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Actually I think a Louis XV gold would also be distracting. I don’t think you can really compare it to a violin being a different shade or a gold flute. The simple fact that the instruments are smaller and the color difference more subtle doesn’t make it comparable. It is actually hard to see that a flute is gold or silver from most of the audience, and the difference isn’t so dramatic that even if you can tell it is going to be distracting.
If you want a better comparison however I once saw an orchestra that had a left handed violinist who played left handed. When everyone in the section was bowing together her bow was going in the opposite direction and it was VERY distracting to be honest. That stood out. A variation in shade in a violin really doesn’t.
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I think it depends on the orchestra and the other members. A blue harp can be a bit of a distraction I think. Since the Big Blue actually comes in other colors my suggestion if that is the particular model of harp you want to use (and it is a great harp in my opinion) is to get it in a less bold finish.
However I could imagine it being pulled off in some orchestras depending on the make up of the orchestra and the attitude of the music director, and the music they play. If you are going to be playing a lot of more modern music it might fit. But in general I can’t see a music director being happy to see a blue harp up on stage.
Sure, if the tuning peg is slipping. I have an old harp that every once in a while one of the bass tuning pins just lets go and the string goes completely slack. But it is easy to figure that out because the pin itself turns very easily. I really should fix it, but I rarely use that harp so I just haven’t been bothered to.
If the tuning peg is still tight in the hole then you might have someone messing with you. That or you aren’t securing the string on the tuning peg. When you wind the string do you tie it, or wind the string over the loose end a bit? If not then the string could simply be slipping through the hole in the tuning peg and loosening up.
I doubt it would cause the harp any damage to leave them engaged, but it will shorten the life of the strings. Just like with levers on a lever harp, best to leave everything disengaged when not playing.
I agree. I have a Camac solid body electro harp and I actually like the fact that it is not acoustic at all. For one thing I have absolutely zero feed back issues. Second it sounds much better when using effects like delay or distortion.
I find it no more of a disadvantage than my Stratocasters. The right tool for the job I always say. Sometimes that took is acoustic but sometimes that took is full on, 100% electric.
The Ogden still has the same tension and spacing as the folk harp, which was very close to most Pedal harps. So it still very much fills that niche of a lever harp that feels somewhat close to a pedal harp.
And although some are saying the Ogden is strung with gut but I thought, and the Sylvia Woods web site suggests, that it is actually strung with both Gut and Nylon. The folk harp also is strung with Gut and Nylon and not just nylon, although the stringing instructions at Sylvia Woods does show that the Ogden has more gut strings than the Folk Harp which has them just in the very middle of the range.
Apparently the Ogden has nylon in the 1st and 2nd octaves and gut in the 3rd through 5th octaves, which seems like a nice spread and closer to how most people string pedal harps.
I recall that they do some kind of maintenance each night to it goes down for a few hours a day. I always forget until I try to go it, but once I get the message that it can’t connect I remember.
Well, I understand what your teacher is saying. If you are good enough to play for pay then you should be good enough to get paid the going rate. If you aren’t good enough to play for full pay then you need a bit more practice and perhaps some experience playing for people.
You could try doing some volunteer work playing are retirement homes and the like.Also performing recitals.
To play out you need a decent repertoire and you need what I think of as stage presence. Playing at home in practice and playing in front of strangers is, I am sure you have learned, very different animals. And the environments you play at all have their requirements.
For instance, if you want to play for wedding ceremonies you need to learn all the standard, expected music for weddings plus you should understand the ceremonies of the different major religions and denominations. They all vary and you need to know when you are supposed to be playing what.
If you are playing for receptions and cocktail parties you need to be able to deal with distractions like people talking to you while you play and asking questions, as well as the buzz of activity around you.
To play for a library program you should have some between song banter about the music and the instrument, and be able to talk to the audience in a confident and knowledgeable manner.
Being a well rounded harpist who can deal with all kinds of situations take a lot of work and experience. However, you can focus on one or two kinds of playing situations and stick to them for awhile until you gain that experience and the confidence to expand.
But I do agree with your teacher. If you are good enough to play for the public then you should get paid what any other harpist in your area would be paid for it.
How you are carrying it is fine. Just remember to wipe the areas you hold it by with a soft cloth when you are done to avoid a build up of oil and grime from your hands. Even if you wash your hands before you touch it you will be surprised to see that after a while you can clearly see where you regularly touch the harp.
But one hand in the sound hole and one on the column is how I have always moved my harps and I have never had any trouble.
I remember reading in one of Mary O’Hara’s books that the piece she uses to demonstrate the harp to children is The Frogs Wedding, because not only is it a children’s song but it allows for use of the harp for effects. The drone of the bag pipes, the flitting of the butterfly.
Of course
Now I’m getting a complex. Mine still hasn’t arrived. I hope it gets here soon. I have a plane trip at the end of the week and it would be nice to have something actually interesting to read on the flight.
I’m sorry to hear about your knot troubles. I can barely get the knots done correctly after two decades of practice so don’t feel bad.
But I do want to give you 100 extra harpy points for using the term ‘spline’. Most people don’t even know that is. Well done ;^)
Well, I don’t have a definitive or scholarly answer, but I always assumed it was because the first pedals harps, which were single action, and many lever (or early hook) harps are tuned to Eb. So the scale that falls most naturally (needing no pedals, hooks or levers engaged) begins on the E string.
After all, the reason that typically the octaves are considered to start on C rather than A, even though A is actually the first letter alphabetically, is because the C major scale is the home key for most instruments. So since Eb was once the more common tuning for harps it makes sense for harpists to have once started to count the octaves at the E string, and that has just kind of stuck.
Anyway, that’s my guess.
Sure, carpeting and padding will help, but it may not completely stop it. If you can’t then the next best thing is to be sure you only practice during allowable times (check your local noise ordinances) and if the neighbor has any special time issues try to be aware of them and accommodate them (such as if they have a baby who takes it’s nap at 2pm don’t play at 2pm).
You certainly should try to reduce any disturbance as much as you reasonably can, however keep in mind that you do have a right to do things that make some noise during the day.
