8 November
So where has the time gone this month? Already it is the 8th!
The good news is I am playing the harp more steadily. This hospital gig makes that happen. I try to play a new tune every week - this week it was Inis Oir, even if it was a bit shaky it sounded fine I think.
Flakes flying about today.
Sunday is one of our "Among Friends" musical gatherings and I am playing Sport on the harp with a flute friend. We sound pretty decent I think! I'm kind of amazed, I've only been working on that tune for ten years! I finally simplified the left hand and bingo! Michael Rooney I ain't.
30 November
OK so I have been a terrible blog host or whatever I am !
The Among Friends party went swimmingly, and I am so happy that I have finally nailed Sport - well - not nailed but kind of tacked it up so it mostly goes as it should.
I've been playing the harp a lot. Last Sunday (the.....23rd?) I found I had the house to myself and sent out an open invite and two friends were able to come over and they 'forced' me to play the harp instead of the concertina (which I never even got out of its box!) the whole time. What a nice afternoon it was, one flute, one fiddle and one harp - and lots of shared tunes, including a good deal of Carolan.
I think I have Mme Maxwell in pretty good shape, so it's a 'what's next'? for Carolan - I think I should bring some of the oldies back up to speed, like Planxty Irwin and then pull Inchiquin up a notch or two.
Otherwise the jig set of Old Man Dillon and The Green Hills of Woodford is really starting to come together and I am beginning to work on a new set of The Gallowglass and The Legacy. I'm finding it more and more these days that I do like to think of tunes in sets - I don't have to be glued to them - but I find it more satisfying to figure that part out too and learn them together. It certainly helps make that transition a smooth one!
Heaven knows what December will bring. I have a number of non-musical obligations (not just holiday stuff but also my work) that will be taking up a huge amount of my time, but we'll see. I've been buffing up Henry McDermott Roe because my bro who plays the cello has learned it and will be eager to play it when he comes up for New Year's.
Hope everyone else is doing well and harping away!
Friday, November 8, 2013
Sharon's November Thoughts
Sharon's November Thoughts
It is definitely getting chilly after a long and wonderfully colorful fall in NH. Prettiest autumn we have seen in the area in years! The month started off for me with the Coffee House at Smith Church, where I introduced my new Fisher harp ("Colleen") and got to find out if I needed to amplify her or not. For years I have brought my workhorse- the 36 string birds eye maple Kortier- and stuck a mic down inside him, and let the sound guy in the back of the room work his magic. For such a big harp, and with such a big hollow base, he has a mellow but very quiet voice. When Sue Richards met him last summer in Lubec, Maine, she was surprised at how quiet he was , especially for his size. However, Colleen is just fine relying on her own power- no amplification necessary at all. Really makes things simpler- I can play the strings with a normal firm hand, instead of tickling the strings to avoid feedback and un pleasant sounds! I was thrilled- and so was the audience! Just played 4 tunes- Cliffs of Moher, Eleanor Plunkett, Cooleys Slide, and ended with Woe Betide Thy Wearie Bodie. The next night was our Celtic Evensong at church, and I went back to the Kortier with amplification, because I was not sure the Fisher would carry in that huge sanctuary, with the sound dampening wall tiles and the carpet. I just didn't have time to check that out, with the Fisher, so went with what works. Next month I will bring Colleen instead.
I have been asked to bring my harp to another church later this month, as they experiment with an evening service for the first time. I checked out that sanctuary and I think the Fisher will project in there just fine. They want 3 separate musical interludes. Should be fun. I will be doing them all from memory- I find I can use music if I am doing background stuff, but if I am front and center, I want to have what I play thoroughly memorized, with just a few gig notes. And I am still so amazed at how much faster I learn, and how much longer I retain, pieces I have been taught by ear and rote! As opposed to learning by sight reading- and I sight read really well. I read the explanation of why that is so, but it still amazes me!
Christmas music!! Need to learn some more, fast! My stand bys are, Greensleeves (What Child is this)Da Day Dawnes, That Night in Bethlehem, Silent Night and Christ Child's Lullaby. I am working on: Blessed Be That Maid Marie, The Friendly Beasts, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, and a few others...not sure they will all get into the memory banks, but I would prefer that! Does anyone know of any other Irish traditional Christmas tunes that I should add to the holiday repertoire?
Thanksgiving is coming- and I am very thankful for harps and harp music and harpers!!
Have a great one!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Andee's November Ramblings
November already!
I realized that I haven't learned any new Christmas music like I said I would this time last year. Oh, well; if I get any Christmas gigs they will have to be 'An Irish Christmas' which is me mixing in the small handful of Christmas music I already know with the rest of my repertoire.
We just got back from a mini-vacation in the Dales and I've still got a few days off of work--things are going back to normal for me and I'm going to have to make a decision about the performance group and let the ladies know if I decide to leave.
