I'd only had my harp for about 2 weeks and then, one Friday, I'm in my room doing homework and I hear a loud twang! from the closet. (I keep my harp in my closet because my cat is very destructive and I don't want anything to happen to my precious harp!!!) I nearly jumped out of my skin because the house was so quiet and the noise startled me.
In my research about harps, I'd read that when a string breaks, it makes a loud twanging noise, so I knew immediately that a string had just broken. A few days after I'd gotten the harp home, I noticed that the 5th string, a D (one of the very high strings), had a little nick in it near the tuning peg. Naturally, I assumed that was the string that had broken. Imagine my surprise when I opened my closet and found that it was the string below the D that had broken! (String #6: C)
My mom emailed Harp Connection and told them which string had broken and asked if they would send us a replacement for free since I'd only had the harp for about 2 weeks, and I hadn't even played it much. They emailed us back and basically said that string breakage is a part of harp playing, but since the instrument was new and I hadn't had it long, they'd send a replacement for free just this once.
I'll have to take the harp to my next lesson so Bill can show me how to put on the new string!
~Shelby
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
1st Lesson: 10/12/2010
My harp teacher lives about an hour and 15 minutes from my house, so my [hour-long] lessons start at 6pm so I can be home at a descent hour, since I get up at 5:30 every morning for a before-school Bible-study class.
The day before, my mom went to the store and got us grinders and Yodels so we could have dinner on the way.
Bill, my teacher, had asked that I bring my harp to the first lesson, so I did. He'd also asked me to purchase Stephanie Curcio's books "Student Harp Player" levels 1 and 2 before the lesson, which I did. I brought book 1 to my lesson with me, and since I already know how to read music, we skipped through almost all of the first half of the book.
The first thing we went over, before I even touched the harp, was something called "calisthenics". It's the foundation of harp playing. Basically, it is how you move your hands when plucking a string. And after plucking a string, you close your fingers all the way into your palm. Bill explained it like this: "Imagine you're playing tennis; after you hit the ball, do you stop your arm? No, you follow through! You keep swinging. It's the same with harp--it's more work to stop your finger right after you release the string than it is to allow it to close completely." I learned it is also important to keep your hands relaxed and your wrists straight.
Bill went over the finger numbers. Each finger has a number, apparently. Some sheet music has the fingerings indicated above each note. The thumb is number 1, index finger is 2, middle finger is 3 and ring finger is 4. You don't play with your pinky, so it doesn't have a number.
Then we went over Exercise #4: Single-finger Action. (Student Harpist, book 1) It helps you to develop each of your fingers so they are all equally strong and it helps you not to learn to rely on one finger more than the others.
Then we went into something called "grouping". When you play, you put your fingers on the strings you'll be playing next, but the goal is to be able to place your fingers on the strings simultaneously, so you have to learn to see groups of notes in the music. In Stephanie's book, she uses brackets around the groups, but in most music, the groups aren't indicated, so you have to find them yourself.
Finally, Bill instructed me to keep my thumbs at the same level and pointing up, with the rest of the fingers below the thumbs and pointing down. Strange as this might seem, it's actually quite comfortable, and you get a clearer, fuller sound than if your fingers and thumbs are at the same height.
All in all, it was a little bit overwhelming, but so thrilling at the same time! It's a lot to remember, but I'm so happy because this is what I've been wanting for years! I can't wait for my next lesson in 2 weeks!
~Shelby
"The journey of the a thousand miles begins with a single step."
The day before, my mom went to the store and got us grinders and Yodels so we could have dinner on the way.
Bill, my teacher, had asked that I bring my harp to the first lesson, so I did. He'd also asked me to purchase Stephanie Curcio's books "Student Harp Player" levels 1 and 2 before the lesson, which I did. I brought book 1 to my lesson with me, and since I already know how to read music, we skipped through almost all of the first half of the book.
The first thing we went over, before I even touched the harp, was something called "calisthenics". It's the foundation of harp playing. Basically, it is how you move your hands when plucking a string. And after plucking a string, you close your fingers all the way into your palm. Bill explained it like this: "Imagine you're playing tennis; after you hit the ball, do you stop your arm? No, you follow through! You keep swinging. It's the same with harp--it's more work to stop your finger right after you release the string than it is to allow it to close completely." I learned it is also important to keep your hands relaxed and your wrists straight.
