Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Yes, looks like moderators must have approved it. I am planning to close the survey and start analyzing the data Saturday, October 20.
Make sure you include the part after the dot com.
/r/5YPNV3VI also have it posted in several harp groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Hmmm, that one got deleted too. I’ll try again with more spaces!
htt ps://www. surveymonkey. com /r/5YPNV3V
Harpcolumn’s system must have censored it. I’ll try it again.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5YPNV3V
Or if that gets deleted, here it is with a space so it’s not clickable. Just copy into your browser and delete the spaces.
http://www.surveymonkey. com/r/5YPNV3V
You can look up the age by giving Salvi the serial number. Value is likely somewhere in the 8-10K range, but could be less if you have any damage. If it has not been played for a long time, you will probably want to drop about $8-900 into a full restringing, regulation, and professional appraisal. You would not want to buy a car in unknown condition, and harpists are much less likely to buy a harp in unknown condition, without a recent appraisal. Even if you leave the buyer to do the restringing and regulation, get it appraised. Otherwise, you are probably looking at more the 6-8K range. Contact Salvi or Lyon and Healy to ask what technician services your area, then find out when they will next be there. Even if you have to drive a couple hours to get it done, it’s worth it.
I agree with the suggestion of comfortable for you = comfortable for the harp. I live in Arizona, where it can get above 115 in the summer. Last summer I played for a dinner at 6pm on a covered patio that was facing away from the sun… and it was still well over 100, making my hands sweat so much it was hard to keep from slipping off the strings. I do have a temperature clause, but I keep it fairly vague. I require the client to provide protection from the weather (shade, alternate location, etc.) and if it is not possible to play safely and no alternate safe location is provided, I will not be able to play. Most clients have been able to provide an alternate location when it is background music (moving the harp inside even though most party guests are outside), but it is often harder for weddings. I once had to get up in the middle of a ceremony, get my dolly, and move my harp into the reception building. It was awkward, but I was glad I did, as the rain started right before they were ready to walk down the aisle! The bride was very understanding, and everyone moved into the reception hall pretty quickly.
Bottom line: do what you are comfortable with.Hi Lauren,
I agree with the great advice given above. I came from a pretty poor family and had to save up for years to get my first lever harp, a used L&H Prelude. I auditioned for college on that harp, playing some very advanced lever harp music. What I was told after my audition was that I played very well with good technique, expression, and passion for the harp, but that I would have to have a pedal harp in order to play in the orchestra, which was a required part of the music program. (The school I went to for my bachelor’s was small and did not have a school owned harp). I ended up buying a used pedal harp that had damage and was on its last leg, for $6,800. It got me through my first couple years of college until I was able to get a better harp.Some college programs might not require you to play a pedal harp, but while some orchestra pieces can be played on a lever harp, you are going to be pretty limited. But don’t be discouraged! Talk to the harp instructor and find out what you can do. If your playing is good, you have options (such as renting a pedal or using a school harp). Best of luck to you!
I second the suggestion to play around with different heel heights. I do not like walking in high heels, especially when transporting my pedal harp. But I definitely find that if I’m wearing shoes with less than 1.5 inch heels, I struggle with the pedals on more involved pieces. I keep “harp shoes” in my practice room and have been known to change shoes after getting the harp set up at gigs.
When I think crazy pedal sections, I think of the first movement of Pescetti’s Sonata in C Minor. Pages 2 and 4 have sections with 18 pedal changes in 12 measures, and most of them have to be changed on specific beats. I find that 2-2.5 inch heels on this piece help, as I can just pivot my feet quickly and accurately from one pedal to another. I also echo the suggestion made to practice just the pedal movements on pieces. Or just right hand and pedals if it it not hard enough to warrant pedal changes alone.
Ok, the picture did not show up and I’m not sure how to fix it. So here is a link to the picture on my facebook page.
Ok, I have to share this photo of worst background to play harp on ever! Flashing, yes disco-type flashing, colored lights all over the stage. And to make matters worse, I was told I would be playing indoors, so I was not dressed for playing outside, at night, in November,… on a flashing stage… At least it made for a great story 🙂
Hadley courses are great! I did their UEB transition course this summer. I definitely think you should borrow that keyboard and take the Hadley course. And no, I do not think you will need to wait for the UEB changes before learning music braille. The key components are not changing. By the time you get to the more complex sections, the new edition will be ready.
I would not use Bump Dots on the harp if you think you may remove them eventually. Painters tape is a pretty good option as it sticks well but comes off without causing any damage.
