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Hi Fellow Harpers —
I noticed some of you found my Blues video on YouTube. I’m hoping to having more video up there soon. In the meantime, PBS stations around the country are airing a program I made that’s all harp (with orchestra) – many different styles: Blues, Flamenco, Celtic. Most of the show is with lever harp – a couple of the tunes use pedal harp. It shows in NYC Sun. March 11 on WLIW-21 (8pm) and Boston WGBH-2 Mon. March 12 (7:30pm). I’d love help getting the message out about these PBS shows — and they’ll certainly give you an eyefull of harp video. A pdf list of PBS stations all over the country playing the video is here: http://www.hipharp.com/pbs_mats/faqs_pbs.html Thanks! And keep on harping!
I think I have to agree about the Erard Gothics. They are pretty nice. Much finer and smaller than modern grand concerts and after hearing one on youtube I think I like their sound better too. I’m a big fan of a bright sound which says “harp” to me. Some of the modern pedal harps sound identical to piano’s and I think what’s the point?
Carl I also agree about your Art Nouveau model. I remember seeing that online a while ago and drooling. It’s so beautiful and so different to everyone elses harps. It’s about time someone started making harps other than the classic victorian look.
Hola a Todos otra vez es Galaxia, ya que a raiz que el foro arpistasnet.foro.st, era un poco complicado para registrarse y enviar mensaje, decidir eliminar el mismo y crear otro mas sencillo, en el cual no se requiere registrarse para responder o escribir un mensaje, le dejo la direccion: http://arpistas.mundoforo.com, esperando que accedan y disculpen… Chaooooooo..
I live in California, but I think I know what you meant Grade 6 piece- ABRSM exam right?
Thank you so much for fast reply and the information, Rod.
I will be checking into it.
I have to change my preference. The Barberini harp by Eric Harps is THE harp I’ve been dreaming of. Ancient, beautiful and sounds divine.
Saul, why don’t you try to contact the student and simply mention that you remembered they were having problems with injuries once and you were just thinking that maybe Alexander Technique would help. There is an American Society of AT teachers and you could refer the student there for them to find an AT teacher to help work on use issues. This way no matter who the student studies with for harp, they know how to use their body and you come out on top for caring about what happens to the student more than the fact that you lost them from your studio. Does that make sense? Perhaps I will again be criticized for not being irate and for offering an option that doesn’t reside in obstinancy but from my experiences this is actually the code of ethics that harpists have. That’s the way ethics are. If you made everyone have them they wouldn’t be ethics, because ethics separate people from other people. So do something constructive even if it might not benefit you directly, for the greater good of the student. You’ll also be setting an example for that harpist. If it were me, I would be really hurt but I think that I would call the student and just mention AT and where they can find a certified teacher, leaving it at that. Then you’re not stealing back, you’re not percevied as bitter and you’re opening the door in case the student wants to re-establish a relationship with you.
I bought a 25 string harp recently not because of the sweetness of my signifigant other, but rather his INSISTANCE that my semi-grand will not fit into the studio we are subletting for the year. I guess I should note that he’s probably right, I can’t even image where we’d put the thing….
So I bought a Triplett Christina. When I first got the harp I had no idea to what to play, not even my first folk books fit into the number of strings…. so I found a bunch of folk books by Suzanne Guldimann that are written for small harps. The arrangements are extremely simple, but really beautiful. Now my harp and I are getting along famously. In fact I love it. How nice is it to have a harp I can throw over my shoulder?
Have fun,
Erynn
BTW I have also seen those cardboard harps being used by students and in ensembles and they sound consistent and pleasant. They may not look as pretty as a wooden carved one but they are dirt cheap and an
I don’t have a lot of money and even less when I bought my first harp. In fact I didn’t even have a few hundred dollars at the time.
I think when $$ is an issue getting value for money is even more important. If you buy a dud with the limited funds you have it could mean you won’t be playing for even longer than you planned. If you can manage to scrape together $250 for a harp then it will only be a matter of a month of two to put another $250 together and you can get a harp that will be worth it’s price. It’s very telling that everyone says the mideast harps are not worth their retail price. Yet there are lots of affordable harps that are.
I also know that a lot of people say harp rental is a waste of money. But if it’s the difference between playing for 6 months or not then it is money well spent. With something as challenging as learning an instrument it really pays to learn on quality equipment. Otherwise you cannot be sure if the problem is your playing or just the instrument.
