Harp-cation, Part 1

I recently took a three week vacation to hike the Appalachian trail, but the trip also turned into a quest for a new harp! So today's post will be about a Pakistani harp and my first visit to a harp store, Virginia Harp Center. Since I had never played any other harps other than my own, it was quite an eyeopening experience.

First, I want to mention one other harp that I had the opportunity to play (and tune, repeatedly). My nephew's family has a small Pakistani harp, and unfortunately, all the rumors I have heard about them are true. Based on my experience, I could not recommend them other than as toys or decorations. It actually was quite a pretty little harp, but makes a plinking type of sound, like a child's plastic guitar, if you know what I mean. I had brought my little cardboard Waring harp with me, and it sounded much, much better than this Pakistani harp to my surprise. Besides the sound quality, the other clear issue was that it could not hold its tuning. It needed to be retuned after every song, basically. I would like to say hourly, but that's optimistic. I am not a picky tuner either, and tuned the harp too sharp hoping it would hold up a little longer, but it was no use, going flat in minutes.

I don't think I've done a post on my cardboard harp, which I'll do at a later time. It's a sweet little harp, but is a bit limited due to number of strings. I have the Mini 16 string model:  https://waringmusic.com/product/mini-harp/. It's perfect for traveling and fits in a standard suitcase! The sound is clear and it holds it tuning quite well after the first week or so of building it. The tension is slightly looser than my Harpsicle (which is also on the loose side) and it's sound quality is not as good, but its comparable. For the price, and the fun experience of building your own harp, it's a great buy. So, let me just suggest that if you have a budget of under $200, order Dr. Waring's larger harp kit, which has 19 strings and is $175 plus shipping currently, not a Pakistani harp. 

One more note on the Paki harps, I have read that the brand called Mikel is of higher quality. It could be that others will spring up that are worthwhile owning, but I haven't been to a harp festival yet and have not heard one in person. My experience is limited, but confirms the reviews I've read online.

Now on to the harp store!  I had the good fortune to be staying in South Jersey, near the quaint town of Haddonfield. So, I was able to visit the Virginia Harp Center three times during my trip!  I probably drove them a bit batty, but they were extremely patient with me, tuning harp after harp for me to try. They treated me with kindness and respect, even though they knew my budget was tiny by harp standards (and there were harps there in the $50,000 range). I must admit that in the beginning I wasn't sure I would actually purchase a harp on this trip, but as I got to know the staff and read reviews (all of which were glowing), I decided that I would buy one if I could find a harp that I could love for a price that I could pay.

The first time I went into the store, there was a harpist trying out pedal harps in their showroom. They brought several harps back to their office for me to try (so I wouldn't be distracted by hearing the pedal harps). The first time I heard one of the Dusty Strings 34 string models, I actually began to cry. The sound spoke so clearly to me - I was truly moved by the experience! This is not to say that the Harpsicle is not a good harp in its own right, but it is a softer sound that didn't evoke emotion in me. I had mainly focused on the Dusty Strings Crescendo and Boulevard models. I briefly tried many other models, some smaller like the Ravenna 26, and some which were used. I even had the opportunity to try two different Boulevards, both identical in appearance and age, but actually different in sound quality. I began to think I might buy a Boulevard on that first day...

But I wasn't done searching just yet. I wanted to see all that I could, and I knew that Marini Made Harps' shop and showroom was nearby in the Dutch Country of Pennsylvania. Before I left Florida, I had made an appointment with the very lovely Marini family to try their harps as well. Read about this experience in Part 2!

Lessons Learned

This will likely be the first of many posts on "Lessons Learned." In the ten months since I've owned my little harp, there have already been so many!