Bill went over the finger numbers. Each finger has a number, apparently. Some sheet music has the fingerings indicated above each note. The thumb is number 1, index finger is 2, middle finger is 3 and ring finger is 4. You don't play with your pinky, so it doesn't have a number.
Then we went over Exercise #4: Single-finger Action. (Student Harpist, book 1) It helps you to develop each of your fingers so they are all equally strong and it helps you not to learn to rely on one finger more than the others.
Then we went into something called "grouping". When you play, you put your fingers on the strings you'll be playing next, but the goal is to be able to place your fingers on the strings simultaneously, so you have to learn to see groups of notes in the music. In Stephanie's book, she uses brackets around the groups, but in most music, the groups aren't indicated, so you have to find them yourself.
Finally, Bill instructed me to keep my thumbs at the same level and pointing up, with the rest of the fingers below the thumbs and pointing down. Strange as this might seem, it's actually quite comfortable, and you get a clearer, fuller sound than if your fingers and thumbs are at the same height.
All in all, it was a little bit overwhelming, but so thrilling at the same time! It's a lot to remember, but I'm so happy because this is what I've been wanting for years! I can't wait for my next lesson in 2 weeks!
~Shelby
"The journey of the a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
3rd Lesson: 11/9/2010
We started off the lesson by going over some arpeggios, and reviewing the pieces/exercises I'd been working on since my last lesson.
Bill assigned the "groups of 4" exercise to me again this week, because I'm still not placing my fingers simultaneously all the time. Then he taught me "overlapping": when you are descending from the higher notes to the lower notes, you place all 4 fingers, play with fingers 1, 2, and 3. Then, before playing finger number 4, place finger 1 on the next string, play finger 4, then place fingers 2, 3, and 4 before playing finger number 1. It sounds complicated, but it's really not!
Then we went over some new songs: "Together" in which I get to play with both hands at the same time for the first time! "Round and Round", a short little exercise, and "Little Ditty".
Since Christmas is coming up, I asked if I had time to learn a Christmas song so I could play in my church's Christmas program. Bill thought that we might have time, so he got out his book "50 Christmas Carols for all Harps" by Sylvia Woods and we started working on a French carol called "Il Est Né" (pronounced eel-ay-nay).
Bill told me that I could borrow his "50 Christmas Carols" book until I buy my own. I think I'll also get a copy of Sylvia Woods' "75 Disney Songs", because I LOVE Disney!
I'm very excited to play in the Christmas program!
Bill assigned the "groups of 4" exercise to me again this week, because I'm still not placing my fingers simultaneously all the time. Then he taught me "overlapping": when you are descending from the higher notes to the lower notes, you place all 4 fingers, play with fingers 1, 2, and 3. Then, before playing finger number 4, place finger 1 on the next string, play finger 4, then place fingers 2, 3, and 4 before playing finger number 1. It sounds complicated, but it's really not!
Then we went over some new songs: "Together" in which I get to play with both hands at the same time for the first time! "Round and Round", a short little exercise, and "Little Ditty".
Since Christmas is coming up, I asked if I had time to learn a Christmas song so I could play in my church's Christmas program. Bill thought that we might have time, so he got out his book "50 Christmas Carols for all Harps" by Sylvia Woods and we started working on a French carol called "Il Est Né" (pronounced eel-ay-nay).
Bill told me that I could borrow his "50 Christmas Carols" book until I buy my own. I think I'll also get a copy of Sylvia Woods' "75 Disney Songs", because I LOVE Disney!
I'm very excited to play in the Christmas program!
Getting the Harp
Friday, October 8, 2010:
We drove down to Salem, Massachusetts, on a sunny day. We left around 8:30 in the morning, and my appointment at the showroom was for 11:00 am. Even though we left half an hour early, and traffic wasn't all that bad, we still ended up getting there only 1 minute early! I was so excited, I was literally bouncing up and down in the backseat almost the whole way...
