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Thanks everyone!
I called Stoney End about several problems I’ve been having and they were very helpful.
The truitt levers are very stiff as well. I was told to apply a little mineral oil to soften them up. I’ve heard elsewhere to use sewing machine oil, so the jury’s out which to use.
The bass strings look almost rusty and he said to use steel wool to clean them up. But the harp is probably due for a new set of strings by now anyway.
As for the tuning pins? I had to loosen them because he said the strings were exerting downward pressure on the pins and causing them to stick. I think it was partly this and the humidity factor. I moved from upper Michigan to Maryland and shortly after the move I noticed them getting harder to turn.
So down my harp went for some good old harp surgery. Loosened a pin so that there was no more string tension. Padded both sides of the harp with towels. Then with towels covering the tuning pins themselves, one or two taps with a hammer on the string side of the tuning pin. Wah Lah! It slowly slid out and I adjusted it back to its former glory. Stoney End said to do one string at a time and put it back in tune before moving on to the next.
I feel like I have a brand new harp again and I’ve reawakened my desire to play more often. Amazing what some basic maintenance will do.
To any one out there I have a new Trinity Harp from Deamweaver that I am going to sell unfourtaly. It is the Mohaogany plywood verison which I finished. It comes with a custom made wooden stand. 30 custom strings by Markwood Heavenly strings. starts at low E. Deamweavers brass strings kept breaking even when just putting them on. So I paid $80 for a set of bronze strings and it sound wonerfull. But Though I love the sound and harp I can not see the strings and read the music at the same time. The wire strings do not reflect the light like nylon does. And I wanted to play with my finger tips as I can not grow my nails to long. Tried the AK picks but did not like them, They can go with the harp as well. I am a potter and play the guitar as well. So my hands are just to big. I am going to list it on this site as soon as I get $20 in my debit acccount.
Audrey, where was your Tascam GT-R1 recorder purchased, can you tell me please, as I need one.
Thanks,
Oh I think I have my harp parts jumbled up. I meant to say Stiff Tuning Pins. Those are the big metal pieces that go through the harp and hold the string. The bridge pins hold the strings in place for the levers.
Please correct me if I’m wrong. 🙂
It probably is a humidity issue since I noticed this change after moving to Maryland. Its just been getting worse over the years though. I’ll give Stoney End a call.
Hi Mel, I know how you feel. I took up classical guitar when I was young, as the next best option to harp. Back then, the only harps I knew were the big pedal harps played in orchestras. I came across folk harps some 10 years later, but by then was committed to guitar. After I retired several years ago, I took the plunge and started in harp, in my case, a Paraguayan. The only local teacher declined to take me, as it has low tension strings, so a different, and probably easier technique is used to play it, compared with that for pedal harps. So, I got some tips on technique from the internet (www.harpatsang.com.au), and used my experience from playing piano and guitar to develop my own technique.
Yes, the harp does have a certain magic, even the sight of one is enchanting, then when it’s played, wow! It seems to enjoy a deal of prestige, like the violin. Actually, I believe that as reasonably competent harp players, we are under obligation to the community to give folks a lift, for example to those in hospitals, nursing homes, as well as kindergartens, elementary schools, even prisons. Maybe, you have thought of doing this sort of thing.
So, do keep practicing, Mel,
Blessings,
Rod
Michael, Yes, we do need to practice safety, as you say. I’ve discovered that mahogany and Spanish cedar are mildly poisonous, so need to use a dust mask when sanding. I might mention that I live in Belize, Central America, where these timbers grow.
Harper Tasche is sure the maestro of the cross strung. The secret I think to developing skill in playing cross strung is to get a good grounding with playing mainly the diatonic strings, in the key of C, then G and Bb, same as learning piano or keyboard. The keys with more sharps and flats are learned later. I might say, it’s great to just pluck a chromatic string with my right hand ring finger or pinkie, or my left hand thumb or index finger, smoothly and easily.
I might mention that my technique is quite simple, actually I got it from traditional Paraguayan style. I figure out the melody by ear with my right hand, then a simple bass accompt. with triads, lastly the alto part a third, fourth, or fifth below the melody. Then, practice, practice, and more practice!
Right now, I’m back in Australia seeing my kids, and have no harp to practice! I brought one in pieces to assemble, finish, and fit up, but am having delays. Hopefully will complete it next week. It’s a 3 octave lap harp, range C3-C6 (mid C is C4), and Latin-style cross-strung, like all my harps.
Pity re your tennis elbow, Mike. I’ve had that twice. Just have to wait patiently, though hydrotherapy should help it to heal, and quickly.
Blessings,
Rod
“Progress” is such a nebulous word, isn’t it?
It sounds as if you feel that you’re not where you’d expected to be when you started, and that you’re placing a great deal of importance on the end result, rather than the process. It’s difficult not to have expectations when you’ve invested a good deal of time and money in lessons and such, but is there a pressing need to be at a certain level at this time? What criteria are you using to determine where you “should” be at this point? Unfortunately, as with baking a cake, some things work on their own timetable, and can’t be rushed.
Think about what attracted you to the harp in the first place, and why you took it up. If it’s purely for your own enjoyment, it might not hurt to step back and just enjoy, say, the feel of playing the harp, rather than focusing on the need to improve, especially if it’s on someone else’s timetable.
Hi Michael and others, Sorry this is late, I’ve been tied up, especially with travel.
Yes, the cross strung does make it easier to engineer a harp, seeing 5/12 of the tension comes from one side of the harp, so it can be made lighter, and so more responsive acoustically.
Your neck:body joint sounds good, I did that myself on my first harp after the diatonic strings pulled the neck out of alignment -it was only held by 4 slim screws, and these reinforcing blocks worked to stabilise the neck. I make them with a 3/8 in. deep mortise joint now, as I said before. This mortise to take the shoulder end of the neck
Hi! I have a Sony End Esabelle in cherrywood, their cross strung lap harp with a 3 octave range, which I built from a kit. It was, and probably still is the only cross strung available as a kit. Really a great little harp, which I practised on for 18 months until I built my first Latin style cross strung harp. The Esabelle has a nice tone, with good volume, and high string tension, tho I tuned it 3 half tones lower to get the lower string tension to play Latin style. My Latin harp is about 50 % louder, as well as brighter in tone.
So, yes, I would recommend Gary Stone’s harps, going on my Esabelle (unless you play Latin style).
