to learn to play well enough for their own enjoyment and amusement without needing years of lessons with a teacher.
That doesn’t mean that the average person will play as well self taught as if they had a teacher. It’s just that it isn’t necessary for the average hobby player because they don’t necessarily want to push it to that level.
As for hurting one’s self, I think that it is not that hard to learn to play without hurting ones self. The reason most people hurt themselves is not bad hand position. It is because they over practice.
I think that since the harp is a bit more difficult to take up those who do tend to be more driven to take it up, and as a result we tend to play more than people who take up other instruments. CT and Tendinitis are often caused by improper warming up and repetitive motion. Even with perfect technique harpists often end up with these problems. In fact the majority of the harpists I know of who have these problems are mostly professionals with those years of lessons. But being professionals they spend hours and hours every day playing, either practicing or performing.
I don’t know many hobby players, self taught or not, who have CT due to playing the harp. The more you play the more careful you need to be, but also the more likely you are to have these problems.
Again, the stress put on the hands and wrists when playing the guitar is much, much greater than playing the harp, yet the majority of guitar players are self taught and no one is overly concerned that they are all going to hurt themselves. Most do fine and
I’m sorry but you are not going to find a playable pedal harp for $2,000.
around $10,000 is the average for the least expensive, decent, new pedal harps.
If you want something cheaper than that you have to buy used, but even then you are not going to find a pedal harp for under $2,000 that is playable. Perhaps something that needs LOTS of repairs and work but isn’t playable without it.
