Ensembles - You Mean I have to Count?

If you are fortunate enough to have a harp ensemble in your area, consider giving it a try.  Playing with others is a great way to learn new skills, gain experience, and challenge yourself; as well as make lasting friendships.

Our local Orange County Harp Troupe was formed several years ago.  It all started when a student new to the area wanted a join harp circle, since she had enjoyed one at her previous home.  I held a tea in my home and invited anyone locally who might be interested in forming a group to come.  It was after a local harp concert, so there was a large group of interested people to draw from.  Regular meetings began shortly thereafter.  We have had an amazing 15 years and are still growing strong.  We have played for churches, hospitals, nursing and retirement homes, veterans groups,  and Irish and Scottish fairs to name a few.  We have also had Christmas parties, end of the year pot lucks, sponsored workshops and concerts, and even took a cruise with a presenter!  The opportunities are only as limited as your groups collective imagination.

HELPFUL HINTS learned along the way:

Start by laying a good foundation for your meetings.  You will need to select a board – at least President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary to run the meetings and help determine the direction of the group – frequency of meetings, music, events to perform, etc.  There should be time either at the beginning or the end of each rehearsal for a general meeting for voting and discussion.  Ahead of time usually works well. This cuts down on chatter during your rehearsal and there is always time during refreshments afterwards to toss around ideas.

At the designated meeting start time, everyone should be setup, tuned, and ready to play.  Have a tuner that picks up the vibrations of your own harp only.  It takes some longer than others for setting up and they should plan accordingly.  Try to start on time and don’t wait for latecomers.  There will always be some!

During your meeting allow time after each piece for discussion - tempo, tough parts, repeats.  Remember to have a pencil handy to mark your music so your memory doesn't have to work overtime! Designate one person to count two bars at the beginning to start everyone off.  During rehearsals, a loud ticking metronome is helpful too, to keep the tempo even.

For performances, strive to look like a professional group.  Position yourselves in close proximity to each other, so you can see and hear each other.  If the venue allows, a semi-circle is best.  Learning to listen to others and playing together is a real skill!  Practice pulling your harps to your shoulders at the same time, as well as muffling at the end of each piece, and standing your harps back up in unison.  Also practice bowing - the audience will be clapping!   For a cohesive look at performances, wear coordinated colors; or try matching accessories, such as a scarf, to unify the look of your group.

If you are in the Orange County area, please join us - beginners welcome!  If there is no harp group in your area, consider starting one - your life will be enriched.

Upcoming OC Harp Troupe Events

We are looking forward to performing for the following two holiday events.  If you are interested in joining the harp troupe, please contact one of the people listed below in the flyer.

Golden Rules For Ensemble Playing

1. Everyone should play the same piece.
2. Stop at every repeat sign and discuss in detail whether to take the repeat or not. The audience will love this a lot!
3. If you play a wrong note, give a nasty look to one of your partners.
4. Keep your fingering chart handy. You can always catch up with the others.
5. Carefully tune your instrument before playing. That way you can play out of tune all night with a clear conscience.
6. Take your time turning pages.
7. The right note at the wrong time is a wrong note (and vice-versa).
8. If everyone gets lost except you, follow those who get lost.
9. Strive to get the maximum NPS (note per second). That way you gain the admiration of the incompetent.
10. Markings for slurs, dynamics and ornaments should not be observed. They are only there to embellish the score.
11. If a passage is difficult, slow down. If it's easy, speed it up. Everything will work itself out in the end.
12. If you are completely lost, stop everyone and say, "I think we should tune."
13. Happy are those who have not perfect pitch, for the kingdom of music is theirs.
14. If the ensemble has to stop because of you, explain in detail why you got lost. Everyone will be very interested.
15. A true interpretation is realized when there remains not one note of the original.
16. When everyone else has finished playing, you should not play any notes you have left.
17. A wrong note played timidly is a wrong note. A wrong note played with authority is an interpretation.

Meet My Harps

A former student who is now attending college with a full scholarship named all my harps.  She even found the perfect name my dog - Archi - which means a stringed instrument.  (Clever girl!)

HARMONY

Harmony is the grand dame of my studio. Her birthday is March 22, 1915 - so she is over 100 years old. My parents purchased her from my orchestra director's wife when I was in high school and she has been with me ever since. She is a Lyon and Healy, Style 22, which is a 46 string semi grand harp, with 22 carat gold leaf trim and tiger maple body. They are no longer manufactured. She is a couple of inches shorter, a little lighter and has one less string than a concert grand. For me she is the perfect size. A few years ago, she got a beauty makeover at the factory in Chicago, but all the mechanism and all the wood parts are original which is very unusual for a harp of her age. She just has good bones. Her tone is exquisite - large and warm. Love her!

LILAH

Lilah is also a semi-grand,with a beautiful custom hand painted soundboard and mahogany finish.  She was made by Salvi Harps Inc.  Her birth year was 2008 and I've had her ever since.  Although she is on a semi grand frame, she has the 47 strings like a concert grand.  This is the harp that is used by my students in the studio who play pedal harp at home, so she gets a lot of love and attention.  Salvi has come up with many innovative design changes over recent years. She has a wider soundboard in the upper registers, giving her a more balanced sound.   And Lilah has the unique honor of being autographed with a gold pen on the bottom of the base by Victor Salvi himself.

PABLO

Don't ask me how my student arrived at this name or decided Pablo was a boy!  He is a 36 string, fully levered harp. manufactured by Pratt Harps, Chamber Harp model.  Built in 2003, there are two unique features of this lever (or folk harp); the extended sound box which is usually only on larger pedal harps, and concert tension on the strings.  Both features give him a deep, full, rich sound.  This harp is used in my studio by all lever harp players.  He has a beautiful finish of Bubinga wood with a interesting twist on the veneer.  As explained by the luthier, instead of slicing through a log to make planks, the log is turned on a lath to peel off layers.  This gives the grain a beautiful and truly unique appearance.

