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Usually I’ve seen the pedals written out below the notes of the slide. That makes it pretty unambiguous. No special notation.
~Sam
I’ve done my fair share of these events over the years for one reason or another – used to make a deal with some of them to give me a check for my full fee for doing the job and then I would turn right around and give them a check for the same amount and mark it “donation” – then take it as a deduction –
Even if you have musicality and clarity, music can be simply too fast. But, you usually can’t do both – play too fast and have clarity and musicality, so it’s basically a nonissue. But of course, the left hand is arguably the more important hand in Whirlwind. The right hand makes the atmosphere of the pieces, but the left hand IS the piece. Does you know what I mean?
~Sam
Actually, I take that back. I just listened to Lucille Lawrence’s recording. It’s right at 192. It sounds wonderful, so I take it back that 192 wouldn’t sound good (I thought I had measured it a few years ago and found it to be about 170), but I like it a bit slower personally.
~Sam
I agree that it would be more feasible than you imagine. But should you play it that fast? I don’t so. In my opinion, it just wouldn’t sound good. I think I played it at maybe 168. As long as you make it sound like a whirlwind, the tempo really shouldn’t matter.
The correct tempo is the tempo that produces the correct character. Always.
~Sam
A vlog is just a written journal, as you say, delivered orally through a video. They are popular because they can be made quickly and visual aides can be employed.
That’s good to hear. Has anyone had a different experience? I think I remember Saul once saying that he thought that Burgandy was inferior in sound quality…
~Sam
To add on to what Tacye just said, you could put in the tiniest lift after the second to bottom note, and the lowest note. Eventually, that should disappear, but its a good practice technique to get you started. You might also consider practicing with rhythms. That is, instead of playing the arpeggio as equal sixteenths, play them as dotted sixteenth notes and then a thirty second. Basically, play two successive notes, then pause, then play the next two and repeat. Play those notes fast, and pause only as long as you need to get a grip on the next strings. Alternate the group of notes that is played fast. Does that make sense?
~Sam
That’s a great idea about the videos! Nothing’s better than personally trying one, however.
How long is the extended bottom (roughly)? I have a cart right now (which is neither of the two I’m interesting in) and it has an extended base, which is just awful. The small lip that supports only the back feet is infinitely more steady, at least in my experience.
~Sam
I’ve heard many people praise Pirastro nylons, because they apparently are the same price as other nylons and because they are more stable. People say they keep a tune and have a much better tone because they are slightly thicker. I’m planning to try them soon, so I’ll report back.
~Sam
I’ve actually just sent L&H an email about heavy gauge gut strings. I’m interested because I’m a stronger player and I’m looking for that warm tone that been discussed. The funny thing is that everyone seems to agree (except, it would seem, Carl) that slightly heavier strings produce warmer sounds, but no one I’ve spoken with – and this includes two L&H certified regulators – have actually seen a harp strung with heavy gauge gut! One of the regulators I spoke with mentioned that the thicker strings are sometimes used to help with a regulation problem – someone mentioned that the thickness could change the regulation if the difference was large enough. Maybe it is, in which case the strings could be too thick! Whatever the case, we do know that strings were much thinner back in the 19th century and earlier, as Carl has said, but many people have noticed that although the strings thickened up once harps modernized and soundboards also thickened up, they started to thin out again maybe twenty or thirty years ago, maybe even sooner. We know that the harps we have today were built for slightly higher tension because the strings were thicker at one time. Or, perhaps, the harps weren’t built for that tension, and that’s why the strings are thinning out. However, I think the former option is more likely, because we surely would have seen news about studies, or at least anecdotes, about how the string tension was too high and soundboards were regularly pulling up. I don’t believe anyone’s mentioned that those types of stories/events were more frequent 50-30 years ago than now. So, it would seem to me that the harps CAN take the slightly higher tension (emphasis on slightly), but heavy gauge might be too heavy. I’ll post on here once L&H gets back to me.
