Since I'm home for at least another week, I am practicing every day, and I made a deal with myself: if I could learn KRobertson's The Selkie and finally get O'Ferrell's Welcome performance-ready, I'd allow myself to order the arrangement of Moondance that I like by a famous American harpist that I'm not going to name here because I don't want her googling herself and reading this. This harpist and I are by no means really friends, but we did eat dinner together at Somerset 2 years ago, and I message her when I have harp questions, which she very readily answers. I play her arrangements of O'C's Concerto and Wild Mountain Thyme, and was really looking forward to playing the slurry levers in Moondance, 'though it's beyond my skills, really.
And as I got ready to order, I remembered awhile ago when I ordered Deborah Henson-Conant's New Blues, got it home and discovered that I'd have to tune my harp to C instead of E-flat, (the key I've tuned it in since I owned it) and that I wouldn't be playing that song until I could buy a second harp and keep THAT one tuned in C. So I messaged the harpist and asked her what key Moondance is in, and she said C. So sad, I answered, I probably won't play it, then, until I can afford an additional harp, and here's what she said that floored me: "It just drives me nuts that Dusty and many other harpers tune in 3-4 flats. If I did that I would have most of my levers up, the harp strings do not ring as true, and the intonation is not quite right." She added that Dustys are 'designed' to be tuned in 3-4 flats.
When my levers are up, my intonation is still true, and I asked my husband to play the strings individually while I listened, and heard that there was absolutely no difference in the way the levers-up strings vibrated or lasted compared to the lever-down strings! So now I want to know: is my hearing sensitivity really that bad? Do you ladies notice the differences that this harpist described? And isn't it just bad form in general to criticize a harp company this way? And how do you 'design' a harp to be tuned in a certain key? I have a very bad taste in my mouth after this conversation, and Icould really use another harper's opinion!!!
Thanks in advance. Stay warm!
Hi Pam, Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteNow, I don't understand, why can't you play in the key of C? And if you can't, then why not just transpose Moondance to another major key?
I have heard that depending on the quality of your levers that a string will sound more full (and possibly more true) without a lever engaged.
I only keep my levers engaged on my B strings so that I can play the one or two tunes I have that are in the key of F (which needs a B flat).
Other than that I don't keep the levers engaged except when I need them. Which for me is the key of D, G, and sometimes A. That's all you really need for Irish music.
I think maybe for her reputation it wasn't the best to say anything too negative about a harp maker because it makes her look bad if word gets out that she said it.
ReplyDeleteI think Dusty Strings made fabulous harps no matter if they are designed to be played in flat keys or not (I never heard that before so I sort of doubt the truth in it).
I do think it's natural for all of us and that includes high profile professional harpers to have a preference of one harp manufacturer over another.
With your levers engaged (on E A and B, right?) you should then automatically be in the key of C.
ReplyDeleteDo you have to tune it to C for some other lever flipping? I suppose that could make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI can't hear any difference either. What I have wondered is if it helps the life expectancy of a string to be unengaged most of the time. So I do put my levers down when I am done playing. I also can't imagine any harp maker could possibly on purpose do something that complex when making a harp! Makes my head explode to think about it.
Re the harper's, I would just ... dismiss it as a moment of carelessness? Not so bad on a scale of one to ten of foolish remarks?
Not sure I understand the question, Pam. Are you making this more complicated then it is?
ReplyDeleteTo play in C you don't need any sharps or flats so just play with your Es As and Bs with the levers on.
Does that make sense?
Yes, I take my levers off when I'm done playing too!
So...have Lucy and I just saved you about $4000.00 or so? 'Cause you don't need another harp to play in the key of C! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh God, by not giving all the details, I have made you think I don't know how to use my levers, when nothing could be farther from the truth! So let me say briefly: when your harp is tuned to E flat, and then you pre-set your accidentals, there may be some notes that you then can't play. Like, if you set up G sharps, but then there's no way to play G natural unless you flip your lever in a very fast passage, which for me only leads to trouble. This is not a very good description of what I mean, and now I'm not even sure it pertains to New Blues - can either of you play this? I am not sure I'll ever learn! - and really, I'm extremely sorry I even brought the conversation 'round to this. If you think I don't know to set my levers for C, there's not much point in continuing! :))
ReplyDeleteNo worries Pamela - I'm guessing that there are complexities to the jazz you want to play that make it essential the levers start out a certain way . . . Both Andee and I are such Irish purists and mostly ear-learners (although I do read music I try to set it aside and use it only for reminders about accompaniment ideas) that we tend to solve problems on the fly. Does that sound right Andee? In any case, Pamela, I know you know where to put yr. levers!! The internet can be a bit difficult for quickly fixing communication glitches. It's so wonderful most of the time. V. frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your asking us, is what I am saying! And I am wondering what anyone knows (if anything) about levers being up shortening string life..... that seems like a possible to me and a reason to tune in C, actually and minimize lever usage.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything Lucy said about the way she and I play and learn and also about harps in general.
ReplyDeleteYeah internet can be a stumbling block to communication! I now see that you are saying you need all kinds of accidentals for the piece you want to play, especially if it is jazz--wow!
Talk about not being used to reading music....going cross-eyed from hours of looking at music! Ahhh! Just getting ideas for a tune and it would have been so much faster if somebody had just *showed* me what to do! If I had to learn that way all these years I'd probably be no further along that a few tunes.....Thank goodness for learning by ear!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm lucky enough to be able to be a dot reader AND to play by ear! And, at least for me, getting the accidentals correct in jazz takes... Dot reading! :))
ReplyDeleteYou've got the best of both worlds, Pamela!
ReplyDeletePhew! Here is my small take on levers and things...I do think having to use levers may shorten the life of a string, which is why I put all mine down when not in use. IF the harp needs to be regulated, there can often be a problem with keeping the harp in tune for each key change. My Fisher is ready for regulation- when I put my levers up on some of the b's and e's to naturalize them, they are no longer perfectly pitched. Also, on my Kortier, if the levers are not holding the strings tight enough, the effect is not always as clear. But in both instances, I think it just means the harp needs regulation. I cannot imagine what that other harpist was meaning at all! Pam- I have looked at a website video by Deborah Henson- Conant introducing her new online jazz harp course! Yikes- she uses her levers like a jazz guitarist vibrates his/her fingers on the individual stings to make that vibrating slurred sound. It sure looks interesting! I wonder if jazz involves tuning different octaves differently, so there is less lever changing on the fly? Or actually tuning a certain string to a different note completely? You are a brave one, Oh Pamela!! Can't wait to hear about this adventure.
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