ZEFFIROSO

In German, Zeffiroso means light and airy.  He is a 36 string lever harp, Legend model,  made by Heartland Harps.  "Zeff" was born in January, 2012.  He has a carbon fiber body which makes his total weight only 10 pounds.  Carbon fiber is the material used in expensive sports cars.  It is becoming more and more popular for instruments.  Heartland Harps are the first ones to come out with an innovative carbon fiber harp.   The black finish is the natural color.  It can be painted any color that you can paint a car, but it changes the tone.  Because there is no wood, it is impervious to water and heat making it safer to carry in a car.  Also because there is no wood, you have the added bonus of string pitch remaining very stable since there is no expanding and contracting of the wood with temperature changing.  The sound is amazingly large and projects well. This is the perfect gigging harp.

LIAM

Liam is a beautiful Celtic laddie.  There is intricately detailed and ornate Celtic markings running down the sides of the soundboard as well as the soundboard itself, and the sides and front of the column.  He is a 30 string Clark Irish Harp  and was made sometime in the early 1900's; so he has a dubious past.  These were the first "lever" harps manufactured in the United States and caused quite a stir which started the up surgence of all lever harps.  Before that, there were only pedal harps for students to start learning on.   He has ivory pegs to hold in the strings and blade levers which are archaic compared to today's levers.  Liam sits on a stand which has a lever in the back allowing the harp to tip back while the stand remains on the floor.  He can be placed on the floor and sits on little lion paws. When I was a girl, I played him occasionally in recitals and on St. Patrick's Day.  He is completely strung, but not played anymore.  His home is here for historical and sentimental reasons.

BABY BELLA

Baby Bella is a 22 string lap harp make by Breton.  Her birth year was 2004 but she will never grow up, I'm afraid!  She is fully levered and easy to play either using knee bones across the tops of your knees (hence the name), or held between your knees with your ankles crossed (a little harder!)  This is the perfect size harp for traveling, conferences, and workshops.  Just like a baby, she can't stand up by herself, so I adapted a guitar stand to hold her when she is not in use.

Harp Concert/Workshop - Alfredo Ortiz

Update:  Events postponed until November 21 and 22, 2015!

We are fortunate to have living in our area the world renown Paraguayan harpist, Alfredo Orlando Ortiz.  I have seen him in concert on several occasions, and you won't want to miss this event!  If you would like to learn more about his many accomplishments and his very interesting personal history, go to - Aroy Music - Alfredo Rolando Ortiz.

http://www.aroymusic.com/Alfredo_Rolando_Ortiz_PARAGUAYAN_HARP_ARPA_PARAGUAYA.html

Adult Harp Gathering ~ October 3, 2015

Here is another wonderful educational experience offered by Alison Bjorkedal and free to all AHS-LA members.  Playing with a group is rewarding, challenging and fun.  We will be talking more about ensemble playing in the future!

Care and Feeding of your Harp

Whether you are renting or own your harp(s), you will want to take the best care possible of them.  A harp - large or small - is a big investment. You want it to last a long time.

PLACEMENT  Never place your harp in a window which has direct sunlight.  Sunlight will dry out your strings, as well as damage the wood by drying out the natural oils and bleaching the wood.  An interior wall may be best, but an exterior wall even with a window is okay if the direct sunlight never streams in.  Be mindful of where your heating and A/C ducts are and try to keep your harp out of the direct line of fire.  Be sure to keep your harp, especially smaller ones, are out of traffic areas in your home - away from dogs, kids and adults too!  If your harp is on a rug and the padding is thick, it may be a little tippy.  One solution, is to make a small wooden platform to place your harp on to make it more secure.

CLEANING  Frequent dusting is important to prevent build up.  A feather duster works beautifully for me, except in the area of lever or tuning discs and crevices.  Here is where a soft bristled paint brush comes in handy.  It can clean out and dust all those small grooves.  Never use furniture polish, cleaning products or oil on the wood of any kind.  Always check with your harp manufacturer for what is appropriate to put on your harp's finish.  The finish may interact negatively.   If your harp has gold leaf, be careful to not touch it with your hands.  Over time, it will tarnish the finish.

HANDS   Wash your hands before playing.  Don't eat a greasy chicken leg and then sit down to play your harp!  The same applies to hand lotion.  Everything will transfer to the strings.  From a practical standpoint, wait awhile to play after having your hands in water for any extended period of time.  The skin on your fingers soften and that can make paying painful.  More about the position of your hands later.  :)

JEWELRY  Also be mindful of the jewelry you are wearing.  A watchband on your wrist can hit the soundboard especially when you left hand moves up to play the upper registers.  You may not even realize that is happening, but over time can damage the finish.  Make sure there are no sequins, rhinestones, studs or buttons to scratch the finish.  Even your belt buckle can scratch if you are standing close while tuning.  Any jewelry can be a problem - dangling earrings, bracelets, pins, watches, necklaces, etc.

HUMIDITY  Humidity is as important as temperature in making sure your harp is happy.  A good rule of thumb is - if you are comfortable, your harp will be comfortable too.  The ideal humidity level is between 40% and 60%.  If you are concerned about the humidity in your home, you can purchase a relatively inexpensive hygrometer to measure moisture content.  If you live in Arizona where it is very dry or Florida, where it is very damp, you might do well to check the humidity levels.  There are humidifiers and dehumidifiers to fix the problem.  Also, if you are on the east coast and your house is overheated in wintertime, that can dry out the wood on your harp.

Tuning, strings, transporting, and regulations will be discussed at a later date.