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hola a todos, acabo de regresar del encuentro en cuernavaca fue muy provechoso me toco de compa?ero un arpista de pedales que toca jazz hicimos intercambio de tecnicas,por su puesto no me podia perder el recital del maestro caballero, y tuve la oportunidad de convivir un poco y tratar de aprenderle algo,
paraIt may be one of the only pieces to do so, but Whirlwind by Salzedo has some 4th-finger slides that have to be as fast as the thumb slides at 176 for the beat. That takes a lot of preparation.I have a very good exercise in which I go 112344321123443211234432 and reverse 4432112344321123443211234, starting on each note of the scale. It is excellent for hand position, finger articulation, and equalizes the number of times the thumb and 4th finger play with the 2 and 3 fingers.
Maybe I will organize one, but the reason for adjusting the AHS competition is that it is the main one for students and the best-known. As the foremost competition it should lead the way in including more students, which will only enrich the talent pool. And enriching the talent pool of winners will ultimately enrich your concert experience as the harpists you hear will be coming from more sources. But do you only go to hear competition winners? I have never found them to be the best artists or performers. They are the most mechanical, by rote, and least artistic as those are not qualities enhanced by learning preselected repertoire and playing it as fast as possible to show off. I like the idea of self-selecting levels, but then what is there to push you ahead? It is important to take on challenges, to leap ahead sometimes in repertoire.
When I began study with Miss Lawrence, I remember her holding a pencil under the thumb joint while I was playing, or even better, holding my hand with hers, until I got the sensation memorized. The first exercise in Salzedo’s Daily Dozen is great for working on this.
The AHS Journal Teacher’s Forum published my list of orchestra parts graded for difficulty. It should be helpful to you.
Rest, anti-inflammatory medication (not vioxx)–aspirin and tylenol, liniments (Bioflexx or icyhot), nighttime padded splints for a while, swimming and water exercises, tai chi, and get rid of every drop of tension in your playing. Play as softly as you can until you can increase the tone without increasing the tension or effort. When you have a good ring in the string this is possible. If you can afford it, get Trager massage, or other massage constantly. Physical therapy is of limited help, but sometimes useful. Some chiropractics can help. Acupuncture may help.
One thing I haven’t seen that helped me (recommended by my doctor) in combination with night splints, was increasing my intake of vitamin B12 & B6.
The great masterpiece for Harp and Piano is the Sonata by Carlos Salzedo. It is very effective when played well, and not too difficult for the harp. The Berezowsky Concerto and the Ravel Introduction and Allegro also work well with piano. If you want something conservative, then try Reynaldo Hahn’s Prelude Valse and Rigaudon for harp and piano.
I’m glad some of you agree.
Teachers can provide documentation of length of study time. As for differing abilities due to age, I think talent will tell the difference. I only saw this as happening for teen years which should cut out the gap in ages.
If a teen has been studying for three years and is sixteen, then they should be able to compete against a thirteen or fourteen year old who’s been playing for six years or more, and is old enough to play with some maturity. Everyone develops so differently, then the musical categories can’t possibly correspond to an age group. Prodigious types or those who simply have high manual dexterity are not better than those who develop at their own pace. Slow and steady is supposed to win races!
As for repertoire, I would have them stop as I said, requiring so much music by harpists, specifically, Grandjany, Tournier, Hasselmans and Renie. And I don’t want to hear people attempting Salzedo if they don’t know how to do it or read his notation.
Here’s some suggested repertoire for students of six-to-eight year’s study:
Debussy: Arabesque No. One, and En Bateau or Clair de Lune
Isadore Freed: Promenade
Dussek: Two Sonatinas or Sonata in C Minor
Rota: Sarabande and Toccata
Pierne: Impromptu-Caprice
I don’t mind an occasional piece by Grandjany, but it depends which one. I favor his Pastorale, Automne, Divertissement, Frere Jacques and most of the Children’s Hour.
Another possibility is to not count years below age eight.
I did envision or suggest simply creating an additional category for teens who start later than age twelve. After entering college they can join the general categories.
Some of Salzedo’s pieces are more suitable to any harpist. These include: pieces from the Art of Modulating
Prelude in the Nature of an Octave Study
Prelude for a Drama
Preludes for Beginners
Variations on a Theme in the Old Style (must be full-length)
Recessional
Jeux d’Eau
Paraphrases on folk songs (Turkey Strut, Jolly Piper, Traipsin’ Thru Arkansaw, etc.)
and his Transcriptions.
I have to question this concept of “ill will”. How can somebody do that just because they teach what they teach? If people felt challenged by that, it’s their perception, number one, and their challenge to excell, number two. I’ve had this discussion recently with a European harpist. She was “shocked” that we-as a school-would not play old chestnuts like Hasselmans, Godefroid and the like. Well, why should we? Just because everyone else does? Just because they’re there? She seemed to have a kind of shallow, promiscuous attitude of thinking one should play everything because it must have some kind of value. Well, there’s a lot of music that has little value or depth, artistically or musically. Why should we then spend our valuable time learning and performing it? Especially when serious audiences reject it, not to mention critics or other musicians. Other instruments like flute and guitar have had the same conflicts in the pursuit of being taken seriously on an artistic level. Why is the harp the last to progress in quality of repertoire? These people who complain certainly aren’t making any effort to play Salzedo’s music, so in reality, it is they who are being exclusive. Salzedo himself performed music by Holy, Renie and Grandjany, albeit early in his career. He taught Tournier’s Second Sonatine, even though the whole thing is an obvious copy of Ravel’s Sonatine. It may be that Lucile Lawrence was the one who was most selective of repertoire. Well, she had very high standards and ignored lots of repertoire. There is a stage in a student’s development in which their esthetic sense (good taste) is in a fragile, embryonic state, and the wrong music can misdirect their future development and energy. This is the real reason for her “exclusivity.” After all, the differences between the Salzedo school and others, as I have said elsewhere, are esthetic as much as physical, and thus require discrimination and choices.
If you don’t remember your lessons with Mrs. Bannerman, again, a refresher on the concepts would not be out of order. But really, what is there to question? About all I could ask is, why play third-rate music with weak tone on weak instruments just because of history? Just so you know, I consider Salzedo a serious composer, not just another harpist-composer based on my analysis of his compositions as much as their effect in performance.
I don’t think there’s anything left to prove about Salzedo’s approach.Have you considered applying to BU also? Emily Lewis is a great harpist and teacher. I would say that almost everybody plays the Debussy, Handel and Ginastera. Not that that’s a bad thing. The Handel Passacaglia is a little too easy I might think if I were on the jury. The Bach Chaconne, Handel’s Harmonious Blacksmith or Theme and Variations might be better choices if you have enough time left to prepare new repertoire. Claire de Lune (Salzedo) is an excellent choice, but it is very difficult to play well. His En Bateau is a good alternative. Consider the Three Improvisations by William Mathias. Anne Pilot recorded his concerto, so she may be pleased by the choice.
