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Michael, have you considered a cross-strung harp? No levers at all, all the notes. The playing technique is a bit different, to deal with the differing planes of strings, but there are quite a few players nowadays who are very, very good. (And there are of course the Welsh and baroque triple harps, and double harps.)
Check out this page for an introduction:
The Contemporary cross strung harp
(lists some makers and recordings to check out, too.)It is important to find some way to escape from overly negative and defensive/offensive behaviors. It can be baffling to encounter these things, but it does help to realize that people do a lot of projecting and reliving negative experiences. I try to remind myself that these often have nothing to do with me or the present situation. It can take a while to build people’s trust to the point that they form more accurate assumptions. Fear creates convoluted interactions that only spiral downward. Being immersed in the negativity makes it hard to not get pulled down by it. That is why I love to find a place that is completely free of these things. The quiet of nature is one escape. A loyal pet provides another reminder of how to think the best of others with ease. I love the way animals don’t hold grudges. I hope to be more like that. I’m not sure it’s possible without some escape from it though. I’m sure I’ve made mistakes that were misinterpreted as well. It takes time to break these cycles both within and around our lives. My heart does go out to people beaten down by these negative behaviors.
I sought out the best possible teachers, regardless of where they taught, not the top best-known school whoever the teacher was, or the most popular teacher. What do you learn from that? It might make some things easier, but I feel I learned the most by taking my path as I did.
If you have been trained in one particular school, it will take time to make changes in your technique, and if you can continue along the same line, your progress may be more continuous. I don’t find a mish-mosh approach to study very productive. I would rather hear a pure Grandjany player, if you can call someone that, in their repertoire, than someone who has learned a litle of this, a little of that. The players I have heard who were well trained in my schooling and then either did their own thing, or went to a different kind of playing, lost their best qualities by abandoning the work they had built up. Learning from multiple schools might work for some, but to me, you would need your entire lifetime to do it, because it has taken 20 years or more to master the Salzedo schooling, and I’m too tire to now take on the Grandjany or another schooling. Two or three years of each would only scratch the surface, it seems to me. But, everything depends on who the individual in question is, in the end.
I sought out the best possible teachers, regardless of where they taught, not the top best-known school whoever the teacher was, or the most popular teacher. What do you learn from that? It might make some things easier, but I feel I learned the most by taking my path as I did.
If you have been trained in one particular school, it will take time to make changes in your technique, and if you can continue along the same line, your progress may be more continuous. I don’t find a mish-mosh approach to study very productive. I would rather hear a pure Grandjany player, if you can call someone that, in their repertoire, than someone who has learned a litle of this, a little of that. The players I have heard who were well trained in my schooling and then either did their own thing, or went to a different kind of playing, lost their best qualities by abandoning the work they had built up. Learning from multiple schools might work for some, but to me, you would need your entire lifetime to do it, because it has taken 20 years or more to master the Salzedo schooling, and I’m too tire to now take on the Grandjany or another schooling. Two or three years of each would only scratch the surface, it seems to me. But, everything depends on who the individual in question is, in the end.
Hi Michael,
The Wagner harp is on the Horngacher website. Rod listed the link above, but googling Horngacher harps should work.
Good luck!
Well Thank you, i appreciate your positive feedback!!! At the moment i don’t have any scores of my work but i am working on that and it will be done in near future… Surely you will get my permission for playing them or anybody else who want to play…
I wish to Thank everybody
sorry…that was a little general….
specifically i ment,
– Sound quality
-quility of the general harp
-how often (approximately) you change the stringsthanks!
evaAndy, I tried to look up Meta Epstein’s website, but whatever I get on Google, does not take me into it.
I would recommend if you are planning on having lessons, that it would be best to have a few lessons and talk to your teacher about what sort of instrument most suits your needs.
I have had many pupils come to me over the years, that have bought a harp before they embark on lessons, and sometimes they are just not suitable for what they are aiming for, are not any good, or they become unhappy with them very quickly.
And I have had a couple of students that did find that with Andrew Thom harps, they became unhappy with them after a very short amount of time and regretted their choice.
I recently premiered a piece by Carei Thomas for harp and accordian. It is a tender, lyrical piece called, “Landing”. I can send you his email link if you like.
Oh, I also have been asked to do wedding gigs by people who have seen me play at nursing homes, hospitals, and even once when I was busking with my lap harp.
As the only harpist in my hometown, I usually get wedding gigs by word-of-mouth, or people who have seen me play other places like at church or at coffeehouses.
When I was younger I used to be too nervous to play for the processional (I just did background music while the guests came in), until one wedding when there was a technical problem with the recorded music and the groom came up to me five minutes before the wedding was about to start and told me that I would have to play the processional.
I play a lot of O’Carolan at weddings.
My harp is a 36 string lever harp and it just fits in the back of my car.
When I was starting out I charged $50 for half an hour or $100 for an hour. I was self taught until this year, and have been improving a lot since I started lessons, so I asked my teacher what I was worth when I got a request for a wedding this summer. She told me $150.
If you have a teacher I would recommend asking him/her what you should charge, as they will probably know the going rate and how your skills compare to other harpists in your area.
