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Good question! I suppose input from a full-time-student and part-time teacher would be quite interesting, eh?
Well!Lately, I’ve really been putting a lot of effort into keeping harp on my “top” priority list. Obviously, schoolwork needs to come first, but I like to keep practicing as a close second. Dividing up my time accordingly is an important part of keeping up my harp priorities. During the school year, I need to make a concious effort to make sure I’m (at the very least) spending two hours a day at my harp. Obviously, on weekends, days off, school vacations, etc. I can put in a lot more. For instance, next week is midterms at school, so I only have 6 hours of school for the whole week, which is pretty nice. Clearly, I’ll have to be studying a great amount for the following midterms during my down-time, but I’m rather well aware practicing needs a rather significant percentage of my energy also.
As far as other activities go, I have a tendency of putting them behind harp, only since I’m more interested in progressing in harp rather than, say, tennis. I think for others, harp should fall accordingly on the student’s interest spectrum, and time should be divided up appropriately. For instance, if student “A” dreams of going to Julliard and spending the rest of his life playing harp, then harp should be the activity of foremost importance. If student “B” likes playing harp, however, finds more enjoyment in playing soccer, and wants to become a professional in that respect, then I find it appropriate to have soccer become student “B”‘s priority over harp.
It’s all in the students’ personal interests, in my opinion.
I look forward to seeing what others have to say!
I have worked on this quite extensively. One thing that helps is instead of having the harp aligned straight out, have it more of a diagonal from left knee to right knee, so the left arm has the bass strings a bit closer and doesn’t have to reach so far; in other words the harp is angled at about 11 o’clock instead of 12 o’clock. Check your bench height: you might need to sit lower, or higher. The rest is probably in how you practice, and your position. Your elbows may be a little too high, which tenses the trapezius (?) muscles. They also tighten, as does the neck, when cold, so try wearing a light scarf around your neck and a sweater or shawl over your shoulders. Next, relax your thinking. You are probably driving yourself too hard and pushing too fast, which hampers your progress. You must have breathing space between your repetitions. And breathe fully while playing. Drop your arms and let them swing naturally. Place them behind the bench and stretch them. Play a lot more exercises, taking one exercise and doubling the tempo four times so your are not thinking about the notes, only your technique and relaxation. Removing the effort from playing requires conscious attention. Doing so increases tone and quality and facility. Do not play anything louder than a beautifully full and ringing pianissimo tone with no effort, then give it more energy, but no effort, until you can do it fortissimo with just a touch on the strings. You will find an article appearing in the American Harp Journal’s next issue or so on the subject by Carlos Salzedo. I also have written an article on removing the effort from playing, which I could republish. You also might need daily lessons until this is resolved, so you develop better habits. Also, have a private practice space free of distractions and pressures, with mirrors to check yourself.
A good teacher also needs to challenge his/her students. It was only after my teacher gave me more advanced music that I started to practice. Before that, I put very little effort into the harp and got very little out of it. I was not given music that I wanted to learn. I wanted classical, and I was given popular music and kids songs and simplified versions. I was extraordinarily frustrated. All of a sudden, she began giving me better music, and I began to practice and actually care.
A good teacher also needs to be excited by his/her students (when they deserve it). My teacher is genuinely excited about my progress. She is proud of me, and now she regularly tells me so.
A good teacher also needs to help his/her students. My teacher always has referred gigs to me that she couldn’t or wouldn’t play. When I found myself in an orchestra with kids from Julliard and Oberlin in the middle of high school, she helped me go over my 101 pages of music and gave me tips on playing in orchestras. She wasn’t formally teaching that week due to weddings, but she welcomed me in for a couple lessons that week. She had me come in at noon one day and told me I could stay all afternoon–at no charge. I am going away to college next year, and she is excited at seeing where I end up. She talks about finding me the best teacher in the area.
Good suggestions everyone. In addition to relaxing, make sure that your body is aligned while playing the harp. Since we pull it over our right shoulder, there is a temptation to twist to the left – be sure to keep your back straight. Lay on the floor and notice how your back and shoulders feel when straight and relaxed. Be so sure your spine is straight – not leaning left or right, not curved out. If any muscles are thrown off balance, it is like a domino effect which can strain all sorts of additional muscles. You mention tension in your neck. Twisting the head is also a temptation – either straining forward or twisting to the left. Get a full length mirror by your harp or video yourself playing. You may be surprised what you discover. Also, stand by your harp and gradually tip it back. You will notice there is one point where the harp almost balances itself. After this point, the further you pull it back the heavier it gets. You want most of the weight of the harp to go directly into the floor – not on your shoulder. Allow the knee to help hold the little weight needed to balance it. It should be pulled just slightly past its natural balancing point. Does that make sense? Also, if your bench is too low, your shoulders may be straining to reach high enough for the middle of the string. This last one is an adjustment I have needed to make recently.
Sometimes we play differently at our lessons than when we are tired and by ourselves at home. It may be that it takes a while before your alignment goes out. Do your best to observe what is happening. One last point to observe is your breathing. It is tempting to hold one’s breath when concentrating. Try to breath deeply between phrases. This is another way to observe if our body is aligned. You need to be sure to get enough oxygen, and breathing deep and full keeps the muscles relaxed and the body aligned.