To address your questions:
1. Think of the measures like words. Most of the time, if a measure does not fit on a line, you move the whole thing to the next line. Occasionally a measure can be split, just like words can be split with a hyphen, but we try to avoid that as much as possible. You should not run into this in beginning music, so don’t worry about it at this point.
2. Yes, there are right and left hand signs. Right hand sign is dots(4,6)(3,4,5) and left hand sign is dots(4,5,6)(3,4,5). I’m afraid it will get confusing to go into too much detail. The lines of music for instruments like piano and harp are transcribed in parallels (called bar over bar format), so you always know what goes with what, because corresponding measures will be right over each other. If one hand is not playing in a certain measure, the music will show a whole note rest, just like it does in print.
3. The lever changes will be marked clearly as to what lever you are putting up or down, and it will be directly under the measure where you need to do the change. The one disadvantage is that there is not currently a way (that I know of at least) to notate what specific beat of the measure to change the lever. However, in most cases you will know what to do it either because that’s the only chance you have when you are not playing, or because you have it have it changed by a certain beat so you can play that note correctly. You will not be changing levers within the music for quite some time, so don’t worry about this too much yet.
4. The sound board is the wood that the strings go down into. It is the top piece of the sound box. And you are correct about the ovals on the back of the harp being called sound holes.
I am happy to answer any questions you have. As I said, I love harp and I love braille, so it’s a fun topic to discuss. If you want to save my email address in your contacts it is elizabeth@tucsonharpmusic.com. As you get farther along in your braille music course and/or in learning the harp and you come across questions that need to be answered by someone who knows both harp and braille, feel free to email me. I can also give you my phone number, though not over a public forum. 🙂 Send me an email if you would like to get it. Also, anyone else reading this with questions about harp and braille music, feel free to email me.
Most importantly, keep pursuing harp! You can learn braille music and you can learn to play the harp beautifully and with excellence, so don’t let anyone or anything tell you that you can’t!
I have a Stoney End Eve. I think it has a lovely sound for the size. You need to decide if sound or range is more important to you. 22 strings can be frustrating as most music requires 26 strings or more. You can get around that if you learn how to modify the music, play lead sheets, or buy music written for 22 strings. It’s not too hard to modify once you understand the chordal structure.
I have played several in Arizona and in Mexico. I had a quinceanera myself when I turned 15 (spent much of my growing up years in Mexico, so the culture is deeply part of my heritage). I’m not Catholic, so we had mine in a generic event venue. As others have stated, in your general quinceanera, musically treat it like a Catholic wedding and you will probably be fine. First time I played Ave Maria was for a quince. I couldn’t find a solo arrangement so I rewrote the accompaniment version from Sylvia Wood’s Hymns and Wedding music book into a solo version. I have several other versions now, but I think my first version is still my favorite to play.
There are some harp programs in public schools, but they are few and far between. Robin Gordon-Cartier comes to mind as one who set up a harp program in the public schools in New Jersey, if I remember correctly. I think the biggest problem is that harp is such a specialized instrument. Musicians who graduate with music education degrees usually are proficient in most instruments in one or more families (i.e. all woodwinds, all brass, etc.) and have a basic understanding of how to play (and teach) most of the other major instruments found in an orchestra. Harp is generally not included in their basic knowledge. During my 5 years studying harp in college, never once was I asked to give a demonstration to a class of music ed students on the basics of the harp. So for a middle or high school orchestra to even offer harp, the student must have their own private harp teacher and provide their own instrument. I have heard stories multiple times of students saying they wanted to learn harp in school but were told they could not, so they chose something else.
As others have said, the cost and lack of availability of harps is prohibitive as well. We in the harp community are the ones in the best position to change this. I have done demonstrations in classes many times. Students and staff always love them, but it takes a lot of time and resources to set up anything permanent in the schools.
Hi Cindy, I live in Tucson, Arizona. It’s super hot and super dry here most of the time. I am active in the local harp community, and I don’t know of any harpists here who use a humidifier. I have also not heard any stories about problems from the lack of humidity. Right now we are in our monsoon season, where for about 2 months we get short, intense thunderstorms sometimes daily for about 10-30 minutes. Our harps hate monsoon season. Never had any real damage, but lots of extra tuning and lots of strings breaking during this time.
I agree with the advice that was given to ask around your local harp community as well as a harp technician who services your area. Don’t add a humidifier for the sake of adding it. Every area is different.
