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As others have said, I don’t think covering it would make too much of a difference. If it did then each time you uncovered it you would be subjecting it to a sudden change anyway.
I use mostly nylon strings on my main harp with gut only in the middle where nylon strings would need to be so thick as to be wound. I don’t like the feel or sound of the thick nylon strings.
My other harp has carbon fiber strings.
I live on the west coast and can see the bay from my window, but here the temperature and humidity stays almost constant all year round, so I don’t think it is as much the general enviroment as it constant changes in the environment that are the cause.
The last time I broke a string was when I lived in NY with it’s frigid winters and hot, humid summers. Since moving not a single broken string, so I think the lack of dramatic environment changes in general is a big part of why. That and constant tuning of course.
If you play regularly then yes, every one to two years is a good time frame. I have to admit to having gone longer than that at times. I actually don’t care for the sound of brand new strings, but of course once they get past a certain point they just sound bad. But I try to keep them going for as long as I can because brand new strings just don’t sound good to me either.
Oh and I also don’t break strings. I haven’t had a broken string on any of my harps in almost 15 years. Keeping the harps in a steady, controlled environment, maintaining them well,
I think the most important thing that keeps music lessons fun and interesting is to find music to work on that the kids actually like. All too often teachers rely on beginners method books that use either obscure music the student has never heard, or for copyright reasons use music that was popular for kids when their great, great grandparents were kids.
Find out what they like and see if you can find music selections that fit their likes but would also be suitable for the lessons you are teaching.
Don’t worry, this stuff takes time to get. The important thing is to try. I can’t believe the number of musicians I know who don’t even bother to learn the basics of theory.
Stick with it and eventually it will start to make sense. It all confused the heck out of me at first.
1) Yes. When ever you are not playing you should disengage any levers.
2) That is up to you. The pros for leaving it in Eb is that it will simply be easier when you actually want to play that one song. Also if you leave it in Eb rather than retuning it will keep the tuning more stable. The cons are that engaging the levers does tend to cause a bit more wear on the strings. Also depending on the levers you have some harps you can notice a compromise in tone when the levers are engaged so no need to engage them if you don’t have to.
It’s a trade off, but keep in mind, as you play more and get better you will almost certainly come across more music that will require Eb. It may be a good idea to get used to having your harp tuned that way (and let your harp get used to being tuned that way) in expectation of a broader repertoire in the future.
“Would it be correct to say that if a harp is fully levered, there isn’t any particular advantage to tuning this way”
No, that would not be correct. With levers on a
I’m not sure what you are saying here.
To tune a lever harp in the key of Eb means that when the levers are NOT engaged the strings are tuned as follows:
Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb
It doesn’t mean tuning the C string to Eb. It means tuning the E string to Eb, the A string to Ab and the B string to Bb. All the other strings, including the C, are left tuned to natural.
Yes, the relative minor is C minor, but I don’t know anyone who thinks of it as tuning to C minor. Most people think of it in term of the Major scale.
But you are right, when tuned to Eb you need to raise the E, A and B levers in order to play in C Major.
Pedal harps are not tuned to C. Without the pedals engaged a double action pedal harp is tuned to Cb Major. That is all strings flatted. When you refer to how an instrument is tuned typically that refers to how the strings sound when they are “open”, without any mechanical or physical action taken to alter the string. No levers up, no pedals engaged, no fretting or Capos or anything like that.
I was definitely taught this, but was never given a specific name for it. Only “placing one finger at a time.”
I was never specifically taught when to use it, however. But as I advanced my teacher would simply indicate the passages where I should use it.
I always start using block placing when learning something new, but find that in certain instances I just naturally start placing one finger at a time without really thinking about it. I just kind of feel when one kind of placing seems right or another.
Of course I seem to be forever revising and refining my fingerings. It is almost an obsession for me. No matter how good a fingering seems I can never shake the feeling that I could find a better way with a little more trial and error. But I typically try numerous fingerings and placing one at a time rather than block placement tends to be one of the first things I try.
1) you can tune any way you like, but once the strings have settled into a specific tuning they are going to want to stay there. When I decided to change the tuning on one of my harps from C to Eb I found it easier to just restring it with new string. But there are no specific string sets for different keys.
2) The answer to that question is relative. It all depends in relation to what. Compared to a piano, no. Compared to a guitar, generally yes. But still, you typically have to tune every time you sit down to play. Many things effect the tuning that have little to do with the harp itself. Temperature changes and humidity changes both
I have had the opportunity to have several. Other than famous harpists and harpers I have had the chance to chat with at various events I have had a few run ins with some famous folks.
I happened to be staying at a resort a few years ago and was in the lounge at the bar when Amustad Maupin sits right next to me. Since I have read most of his books we chatted about his inspirations for his characters for a while.
Once in NYC about 7 or 8 years ago I was in FAO Schwartz and I was turning a corner and walked right in to Cindy Lauper. She fell into a pile of stuffed animals thankfully. I helped her up and apologized profusely. She was very friendly and gracious about it and told me not to worry about it.
I sat next to Robin Williams in a movie once. It was an animated one and he had brought a bunch of kids, probably every one of his kid’s friends. They were all very well behaved.
About a year ago I was at dinner at a local restaurant and at the table next to me was a group of people that included Lilly Tomlin. We left about the same time and I held the door open for her.
I chatted with the great blues guitarist and singer Tommy Castro at the Stockton Blues Festival about three years ago. We chatted about his favorite local blues musicians in the Bay Area.
I was volunteering to help out a friend with the local Asian Film Festival and got to hand out with Jackie Chan for a while before the showing of one of his films.
I used to have a mutual friend with Vance George, the Grammy winning, recently retired conductor of the SF Symphony Chorus, so have had many opportunities to chat with him in the past.
I have bumped into the guys from Mythbusters a few times as they live in the area and are always out and about town.
Patricia,
That is very interesting about Mr. Thompson.
I have a 30 string Celtic type harp that has a fiberglass body, but the makers name on the inside is so worn I could never make it out. Only the date which I think is 1975. I always wondered who made it and it very well could have been Mr Thompson.
Unfortunately I did a search on the Internet and from what I read it looks like Mr. Thompson has passed away in April of this year.