1. Harp Choice. Yes, I messed this up, but I hope to address it soon. I have alluded to this before - that my harp is too small. Even now, I am working on my second piece that has to be changed because I don't have enough of the bass strings to play it as written. Luckily, my teacher, who is also the composer, has helped me here. But I can easily see that the pieces would be better with those strings. Besides that, I long for a harp where all, or at least nearly all, of the strings have that full, round tone that I think will be beneficial for harp therapy. My Harpsicle has a range of notes that sound lovely, but the high and very low strings do not. 
2. Book Choice. Again, I have mentioned this before, and I'm now on my third set of harp technique books! Playing the Harp Beautifully book one was good for me. But the second book has much more of a Celtic feel, which is not exactly what I'm going for. So my third, and hopefully final set is Big Adventures, Small Harps. I began these with my first teacher, Christy-Lyn Marais, and played from them a bit with my present teacher, Anne Crosby Gaudet (who wrote them). We're actually not using them at the moment, but I assume I'll go back to them at a later date.
3. Teacher Choice. I have loved both of my teachers and would recommend either one, based on what your goals are. Since my goal has been Harp Therapy from the start and I very seriously doubt that it will ever change, having a harp teacher who is also a harp therapist has been a huge blessing. During most lessons, there is some discussion of how a piece or technique would be helpful to harp therapy. Since this will be a long road for me, having these little conversations is very motivating and encourages me to stay on course. However, for those who are interested in performance, I could see how learning from Christy-Lyn would be a big bonus since she is very experienced in this arena.
4. Goal Choice. For me, there was no choice. This is not simply because I am an older learner, though that would be a factor for those of us approaching 60! Age can get into the way and it would be foolish to ignore it.

• Age is a limitation when it comes to a goal like playing classical harp in an orchestra. We can't say that it's completely impossible, but it is unrealistic in the extreme. Classical harpists start as children or possibly in their 20s, which I have long passed by. 
• Neither would I be able to play jazz harp, since it, like classical, typically requires a pedal harp. This is something I can't afford, would likely lead to further arthritis in my hands, and by the time I would be able to do it any justice, I would not be strong enough to move! 
• We also have to be realistic and acknowledge that my appearance is that of an older woman. This is not favored in our society. Do I want to play for weddings? My appearance might not allow for that, particularly because of my age. I don't see gorgeous young brides looking for chubby senior citizens to play. Might be stereotyping a bit there, but this is a question of both  marketing and temperament on my part. Do I want to upset a bride and detract from what she believes is the most important day of her life? No way! I'm not up for that at this age.
• I feel that Celtic style is also a bit out of reach, but that could change over time if I could develop more speed. However, I feel no calling to play this music, beautiful as it is to hear.
• My goal is not a choice because of a calling that I feel to do it. You could say that I have a choice to ignore the voice that I hear telling me to pursue harp therapy. But by this age, I know not to ignore things like this. Is it a message from a god or my own conscience? Is that important when the message has been clearly received?

Finding the Time

Practice time can be hard to find during the busy times in our lives. But remember that you don’t need large blocks of time to play your harp. I actually find that several shorter chunks of 15-45 minutes each are far superior to trying to play for an hour or more at once. When I tire, my elbows fall, my wrists droop, and my concentration wavers.

•  Play outside while others are sleeping, weather permitting.  If your weather is temperate, you may give this a try any time of the year. However, if the temperature difference between the inside (where your harp lives) and outside is great, you might want to skip this idea. One time, it seemed that the extreme humidity of Florida in the summer was just too much for my harp. Several of the strings seemed to stretch and slip a bit.      

• Plan in advance.  If you know that you will not have much practice time tomorrow, then play longer today.  I feel badly when I miss practice, but if I know I have a busy day coming up, I’d prefer to play extra in advance.       

• Make practice a reward – or reward yourself for practice.  Practicing can be a reward in itself for me, especially if I love the pieces I’m working on.  But, it can also become more of a chore.  If that’s where you’re at, give yourself a nice little treat (non-caloric preferably!) for an intense practice session.      

• Involve others.  While not everybody is excited to hear me practice, I do have a friend who (says) she really loves hearing me practice.  Maybe prepare a special piece for a friend or family member to hear.  That might be the motivation you need to practice with more intent.

• Which brings me to motivation!  Do you have a goal in mind?  If you do, practice is the path to achieving  your goal.  For me, it is to be able to begin harp therapy training.  Part of the application is an audition recording of 3-5 minutes playing relaxing music.  I know my goal and often listen to music that I think would be appropriate for this recording.

•  Even longer term goals are important too.  Maybe it’s looking too far ahead, but in the long term, which to you want to accomplish?  Some of my longer term goals are having a wide repertory so that I can play music to suit many patients or the elderly.  So this would include old standards as well as calming sounds.  I would need to be at the intermediate level to have the tools I need.  I also need to be able to memorize many compositions. How can I achieve those goals?  How can you achieve yours?f9j

• And there are more immediate, short term goals. My goal lately has been to learn the fundamentals of a piece each week, and then refine that piece over the next several weeks. So far I’ve been pretty successful with this strategy, but I can see that eventually it will leave me with many pieces to practice daily!

