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Well, thanks for making me feel really old. It is important to discuss these things, even disagree, because it hopefully reminds people that playing the harp can be art, not just an occupation. As far as the Harp Society goes, I was particularly impressed by how free the Conference was of any contentiousness overall. The atmosphere is quite different now. We Salzedo advocates stick to it because we believe in it as art, and its boundaries are, I feel necessary, for it to retain its essence, and not be watered down out of existence. Playing Salzedo’s music for all its worth does require understanding his esthetic and tonal palette, like other composers. It is also pertinent because so much of it is an oral tradition, not written down, but passed down from teacher to student. The way we talk about it can change, but the questions will remain the same.
I am also from the Salzedo School of technique. I’d like share Ms. Alice Chalifoux’s comment on raising here. I am quoting the following from an interview of Ms Chalifoux in the 1982 summer American Harp Journal. “Some people feel jestures are just a matter a show. This is completely wrong. Gestures are not idle motions. They are disciplined with a definite purpose and a definite reason in an aesthetic sense as well as in relationship to the sound produced. In any sport, it is not just a matter of hitting the ball, but what you do before and after that makes the ball go where you want it to. The same thing applies when producing a sound. What you do after you leave the string has a direct bearing on the quality and character of sound. If the gesture is short and sharp, then the sound will be short and sharp in keeping with the gesture. If the gesture is slow and sustained, then the sound will be sustained. It is a definite fact that the actual raising of the hand, the follow through, can produce a sustained quality which is very necessary on our instrument”
I have re-read this particular comment many times over the years, and I get inspired everytime I do. I agree that raising does release stiffness and contribute to relaxation. But first a beginner has to learn how to raise properly. I will never forget how I was amazed by the “column of sound” produced by raising the hands when I had my first lesson Ms Chalifoux. Further readings on raising can be found on Yolanda Kondonassis’s recently published method book, On Playing the harp, too.
And it is not true that French harpists don’t raise at all. I have seen Eastman School and Paris trained harpists play, they all raise, and in some cases, very dramatically. Grandjany raised, Xavier de Maistre raises, Isabelle Moretti raises, etc.
When playing fast passages, of course one would have no time to raise. I raise whenever I can, as long as it doesn’t distract my playing and suits to the mood of the music.
oh, and Salzedo students are taught how to relax as part of the playing process too. I didn’t mean that raising is the only factor to relax, there’re other ones too, of course.
Can’t teachers require concert attendance as a condition of study? If you grade your students, that can be part of the grade, just like belonging to the A.H.S. This is a vital issue for the survival of concert harpists. We have to find a solution to this, for the student’s own good.
I use a 2-wheel harp cart with ‘stair crawlers’. The crawlers are a must for stairs, as they don’t let the harp bump; you just need to go slowly and let the crawlers do the work. I do feel more secure, however, if another person follows with one hand on the forepost, especially when descending.
Hey, Heather! My name’s Cameron (though my username’s “James”), I’m 14, and I just now
started playing harp (three weeks, to be exact). I’d love to talk to you. My IM is
Eurobryce53@mac.com (that’s not an email address, that’s the actual IM name)Thanks for the answer! I feel so forgetful, because I remember that my teacher did
say something about different styles of playing the harp, and that mine is Salzedo. I’ll
be sure to check into the ‘Salzedo vs. Grandjany’ thread. Thanks again!Congratulations! That’s so awesome! ^^ If I were in your position, I’d be bouncing off the
walls, too. Good luck!Hi, Lydia.
Here’re some links that I found on harp teachers in Tennessee:
http://www.harpteachers.com/usa/tennessee.htm
http://www.grifdigital.com/cgi-bin/teachlist/search.cgi
http://www.harpconnection.com/TeacherDirectory.html
http://www.harpsociety.org/resources/teachers.htmlAlso, you might want to try this website: It’s another search engine for harp teachers.
http://www.musicstaff.com/search.asp
I’m not totally sure if those websites would help or not, but they’re all I could find. You
could probably do a better search than I could. ^_^;Well, hope I helped in some way. I wish you the best of luck!
I saw an interesting website …. http://www.guzheng.idv.hk . They say they will be doing long distance video guzheng lessons over the internet. They also have some interesting information, videos, MP3 and photos.
One thing that is important is for you to get the catalogs for the schools you wish to attend and see if you can learn all their required repertoire. You also may want to be able to practice three to four hours every day. Also consider doing, if you haven’t some mini- or full recitals. It is good to have some performing experience. You also need a good music collection and a good familiarity with what there is. You need a sense of direction and what your goals are. What kind of harpist do you want to be? What is your vision of your future? What kind of sounds do you want to make? What teachers are you interested in? They will give you some idea of what they expect. It would be good to have at least basic orchestra experience, or choir/band, so you can understand and follow a conductor. Try playing duets with friends, too. You will need to be able to demonstrate your technical and musical achievements, such as with scales/arpeggios, and good solo pieces of differing character.
If you are fairly advanced in your playing, then you should consider auditioning for the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Believe it or not, they do accept students younger than college-age. They move to Philadelphia and attend regular schools, and Curtis provides their music education tuition-free. You might inquire about a scholarship to the Phillips-Andover Academy which has a very good harp instructor, Emily Lewis. Or else you might be able to find a public school that is better.
Yes carl, walnut hil is in natick, and i was actually going to apply there last year, but decided not to when i saw the $36,000 per year tuition….
