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Thanks Jerusha!
Yes I am learning Sylvia’s Lennon and McCartney arrangement from her Lennon and McCartney book. That book is absolutely amazing, I’m a huge Beatles fan!
David Ice’s arrangement was much easier to learn than I expected, it has beautiful arpeggios. It slid right under my fingers I loved it!
— Natalie
This is an interesting post, thanks for starting a conversation! 🙂
I’m a student, so I work on simpler stuff. But this week I’m learning Sylvia Wood’s arrangements for Both Sides Now, and Bookends. I also learned Eleanor Rigby, and a song called Tropical Dreams from Sylvia’s book Gecko Tails. As you can probably tell I’m a Sylvia Woods junkie, but I’m also learning David Ice’s arrangement of Stairway to Heaven!
Thanks for the post!
— Natalie
Yes, I would appreciate replies to this too. Thought…it is very thorough…but it would be good to get a physio’s angle, as it was published in 1921 and I wonder if the exercises pass muster with what is known scientifically about muscles/strain and so on. Perhaps you could put this thread in the ‘professional’ forum as well. I am nearly 50 and if I ever had fast twitching muscles, they have kind of abandoned me….so I am very interested in the exercises.
Dialogue with a Brook by Sylvia Woods from her book the Harp of Brandiswheire. It’s really pretty and sounds very watery!
I’ve downloaded some really pretty pieces off harpcenter.com
Sylvia Woods has gorgeous arrangements as PDF files!
Also try narrowing down to particular song titles or try piano arrangements, it’s easy to adapt them to the harp if there aren’t too many accidentals.
I hope this helped, God bless! 🙂
Yes, that’s a good point. However, I found that the awkward position that I had to twist my foot was the action that was so destabilizing, not necessarily the actual pressing down of the pedals. That might just be the way my body is, though.
~Sam
Saul,
I’m intrigued by your comment, “play something with much harder pedaling, and it will seem easier.” Do you mean that this section will feel easier after the player has played some other piece that is more difficult for pedals, or that the most difficult pedals end up seeming easy after awhile? Something else perhaps?I do wonder how Renie did it. I’m sure someone like Susann McDonald would know. Maybe someone should ask her… The music does indicate moving Si and Re simultaneously, so one would think that that’s the way Renie did it. You have to have reasonably sized feet to do it very comfortably, though. Antoine’s pedaling is actually a lot simpler than mine, and it’s a relatively easy to do. The double pedal really is not trouble if you do not lock the pedals. However, it is slightly destabilizing, especially since you have to move a pedal with your right foot as well. Either way definitely works, though. I’m personally not going to change it now, just because I’ve played the piece for so long, and I’m used to the extra pedals. I think that both ways could be presented to the student for equal consideration.
My solution really doesn’t require any nuance in the timing – it’s straight forward and simple, though it can feel like you’re dancing a bit!
~Sam
Yes, your mom is right! I have a very very good memory (at least for music) and it’s not hard for me to memorize several pages of very difficult music in only an hour or two.
Nope, no sports. But I did manage to fit in time to tutor Spanish, edit my school’s science magazine, and head my school’s stage crew. We’ll see how much I can do in college!
I actually already have all the pieces I listed in my fingers (and theoretically memorized) except the Faure. I have many pieces to learn over the next year though.
~Sam
I also meant to say this:
Now that I think about it, I recorded for about a month before I got a recording I was happy with. The thing with this particular competition is that you need to record all the pieces for the competition without stops – so the actual video file ended up being around 20 minutes. It takes a while get make sure that you do most of everything you want for 20 minutes straight! The time I spent recording was waaaaay longer than most people do (and probably should) record for these types of things. However, I had the space all to myself for something like 10 hours a week for a month. I spent the first two weeks doing sound checks (I knew this would go on youtube and on to other places as well) and making sure I could get through the whole program, and then I spent the last two weeks recording. All the videos in the same setting as the Legende and Absidioles (I think its just Pescetti 1 after that) were part of that continuous video! Given all the time, I didn’t want to be wearing my suit in a hot chapel ten hours a week just to record for this instance – those clothes would have gotten pretty nasty pretty soon!
~Sam
Hi Philippa,
Right now I’m in a nifty program between a conservatory and a university. I basically study (biochemistry – you’re right!) at the University full time, and then I get to do all the harp related things as well as chamber music at the Conservatory. It’s a nice deal!
Esquisse is nice! All of Renie is the best, of course. 🙂 I’m playing only two pieces in my October and February recitals each (I’m sharing the concerts) but the concert in January is a full one, and depending on what I feel up to and what I have ready, it will be between an hour and fifteen minutes and an hour and a half. Overall I’m playing some Renie, Britten, Bach, Grandjany, Dalvimare, Jolivet, and maybe some Faure and Pescetti. Quite a lot! I already have recordings of the Renie, Britten, Bach, Grandjany, and Pescetti on my youtube channel. (Don’t you just love shameless self advertising?)
~Sam
Glad to hear you liked my playing! That video was my audition tape for the Young Artist’s Harp Competition. Though I would have liked to dress the part I was trying to play, I knew that I’d have to spend a few days recordings to get it just the way I wanted, and I didn’t want to wear the same, nice clothes for days on end! It’s good to hear that I came across as professional anyway 🙂
That video is not so up to date, and my interpretation now is somewhat different in many parts – hopefully in a good way!
You should check out my other videos, although the best ones unfortunately don’t have any video of my playing since I initially recorded them with only audio and only later decided to upload them to youtube.
If anyone would like to see me live, I’m performing in Philadelphia next month, Boston in January (though I’m not sure this is open to the public), and Chicago in February. I’m playing Legende in all three concerts.
~Sam
No, not a Delight, but I’d like one of those too. This is quite a bit heavier (carbon fibre composite). I still have the packing box. As I predicted, I have been away on holidays and am just back recently, facing a harp lesson tomorrow with no practice – augh! I could have practised my harp everyday if only it had fitted in the car. You have revived my
case-building in another sense….for a new, smaller harp.I guess the Delight in the pool proves that one can expand the venue possibilities for performances…
Hey there Basel – I’m relieved to see that you are able to be posting and also apparently back to your music – hope you and your family and your harps are someplace safe and secure – the news that I see is very scary so I hope there is some sort of peaceful resolution to all the political upheavals soon – please take care of yourself –
Best,
John
