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Becky,
First, I can definitely relate to wanting to play the harp that much. Before I actually started to play it was such a strong desire that I often had dreams about it.
And I can also relate to having a hard time finding someplace to try or even see a harp in person. I’m among the many here who started before nice things like the Internet made finding about harps relatively easy. Back then the main resource was the phonebook.
I remember calling every music store in the phone book and none of them had anything they could do to help me. Finally I got the idea to go to the library and look in the phone books for other counties and areas and that was how I found International Music in Manhattan. I called, made an appointment with Mr. Henry, and that started it all. He helped me find a harp that was right for me and helped me find a teacher.
These days you can just go on line. Technology can be wonderful.
As for which harp, if you have your heart set on the Ravenna then go for it. What different people like in a harp is very personal and individual, so one person may not care for the tone of one harp, but another will love it. So that means that if we remove the more subjective aspects from judging a harp and do it based on more objective things, like quality of construction and reliability, overall good projection, decent volume etc… Then anything by Dusty Strings ranks extremely well.
As others have said, definitely get a harp with a full set of levers. It may seem like a good compromise to not get levers, or to only get them on selected strings, but I think most people will eventually get to the point where full levers will be necessary to play all the things they want. It is better to get them right off the bat than to try to have them put on later.
Lessons are great, but there are plenty of very talented self taught harpists out there. Not in the world of classical music perhaps, but hobbyists who play just for fun but are very good at it. What I recommend is to take a few lessons at first at least to lean good basics, and then take a lesson every now and then to make sure you aren’t developing bad habits.
I find that if you can’t take regular lessons then taking a few now and then is better than taking none at all.
Good luck and feel confident that you are not alone or the only person to go through this stage.
You know its almost funny. Like you I play other instruments, but it was the harp that captured my imagination more than any other. I can play other instruments but if I had to give up all but one I would choose to keep the harp without needing to give it a moments thought. And I really can’t explain why.
Every now and then a person comes across an instrument that is just for them for whatever reason. Some take up an instrument in an almost casual way, but because the harp is still relatively rare compared to many other instrument those who learn it tend to be those who are strongly drawn to it for some reason. People often learn guitar because they are so common, of flute because that was what they needed in band the year they started in school. But people tend to take up the harp because something about it draws them and compelled them.
So if I can take a moment to be a snobbish, elitist harpist I will say that makes the harp a very special instrument, and those that choose it also special in some way.
Isn’t it great? I heard someone play it once (I think it was Yolanda Kondonassis) and had wanted to learn it ever since but doubted I would ever find an arrangement for lever harp. Then I got Barbara’s book and found that arrangement. I just started learning it about a week ago and already I am having such a good time with it.
I would highly doubt it. Carl goes out of his way to not knock his competition publicly that I can’t see him wanting to take such a path to do so under a pseudonym. He seems perfectly contented to let the products speak for themselves.
It definitely doesn’t seem like his style.
He was a very nice person, and knew more about harps than anyone I ever met. When I was just learning he was very patient with me as well. He would check gauges on strings I needed to replace because I could never figure out the correct way to identify them. He would find almost any piece of music I wanted. He even gave me instructions on how to make a carrying case for my first harp out of an old sleeping bag.
And of course he introduced me to the woman who became my harp teacher.
I remember his office was a mess, piles of music and books everywhere, but his workshop on the second floor was always immaculate. The first time I visited when I was looking to buy my first harp he led me upstairs and turned on the light and I saw lines and lines of harps. It was the first time I had ever seen that many harps in one place and it was absolutely amazing.
He was a bit old fashioned at times. I think that he liked to see men take up the harp because it had become so associated as a “woman’s instrument”, and so I often got the feeling he was extra encouraging to me because of that.
It basically depends on the student’s goal. Overall I find it important to learn to play from sheet music. It is just a part of being a well rounded musician and it allows you to play things you haven’t actually heard before.
But if they really just want to play around and have fun and they don’t care then it is their decision. But to me that is the musical equivalent of being illiterate. If you want to learn about the works of Shakespeare you could do it by going to performances of his plays, but if you are serious you read the plays. If you want to learn about music you could do it by just listening to it, but if you are at all serious about it you read it too.
I personally couldn’t imagine not wanting to read music notation
My love of music was inspired by my elementary school music teacher, Mr. Blakely. The nicest guy you would have ever met. Always with a joke or a smile and he loved teaching kids. Sadly he died a while ago and he had to struggle with disability most of his life due to polio, but despite that he had such an incredibly positive outlook.