I know so many harpers with multiple harps and I do have two myself (my 'big' Dusty Strings 32 and my smaller Dusty Strings 26). I was just thinking how grateful I am for my big harp (small one, too but it's the big one I use most) even though it is two strings less than what would be ideal. It has a wonderful bass and wonderful volume for its size and I've gotten so much use out of it--15 and a half years!
I remember the day I got it--a snowy March day a couple weeks before my birthday. I took the train up to Bucks County Music Shop with close to $3000.00 in my pocket, (I didn't do credit cards in those days and I guess they didn't take checks.) because I had just spoken to one of the guys there and found out they had a couple second hand harps that had just come through.
I went back and forth for *hours* playing on first the Triplett and then the Dusty. I finally made my decision which I had sort of already made before I even played them. I remember the look on the guy's face when I handed over the cash. Then the owner Carl drove me to the train station and told me how he learned to play the banjo by ear by playing records on a slower speed back in the day.
Then I walked from the train station to my apartment with my new harp! That meant I had to say goodbye to Kathy's 31 string Caswell which I had been renting for 6 months. I loved that harp, too but it was time to graduate.
It's been a busy month for me! I haven't posted since my initial stuff above because I've been working so so much!
I've done one open mic since the above and have had only one big practice time--things should be back to normal week after next.
I've pretty much told the ladies I'm out of the performance group until further notice. I've put three harp related items on my Christmas wish list: The O'Carolan book and CD that Lucy told me about, a book on the harp in Irish music from 1900 til present day, and my favorite fantasy novel I gave away before I moved to the UK 'Gossamer Axe'.
I've no Christmas gigs at all unless I decide to play in my shop like I did two years ago, but this time I think I'll put a basket out for donations (to be made to the charity), we'll see....
I saw the Eastern European girl who busks on her accordian in town today. In the past I've only seen her in front of the grocery store in my neighborhood, but today she was in the pedestrian shopping area where there are usually a few buskers scattered around, but today she was the only one.
She always looks so happy, playing the music of her homeland! She recognized me (hard to miss I guess in my plaid purple coat) and gave me a big smile and a hello as I threw some change into her case. I don't know why but she makes me feel good, she has a nice presence. I do still want to busk, but will probably leave it until spring, now.
I realized that I haven't learned any new Christmas music like I said I would this time last year. Oh, well; if I get any Christmas gigs they will have to be 'An Irish Christmas' which is me mixing in the small handful of Christmas music I already know with the rest of my repertoire.
We just got back from a mini-vacation in the Dales and I've still got a few days off of work--things are going back to normal for me and I'm going to have to make a decision about the performance group and let the ladies know if I decide to leave.
I know so many harpers with multiple harps and I do have two myself (my 'big' Dusty Strings 32 and my smaller Dusty Strings 26). I was just thinking how grateful I am for my big harp (small one, too but it's the big one I use most) even though it is two strings less than what would be ideal. It has a wonderful bass and wonderful volume for its size and I've gotten so much use out of it--15 and a half years!
I remember the day I got it--a snowy March day a couple weeks before my birthday. I took the train up to Bucks County Music Shop with close to $3000.00 in my pocket, (I didn't do credit cards in those days and I guess they didn't take checks.) because I had just spoken to one of the guys there and found out they had a couple second hand harps that had just come through.
I went back and forth for *hours* playing on first the Triplett and then the Dusty. I finally made my decision which I had sort of already made before I even played them. I remember the look on the guy's face when I handed over the cash. Then the owner Carl drove me to the train station and told me how he learned to play the banjo by ear by playing records on a slower speed back in the day.
Then I walked from the train station to my apartment with my new harp! That meant I had to say goodbye to Kathy's 31 string Caswell which I had been renting for 6 months. I loved that harp, too but it was time to graduate.
It's been a busy month for me! I haven't posted since my initial stuff above because I've been working so so much!
I've done one open mic since the above and have had only one big practice time--things should be back to normal week after next.
I've pretty much told the ladies I'm out of the performance group until further notice. I've put three harp related items on my Christmas wish list: The O'Carolan book and CD that Lucy told me about, a book on the harp in Irish music from 1900 til present day, and my favorite fantasy novel I gave away before I moved to the UK 'Gossamer Axe'.
I've no Christmas gigs at all unless I decide to play in my shop like I did two years ago, but this time I think I'll put a basket out for donations (to be made to the charity), we'll see....
I saw the Eastern European girl who busks on her accordian in town today. In the past I've only seen her in front of the grocery store in my neighborhood, but today she was in the pedestrian shopping area where there are usually a few buskers scattered around, but today she was the only one.
She always looks so happy, playing the music of her homeland! She recognized me (hard to miss I guess in my plaid purple coat) and gave me a big smile and a hello as I threw some change into her case. I don't know why but she makes me feel good, she has a nice presence. I do still want to busk, but will probably leave it until spring, now.
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