tony-morosco

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Viewing 15 posts - 556 through 570 (of 991 total)
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  • in reply to: How many years of study to become a teacher? #85648
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    Primary school is one thing, but where I went to high school teachers did have to have masters degrees in their subject. Teaching 2+2 may not require it but teaching advanced calculus or trig does. I would think most harp teachers would expect to guide their students from twinkle twinkle up through the advanced repertoire.

    Where I live now high school teachers don’t have to have a masters and the percentage of

    in reply to: spare battery- be careful! #109190
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    The problem with 9 volts is that the termini are next to each other. It isn’t just a matter of metal being near it, but any metal that touches both positive and negative terminus will complete the circuit.

    This could happen with any kind of battery, however since most have their connection points on opposite sides it isn’t likely.

    The problem isn’t just that it heats up and uses up all its power, but it can be a fire hazzard. When I was a boyscout we were taught to keep a 9 volt and steel wool in our emergency kits because if you can’t find dry kindling you can put the steel wool under you wood and ilight it on fire with the 9 volt. I have done it on several occasions.

    Always store batteries with care, but particularly 9 volts.

    in reply to: How many years of study to become a teacher? #84412
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    Yes, it is important to remember, studying for years and being a good player doesn’t mean you can teach. Being able to do something, and being able to teach someone else how to do it, are two very different things.

    Ideally if you want to be a teacher you should study not only how to play, but music education as well. At the very least you should work with an established teacher to see how they do it.

    I knew someone who started teaching after only

    in reply to: How many years of study to become a teacher? #85635
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    Yes, it is important to remember, studying for years and being a good player doesn’t mean you can teach. Being able to do something, and being able to teach someone else how to do it, are two very different things.

    Ideally if you want to be a teacher you should study not only how to play, but music education as well. At the very least you should work with an established teacher to see how they do it.

    I knew someone who started teaching after only

    in reply to: Shoes: To Wear or Not to Wear #109168
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    And even if

    in reply to: Shoes: To Wear or Not to Wear #109165
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    I’m with you Vince. I have tried it barefoot and I just don’t feel right.

    And definitely, finding good men’s shoes that work with the

    in reply to: Amplifier for L&H Ogden #160219
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    You will probably want an amp designed specifically for acoustic instruments. Amps are all different and just like picking a harp, it is an individual matter of taste if you like the sound or not. Just remember, an amp colours the sound so be sure you

    in reply to: Shoes: To Wear or Not to Wear #109154
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    I agree 100%.

    And the only classical musician I know who can get away with playing barefoot and not looking silly is Evelyn Glennie. She is a percussion soloist and profoundly deaf. She plays by feeling the various vibrations through her feet and in her body and can tell the note by where in her body it vibrates. She also

    in reply to: Fake Books #160255
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    I checked through it because there are just so many tunes in it I haven’t even learned a fraction of them yet.

    The vast majority have no accidentals. A few do but they are a definite minority.

    It is a great book.

    in reply to: broken foot- how long before pedalling possible? #151678
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    I would think that once the cast comes off that means the bones are sufficiently mended that it should be safe to play. If there is pain or lack of motion that is a very individual thing so can vary, but if you can physically do it when the cast comes off then go for it.

    This is, of course, a good reminder why it is always good to have a lever harp laying around. Never know when you might need it to keep in practice ;^)

    in reply to: Fake Books #160252
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    The Hal Leonard company puts out a ton of decent fake books in many genres.

    Three I have that are easy to work from and have a lot of good pop music are

    The Easy Fake Book

    The Simplified Fake Book

    Your First Fake Book

    in reply to: Stoney End Clairseach Harp or Other Wire Strung Harps? #75773
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    Triplett harps used to make a wire strung harp specifically designed to play with the finger-pads. It had wider spacing and lower tension with a different sound board construction than their other wire strung harps.

    Unfortunately they don’t make that model any more, but perhaps you can see if you can find a used one. The company might know of someone who has one they want to sell.

    in reply to: Cool technique #109236
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    OK, I looked again, without the sound just to focus on his hands. I think he is actually doing both. When he is in the lower octaves he is dampening some strings, but also reaching out with the last finger to play bass notes. But he is strumming over a much larger area of the harp as well.

    If he is using a pentatonic scale that makes sense. The five note scale is so common because it is next to impossible to hit a bad sounding note. That is why blues players use pentatonic “boxes” when playing blues solos. Well, actually they use a blues scale with is a pentatonic scale but where the “blue”notes are sometimes thrown in to give that bluesy sound.

    So tuned to a pentatonic scale you could strum without having any “bad” notes sound so you don’t really need to dampen except to get a specific chord, which is what I think he is doing in the lower octave. He is dampening certain notes so that when the strum reaches that low it is playing a specific chord with the occasional bass note for emphasis played with the left hand 4 finger, but up above that he is primarily playing a series of rhythmic glisses.

    in reply to: Cool technique #109233
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    Yes. I forget the technical name for it, but there is a notation for it and everything. I have been learning Deborah Henson-Conant’s piece Baroque Flamenco and this technique is a very significant and necessary aspect of the piece because part of the goal of the pieces is a contrast between a Baroque minuet and the strumming of the guitar in Flamenco music.

    You basically dampen the strings not in the chord you want to play with the left hand leaving the strings for the notes in the chord open, and then strum back and forth using the backs of the fingers on the downward strum and the back of the thumb on the upward strum. You can get different effects by strumming at different heights on the strings, although it seems to me the best and most guitar-like sound comes from strumming lower on the strings. You can get an interesting percussive like sound by playing up higher on the strings almost just below the neck of the harp.

    It takes some care. At least on a concert strung harp. A couple of times I ended practice with bloody fingernails.

    in reply to: Stoney End Clairseach Harp or Other Wire Strung Harps? #75770
    tony-morosco
    Participant

    When I think of good quality wire strung harps I immediately think of three names.

    David Kortier

    Jay Witcher

    Glenn Hill

    Each one is as much artist as instrument builder. If I were going to buy one my top choice would be to have Jay Witcher build me one just like the one he made for Patrick Ball. I have heard Patrick play live on many occasions and his harp is by far the best sounding wire strung harp I have ever heard.

Viewing 15 posts - 556 through 570 (of 991 total)