My first harp teacher, Mrs. Ruth Berman-Harris, I consider one of the best teachers I have ever had regardless of the subject. She had the perfect balance of demanding, encouraging, and patience. Always open to new ideas and not afraid to actually listen to her students, but also a wealth of knowledge and eager to share it. I consider it great fortune that I began learning the harp with her.
Oh, and an interesting tidbit. There is an actual name for that anchor. It is called a Spline.
The late Mr. Henry of International Music Inc. taught me that.
I think it is necessary to differentiate between the two different meanings of “tuning” that can be confusing. By different tunings that could mean either different temperaments, which is what I think you are referring to, and tuning strings to actual different notes.
Temperament basically refers to the relationship of the notes to each other. Equal Temperament is what is commonly used and it basically adjusts each not so that the octaves are all in tune with each other. In other words the “space” between the notes are adjusted to effect the relationships of the notes over larger spans. One of the benefits of equal temperament being that you can transpose a piece into different keys without a significant change in the “feel” of the piece.
However when people speak of different tunings they can simply mean tuning the strings to different notes. If you are speaking to a guitarist who can’t alther the temperament of his or her instrument and talk about alternate tunings they are going to assume this aspect. Tuning the strings so that they play a specific chord when strummed open is also very common (particularly for slide players). On lever harp it is not uncommon for people to tune to either C, B or Eb depending on the kind of music they want to play and the keys that music typically falls into.
So the simple answer is that for both cases, Yes, you can tune to different temperaments and different tunings.
With different temperaments, however, you can basically only make that work if you are playing diatonically. Both lever harps and pedal harps, as they are built today, are meant to sharp or flat notes in equal temperament, so if you tune to a different temperament if you engage a lever or pedal it is going to sound off.
Tuning to alternate tunings should not have a similar problem. A semi tone is a semi tone regardless if you have a string tuned to B or Bb.
I have two lever harps and one I keep tuned in C which I use primarily for playing Celtic and folk music, and the other I tune in Eb which I use more for classical and pop music. But both are tuned to equal temperament. I have played with other temperaments for early diatonic music and it works, but many people are just so accustomed to equal that even though it is a compromise it sounds “right” to many and other tunings sound odd.
I agree with Carl that taking some lessons yourself is the best way.
However, if that isn’t possible then I would suggest that you find a harpist to play the things you write during the writing process so that you can hear how it actually sounds and refine or redo parts that don’t work.
I had brunch the other day with a guy who composes for TV and movies and he said that when he was in school one of the students in his composition class was a harpist and she did a demonstration on the harp to show how it differed from piano which he found enlightening. He said he keeps contact information for many different musicians, including a harpist, so that he can call them with questions and to send them things he has written so they can play them for him to be sure they sound the way he wants.
I think a lot is just a matter of familiarity with how things sound on the harp. I think a good idea would be to listen to recording while looking at the score to the music so you can see how what appears on the page translates to how it sounds on the harp. Also it might be an interesting exercise to take some harp scores and play them on piano so see how harp music sounds on piano.
I don’t have a lot of education in music theory and arranging. Some, but not a lot. Most of what I learned was a combination of books and trying things. I started to understand the differences when I tried to take some piano arrangements and play them on the harp. You can do it, and it can even sound alright, but you will not be taking advantage of those qualities of the harp that make it a unique
+++I haven’t secretly desired a 23, but I have always wanted an old 22+++
I definitely don’t secretly desire a 23. They sound good and all, but visually they are just not my cup of tea in the least.
But I would love an old Salzedo. I am contemplating either a Camac or a Lyon & Healy, but if I go with L&H it wouldn’t be a 23 even if I could come up with that kind of money.
Can you intervene? Certainly. It may harm your working relationship with them, but eating disorders can be deadly so I would think in many cases it is worth that risk.
But no, offering them food isn’t going to help. People with eating disorders typically have access to food. The issue typically are related to control. In many cases eating is one of the few things in life they feel they have any control over.
Speaking to them directly also may not do any real good as they typically are in denial. Many people with eating disorders may appear blatantly unhealthy, under weight, or malnourished to us, but when they look in a mirror they see themselves as fat. A distorted perception of their weight and eating issues is part of the problem.
If you are working through
+++Not too many years ago International Music had a store in Manhattan, but they have since moved to Florida.
