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my daughter found a regular gig at a tea room type restaurant They have a dozen tables and are happy to remove one to fit the harp and harpist.Look for upscale places that are looking for soft background music.One other thought,listen to their recorded music and if they include harp music in their selections, there is a good chance that they would go for the real thing.
Wow its been a while since I’ve looked through this post! I’m glad there are other people on the realistic side of things. I think it being a illegal for a female to play trumpet is HILARIOUS though! Just the idea of “being sentenced to life in prison on a count of unlawful tumpeting” is a bit silly.
Well, I’m still playing the harp as seriously as ever! In fact this month I may be taking lessons with the principal harp of the boston symphony orchestra! HOORAY!
oh well
this may be a little late, but im in the american youth harp ensemble and we hav a harp camp every summer.
If you use the strings as bowstrings, and buy a goodly supply of arrows, you can defend yourself against the barbarian hordes if they happen to attack while you’re at a gig.
I find this story a bit strange since it is to the teacher’s disadvantage to lose a student. If it would help bring some closure for your daughter, it may be good to approach the teacher and let her know the pain she caused, and see if she can give you an explanation you can pass on that makes it clear it was not your daughter’s fault. I’m certain this teacher doesn’t know that she caused so much pain. It would be helpful for her to know the consequences of her actions in case she repeats them. I know teachers who teach over 100 students a week in my area, and an extremely hectic schedule could result in miscommunication, but it’s really hard to tell what happened here. At any rate it was unfortunate and unprofessional. I hope your daughter can find a reliable, stable teacher who can help rebuild her self esteem!!
Oftentimes students do not have a realistic idea about money, so it is up to their teachers to help educate them on what is appropriate to charge. I remember when I was in college I had a job mentoring a high school girl in music and the school district paid me $10 hr. At the time I thought it was a lot of money and worked hard to live up to my high paying employment. When extraneous costs are not an issue, and when there is no awareness of the consequences of undercutting other harpists, students can easily charge inappropriate fees.
Consumers obtaining the quickest and cheapest product is a business model that will always be present. It’s the reason for hamburgers. As professional musicans we have to work around it by appealing to a select consumer at times. Giving performances and having a presence in the local media (newspaper, radio, a website, etc.) are all ways to establish a reputation that can appeal to the folks who can afford the highest quality options.
When I started gigging I called my current and former harp teachers about fees and they helped direct me.
I think two is a good limit on the number of transcriptions on a program unless you are doing a group of them, or an all-transcriptions program.
Standard Repertoire Suggestions:
Faure: Impromptu, Une Chatelaine en sa Tour
Hindemith: Sonata
C.P.E.Bach: Sonata
Spohr: Fantaisie
Pierne: Impromptu-Caprice
Handel: Theme and Variations, Concerto, Harmonious Blacksmith
Roussel: Impromptu
Glinka: Nocturne, Variations on a theme by Mozart (not as interesting)
Grandjany: Children’s Corner Suite, Frere Jacques, Divertissement, children at Play
Salzedo: Ballade, Variations, Five Preludes, Five Etudes, Scintillation, Prelude for a Drama, Preludes for Beginners (includes Chanson dans la Nuit), Sonata for Harp and Piano, Prelude Fatidique, Suite of Eight Dances
Tal: Intrada
Maayani: Toccata, Passacaglia, Maqamat, Sonata No. 1
Britten: Suite
Hovhaness: Nocturne
Flothuis: Pour le Tombeau de Orphee
Prokofiev: Prelude in C, Piece for Harp
Ippolitov-Ivanov: Nocturne
Srebotnjak: Five Preludes
Giuranna: Sonatina
Roger-Ducasse: Barcarolle
Dussek: Sonatinas, Sonata in c Minor
Beethoven: Variations on a Swiss Air
Rota: Sarabande and ToccataJust a starter list to give some examples.
As it happens, a very long time ago in Spain, it was _ILLEGAL_ for women to play the trumpet! Fortunately, that frankly stupid law was repealed a long time ago.
I, too, am a teen (16) male harpist(-to-be). If anyone belittles you about being girly for playing the harp, that’s their problem, not yours. Anyone who would be willing to belittle you about something as silly as that has serious flaws in their logic, and should be burned at the stake. 🙂
I’ve been playing for about two months now, and not once,
like the post above me, have I received any negative comments. Girls love the fact that I
play the harp, the guys think it’s really “different,” but they respect it, and everybody else
seems to think it’s great. I’m sure there are still a few people out there who think “Oh, the
harp is girly/gay, what a loser.” But they probably only think that because they don’t have
the reputation of being “that guy who plays the harp.”“Ashoken Farewell” is a similiar song in type, but is fairly recent. “Ash Grove”, while not as good, in my opinion, is an example of some very pretty Welsh music.
At http://harpcenter.com/page/SWHC/PROD/SWBooks/5866B you can buy sheet music for
Brook,
Thanks for your advice. 🙂 We don’t live anywhere near the Lyon & Healy factory, nor any
harp dealers, so our only choice (aside from traveling hours upon hours) was to buy/rent
through the internet. I’ve done a lot of research on both the Troubadour and the Prelude,
and have found that they are basically the same harp, just constructed differently, and one
with two more strings.We decided to go with the Prelude. My dad purchased a used L&H Prelude (Mahogany)
from the company, and it should be delivered by tomorrow night. I can’t wait, seriously!
I’m so excited about it.But we didn’t purchase it so lightly. We had them make sure the harp was in excellent
condition (like they claimed), had everything it was supposed to, and everything else. So,
after hours of talking on the phone with them, we finally bought it.Thanks for your advice, though! I was very, very close to buying a Troubadour V, but we
decided not to. So, we’ll know how the harp’s turned out by tomorrow, hopefully!