Take time to stretch – even during practice sessions. There was an issue of the Harp Column that went over different strengthening exercises as well. In Yolanda Kondonassis’ book “on Playing the Harp” she includes useful stretches to do. This book has all kinds of wonderful, practical advice for healthy playing.
You should never feel tension like that when you play. I don’t have any advice but to relax, though. Concentrate of keeping your arms loose and comfortable. Do you only feel it after an hour? Maybe you can just practice in one hour intervals a couple times a day. I do think that you should beat this problem instead of avoiding it, though. Make sure, with your teacher, that you have a correct and exact position. I don’t know why you would be tense with a correct position, really. Make sure you don’t raise your shoulders when you play higher up. Maybe if you spend a while simply playing “warm ups” with an exact position you will be able to get over this. Make sure you are sitting the correct distance from the harp because this could cause neck/shoulder pain, I’d guess. There are also times when you simply reach your limit, and after that your arms and back become tired… maybe this is happening to you but instead of just being tired they tighten up? If so, you just need to build up the amount of time you can play for. You could also try strengthening your muscles.
Sorry I don’t have any good advice! You definitely need to fix this, though. Besides the potential for injury that you mention, it is simply incorrect playing. Good luck!
Hi I am a senior in High School at Howard W. Blake School for the Arts in Tampa, FL (Hillsborough County).
Hey, i’m from tulsa, oklahoma and have been playing for 6 years. i’m 20 years old and currently attending college.
Thank you all for you responses, I can’t return the harp because she bought it about 7-8 years ago and was intending to learn to play bu it just sat in the corner of the room collecting dust.
That sounds a little too sketchy.
1. Holland has phones.
2. If there is a computer, there is a phone.
3. Three one hour lessons for a kid is way too much.
4. Who leaves their kid in an apartment while he worked on another continent?
5. If he has enough money to work non-profit in Holland and rent an apartment in the Boston area and pay for three, one hour lessons weekly for six months, why not get a professional piano teacher?
Most of these are spam and they simply are trying to obtain your personal information. I get most of my real harp student through email, and it is easy to tell the difference.
The spam mail usually is looking for a teacher for a limited time frame. They usually live very far away and are planning to visit my country and want lessons while they are here. They want me to send info on how much I charge so they can pay for the whole thing in advance. (I suspect it would turn out to be a scam where they send a check for more, and I mail them the difference, turns out they have a bad check, etc)These often have unusual elements in the request like desiring three lessons per week, or includes instruments I don’t play. One person wanted me to teach them yoga which could have been an interesting double scam!! (They’d leave me penniless, I’d leave them pretzeled) 🙂
The real emails usually address me by name, mention where they found my name, have details about their background and desire to learn harp, describing the harps they own, etc. They usually include a phone number for me to contact them, and they usually live in driving distance from me.
It is definitely spam. You can also tell by the spelling and grammatical errors. Don’t just delete it, report it as spam if you have that button.
Gary.
There is NO controversy. Dont be confused by anonymous posters in these groups. Thats how I ended up buying a crappy Harp based on reviews by the “friends” of the New Jersey luthier I bought from. Just click on my name and you will find out my experience.Remember that I gave you examples of what has been written on Harp Column. not just my own opinion. Do us all a favor and go telephone or email THE ACTUAL PROFESSIONALS and UNIVERSITY HARP DEPARTMENTS and see what they tell you about these
horribly sounding harp shaped objects…erm I mean otherwise known as “Pakistani harps”Let me give you some numbers and emails of REPUTABLE
people/institutions you can contact:Howard Bryan Harp restorer
H. Bryan & Co.
howard@hbryan.com
Phone: 434-239-9966
Lynchburg, VirginiaSylvia woods Harp Center
(800) 272-4277
Sylvia Woods Harp Center
915 N.Glendale Avenue
Glendale, California 91206
Phone Number: (818) 956-1363INDIANA SCHOOL OF MUSIC HARP DEPARTMENT
1201 East Third St.
School of Music
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 855-9846
Fax: (812) 855-9847
Office Hours
Monday?Friday: 8 a.m.?5 p.m.Its all too easy to set up an anonymous account here on Harp Column and say whatever you wish without the background or experience in harps. So disregard me and all the other harp posters and make sure you get legitimate answers from “professionals” who have institutions or verifiable credentials behind them, because frankly ANYONE including the sellers of these “Pakistani harps can get on this website and rave about these horrible interments.
I say: Go to the actual people who run harp departments and teach harp. You will get the answer. There is no debate. Just telephone the ?professionals? rather than relaying on the responses of anonymous posters on an online discussion group
Dear Gary,
Helen is correct about all this. These harps are a very sad tale. I just got a new student who has one of these, and it is what she has to work with for now. Even though these are only a few hundred dollars, that is still a great sacrifice for some folks and they do feel emotionally attached to their purchase because it is a gift and/or required financial sacrifice. Anyone reading this please don’t intentionally buy one because of the many problems surrounding these Pakistani rosewood harps.The Harpsicles/Sharpsicles, Blevins discounted harps, Dusty Strings Ravenna are all better options for the least expensive harps. It is important to develop the best sense of tone from the beginning if at all possible.
