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When I started lessons the first thing my teachers said was, “go get an electronic tuner and use it every day.”
She definitely showed my how she wanted me to tune. She used a tuner too, but often would just adjust notes by ear. At first I had no facility for tuning by ear but after a few years of using the tuner and hearing my harp in tune all the time I developed a better ear for figuring out was was the problem when something was off.
She did teach me to tune without the tuner, but it was a while before I developed a good enough ear to do it.
Today I tune every day even if I don’t play. I use a Peterson virtual strobe tuner with a clip. Best tuner I have ever used and I can’t imagine going back to anything less. I occasionally tune by ear, but despite having made improvements in that the Peterson is still much more accurate than my ears are.
I still tune exactly how my teacher showed me. It is such habit I doubt I could tune any other way now.
+++And most instruments have differing techniques and different views on how to achieve this – but I find harp
Definitely get The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Solos and Improvisation no matter what else you do.
I think the problem a lot of people have with theory is that they learn the theory but then end up playing other people’s arrangements so they never learn what to do with it once they have it.
The book mentioned above basically shows you how to take the basic theory and what to actually do with it in order to make your own solos. And all of that can also be used to make your own arrangements if you don’t already do that as well.
The Levine book is also one of the standard books for Jazz players. Virtually everyone I know who plays Jazz has a copy. That and the Real Books basically combine to make the bible for students at Berkeley.
I don’t have a copy, but I have seen it and looked through it and I from what I remember it looked like a very good book. In fact I think I have it on my “must get some time soon” list.
I started to play Jazz on guitar, and so most of my materials for Jazz are for that instrument and I just kind of carry things over to the harp as best I can. I really would like to get some good materials for Jazz harp. I do have a few things by Deborah Henson-Conanat.
I think for someone who has never dealt with modulation and plays the harp it is a great resource and I would say go for it. It can help in improvisation. It will not necessarily teach you how to improvise, but it opens up a lot of possibilities when you do. One of the reasons why Jazz for harp is a bit limited when it comes to lever harp is just that, the difficulty of modulating on a lever harp. It cuts off a lot of avenues in Jazz.
I would combine the Salzedo book with something like Deborah Henson-Conant’s book Introduction to Improvisation, which basically shows you how to use your scales to build am
+++I’ve just been listening to the Debussy Danses again – Yolanda Kondonassis, Scintillation CD – and you know, its the best darn Debussy Danses I’ve ever heard in my life!+++
I agree. I love that recording, and I can be picky because Debussy is my favorite composer.
In fact earlier this year I went to see Douglas Rioth play the Danses with the SF symphony and so I was listening to Yolanda’s recording beforehand a lot. Then I thought, what if listening to Yolanda’s version sets my expectations too high and I end up being disappointed by Douglas’ performance?
Luckily, however, Douglas Rioth is a superior musician in every sense and his performance was absolutely exquisite. My only complaint is that the SF symphony doesn’t perform enough harp repertoire to give him enough opportunities to shine like that.
I am with Bob on this one Carl. I have seen every Marx Brother’s movie and while the syncing may be off on one or two for the most part there is no doubt in my mind that Harpo is, indeed, playing the parts. The hands and the arrangements do match up most of the time.
In fact they match up even when we know that it is dubbed and not really playing live. For instance the one where he plays on the Indian Loom, or the one where he smashes the piano and plays the frame with the piano strings. In both cases he clearly isn’t actually playing, but his hands match the music very well.
It is possible that on one or two occasions the sound needed to be recorded for some reason after the initial filming and Harpo wasn’t available, but for the most part I am convinced it was Harpo playing.
Besides, while there may be some justification for one or two instances due to scheduling for someone to redo the harp parts, there is no rational reason for anyone but Harpo to have regularly played the parts himself. There is no doubt he really did play the harp, and played in a unique style that wasn’t necessarily easy for others to copy. Why would the studio’s hire someone to imitate his playing when they had him to play it in the first place?
He makes no mention of anyone else playing for him in his autobiography, and in all other areas is is very candid about his life and what went on during his career in both vaudeville and the movies.
I am satisfied that with possibly one or two exceptions, when we see a Marx Brothers’ performance it is Harpo playing the harp.
+++Advanced Salzedo players have figured this out. They don’t raise.+++
The harpist I have seen perform more than any other is Douglas Rioth, principle harpist for the San Francisco Symphony.
He raises.
In fact the first time I saw him with the symphony many years ago I immediately noted he was a Salzedo player by his raise.
I don’t recall off hand, and I don’t think he actually named him in the book. I will check later when I have access to my copy, but I don’t think he used his name.
According to his autobiography he never took actual lessons, but he did know Mildred Dilling and often got advice from her. Sometimes calling her in the middle of the night to play records for her and asking her how to do what ever it was on the record he wanted to learn. Mildred Dilling is often cited as being Harpo’s teacher, but she never actually taught him in formal lessons. She simply gave him tips and advice now and then.
He did try to take lessons once, and that is probably the story you are referring to. The teacher spent a lot of time just having him play to “evaluate his technique”. In the end he realized the guy was taking notes trying to learn his technique rather than teach him so he gave up and never tried to take lessons again.
As far as I know no one ever actually studied with him and learned his unique playing technique. And honestly, while he was an inventive performer I don’t
A Music Therapy program in a school with a small town feel? I have just the ticket.
The undergraduate school I attended had a good music therapy program. Although I wasn’t in that program I
It would really depend on why they are crying. Are they crying because they can’t get something and it is frustrating them, or are they crying because they received criticism that was worded and presented in certain way.
I think if it is the former then your approach is fine. You acknowledge their feelings and the fact that it is frustrating. You give them some encouragement in the form of positive feedback of the things they