Sabatical & Teachers

It has been eight months since I last updated my blog. Unfortunately, I had little time for writing for several months after Christmas 2018. This got me out of the habit of writing my harping blog, but I am back at it again, because I have so much to share now! I'm going to briefly describe my experiences over the past several months, and then will resume writing weekly on topics of interest to new harpers.

We had decided to move from a large home to a smaller home for our retirement years. This meant lots of upgrades to our old house, lots of downsizing, and lots of work!  We began prepping for the move in earnest just after Christmas, after close to a year of gradually addressing problems and decluttering. The house went on the market in late January of 2019. It sold just about immediately, which meant that we had to find a new house rather quickly. All that was accomplished in March 2019, but the house that we bought (for a very good price), also needed quite a bit of work. Actually, it still isn't all done, but we're not in a rush at this point. I did basically stop playing the harp for about six to eight weeks, but I didn't let the move hold me back too long!

Shortly after downsizing (which reduced our expenses a bit), I began taking harp lessons with Christy-Lynn Marais. I'll be writing a post specifically about her lessons and what I learned with Christy-Lynn. Because my teacher decided to visit the United States during most of the summer months (here in the Northern hemisphere), I ended up with a new teacher, Anne Crosby Gaudet starting in June. I'll be staying on with Anne now that I've made the switch. Many of my posts will be about the new things I'm learning with her.

Before I sign off for today, I do want to share something very important. And that is the role of a mentor. I wish that I had started off with a teacher, even though it is a big investment. I can't stress this enough!  The progress I am making now (after having to correct my technique) is much faster and more enjoyable by far. I feel like months were lost by muddling thought on my own. I am glad that I did eventually take the plunge and will continue with this as long as my finances will allow.

Play the Harp Beautifully

If you’ve read my earlier posts, you may know that I’ve switched method books and am now using “Play the Harp Beautifully” by Pamela Bruner.  I am not so amazing with my technique, but I do feel that I’m improving since using her books found here:  http://pamelabrunermusic.com/harp_books.php.  If you buy them at this website, you can purchase the PDF version and won’t have to pay or wait for shipping:  https://www.fleur-de-lyre.ca/products/play-the-harp-beautifully-level-1 and https://www.fleur-de-lyre.ca/collections/educational/products/play-the-harp-beautifully-level-2-digital-download. Don’t let the higher price on this second link scare you, as it’s in Canadian dollars.  I also just received the DVD which goes with her series, and it includes both levels 1 and 2. So, you can have two levels including books and DVD instruction for about $100 plus CD shipping.    

Here’s why I prefer this series over some of the others:

1.  Examples are pleasant to hear and play. It’s getting challenging, near the end of the first book, but it’s still enjoyable.

2.  They are divided into chapters. Some books just go on and on, but these have concise units with reviews that make you feel like you’ve accomplished something!  Once you have (kind of) mastered a unit, you know it’s time to move on to the next, which leads me to…

3.  They are logical.  You know where you stand and when to keep practicing before going to the next chapter.

4.  The DVD shows her playing every selection. My previous method books only had videos of certain exercises, not every piece.

5.  Book 2 looks exciting!  Who doesn’t want to have something to strive for?  Once you download or purchase the second book, you can see all the great topics and arrangements that are ahead.  Book 2 seems to have all the techniques I’m longing to try, such as Glissandos, Rolled Chords, and Grace Notes.  It also has a few topics that I’m not so sure I look forward to, but that I really must learn, like cross overs and unders and lever changes.

6.  Book 2 has many pieces that will be a valuable part of any repertory.  These include Eleanor Plunkett, The Ash Grove, Danny Boy, Morning Has Broken, Scarborough Fair, Greensleeves, and more.

Harp for the Holidays

I’m sure that someday I’ll be able to play quite a few holiday songs, but it’s slow going for this year.  Beginner arrangements that are pretty are a little hard to come by, but I have a few suggestions if you’re in the same position as me.  Give Christy-Lyn Marais’ “O Come, Emmanuel” a try if you are a late beginner, or “Silent Night” if you wish to sing while playing the harp.  I think that I would have been able to learn “Silent Night,” but my singing voice is too deep for the key in which it is written.  Most women would be able to sing along though (contralto here!). Christy-Lyn also has written “Star Guide,” which is a new holiday composition.  This last piece is the easiest of the three.  Find them all here:  https://www.christylynmusic.com/shop.

If you are looking for more beginner options, take a look at Anne Crosby Gaudet’s “3 Easy Christmas Solos for Harp” found here:  https://musicdiscoveries.shop/products/3-easy-christmas-carols-harp.  My video below shows the third song in the collection, “The First Noël.” The two others are “Silent Night” and “What Child Is This.”  I’m planning on learning the last song at some point as well, since it can be played year around as “Greensleeves.”

I’ll go into greater detail about sheet music when I am more experienced.  You can learn a lot by watching YouTube videos and figuring out which harpists write the types of arrangements that you prefer.  So far, my favorites are the two mentioned above as well as Sylvia Woods.  At this point, I’m in search of late beginner sheet music that would be appropriate for a 3-5 minute therapy type piece.  I’m planning ahead for my application for Harp for Healing, as I am certainly not late beginner yet!  I need to be at an early intermediate level before I can apply, but it’s fun to dream about it.

So here I am playing “The First Noël," one month after receiving my harp.  Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah too!

  

Optimal

What is optimal when it comes to buying a harp?  I think there is a different answer for each person!  Yes, I have already discovered a few things I wish were different with my new harp…sigh…  But, I’m sure I’d feel this way about any harp.  Perhaps this is why so many harpists have more than one. 

I’m making a list of what I wish this harp had, and also the features that I can already tell that I love.

What I love about the Flatsicle with extra levers on the G strings:

1.    Weight – feels like it’s basically nothing.  Many of my purses weigh more.  I think this harp would be ideal if you need to move around and walk with it for hours at a time.

2.    Balance – although I’ve read that it’s harder to start with a small harp like mine, I find it relatively easy to balance as long as I use the harp stick with the shoulder strap.

3.    Levers on same side as tuning pins – from what I’ve read, this is not typical for harps, but it’s very convenient!  I can easily see which string I’m tuning, which makes it quick and efficient.

4.    Harp Stick – love this thing!  After about an hour it feels hard on your thighs, but it still isn’t uncomfortable.  I can imagine that using a stick on a heavier harp might not be so much fun, but it’s perfect with my harp!

5.    Color – so delicate and pretty.  As you may know, my harp was a second because of the wood grain showing through the white finish.  Basically, I got a discount because it wasn’t semi-solid whitish.  To be honest, I prefer it like this!  The color is like champagne, not quite rosé, but there is a hint of warmth.  I think it’s perfect for therapy!

What I might want different next time:

1.    Different bass strings – I can order the upgraded bass strings from Rees Harps, maker of Harpsicles, but I wish I had done this from the start.  The sound of the entry level bass strings does not match the beauty of the others.  I need to do a video of the same song with the current strings and the upgraded strings when I buy them!

2.    More levers – actually full levers!  I’m finding that there are already songs that I won’t be able to play (because I’m naughty and try out things that aren’t beginner level).  First I came upon songs that needed E flats, and then D sharps. 

3.    More strings/larger harp – I can see where this is going!  No, I don’t need them, but I think a larger harp with more strings would be so nice to have.  In my research, the harp weight issue was really exaggerated.  This made me go for a very light weight harp, which wasn’t necessary.  I’m not young, but I still would be able to carry a much heavier harp.  (Note that I’m over 5’8” and not slender.  This could be very different for someone my age who is slight of build.)  In an ideal situation, it would be nice to have a larger and heavier harp when harp therapy wouldn’t require a lot of moving around.

4.    Nicer strap – I got the least expensive strap.  It’s functional but not comfortable.  My plan is to take it apart and make something softer.  The edges of the low cost strap from Harpsicle are a little rough on your neck/shoulder area if you’re wearing a tank top, for example.  And this is Florida…

5.    Movement – Yes, it balances pretty well.  But since I made my first video, I did notice that it moves.  I wasn’t expecting that, as I don’t notice it while I’m playing.