When we got to the showroom, Kristen (with whom I'd corresponded via email several times previously) was there to greet us and she took us into the showroom. I must confess it was a lot smaller than I had been expecting, but there were so many beautiful harps in there, it took my breath away. And then, of course, my dad had to say something which brought horrifying images to my - and Kristen's, too, I'm sure - mind:
"Wow, they're kinda close together. It would be really exciting if one got bumped into and they all tipped over like dominoes!"
Gee, thanks, Dad. I'm sure Kristen had nightmares about that for a week!
In the middle of the room was a small square platform of light-colored wood, about 2 inches higher than the rest of the floor. They had set out 3 Ravenna 34s for me to look at: 1 new, 1 used, and 1 with green veneer on it. I instantly eliminated the green one, and then I had to decide between getting the new one, or the used one for $100 cheaper and with a 2-year warranty from Harp Connection instead of a 2-year warranty from the manufacturer. Since I wasn't too concerned about saving $100, and both harps looked like new, I decided to choose which one looked better to me. In form, both were identically made, but the wood of the used one was more open-grained than the new one, and I finally decided I liked the look of the new one better.
Just as I had come to this decision, one of the girls who works there came in and said,
"I bet you want to hear what it sounds like, don't you?"
I nodded eagerly and she happily sat down behind the harp I pointed to (the new one, of course!) and played a little ditty on it for me. I have to admit, even though several harpists who own Ravennas had already told me how much they love them, and even though I'd looked up YouTube videos to make sure they sounded high-quality, I was still stunned by how big and powerful the harp sounded. I'm sure I was grinning like an idiot and my eyes were probably glazed over with happiness at this point, and the girl seemed very pleased with my reaction. I went back to the front room and told Kristen that I'd picked a harp. She walked back to the showroom with me and I pointed to the one I wanted. She smiled, handed the rental contract to my dad so he could sign it (since I'm a minor) and, at my request, showed me how to tune it. Then we went back to the front room so she should swipe my debit card.
The harp came with a really great case with oodles of pockets on the side; they're big enough for me to put my music in, and have compartments for my tuning wrench and other doodads. I purchased a tuning aid for $20 and the Ravenna stand with 5" legs for $100.
I think I must have been in shock - or I still am - because I've never paid so much money at one time in my life! (I think the grand total was somewhere around $400...) As those who know me well can attest, I'm a terrible penny-pincher. If it's not necessity, I don't buy it. I think I only splurge once or twice a year, and that's usually on gifts for Christmas and birthdays. Or books. I can painlessly go without the latest fashion trends, but I can't go without books or sheet music. Period.
I was smiling so hard my face hurt as we left the Harp Connection. My dad didn't have to be back home for a meeting for a few more hours, and my mom suggested we check out one of the witch museums in the area, since there were several within 10 minutes of the Harp Connection. Even though I was eager to get home and drool over my harp, I agreed, since I love museums.
We ended up choosing the Salem Witch Museum, which happened to be undergoing some renovations on the outside, and I enjoyed the presentation very much. I do think $8.50/per person is a little expensive, since the presentation is in a room with scenes illustrated by mannequins and the narration is pre-recorded. Not to say that the presentation wasn't very good and highly informative, but the ticket price was a little steep. After the presentation, we were escorted into a room with several other mannequins that represented the progression of the social ideals associated with the word "witch" (and if you pushed a button on the wall, a recording explained everything about that particular witch-era).
The whole tour had probably taken 45 minutes or so, and I convinced my parents that we should head back home then. It's a good thing we did, because even though it was only about 2:30 in the afternoon, highway traffic slowed to a crawl for half the way home, and there was an accident blocking part of the road at one point. We just barely made it home in time for my dad to leave for his meeting. As for my mom and I, we snarfed down some dinner and headed out for a teen home-schoolers' social event that was very fun... but I won't tell you about it since it has nothing to do with harp! ;) All things considered, the day I got my harp was one of the happiest days of my life, even though I spent most of it in the car!
We drove down to Salem, Massachusetts, on a sunny day. We left around 8:30 in the morning, and my appointment at the showroom was for 11:00 am. Even though we left half an hour early, and traffic wasn't all that bad, we still ended up getting there only 1 minute early! I was so excited, I was literally bouncing up and down in the backseat almost the whole way...
When we got to the showroom, Kristen (with whom I'd corresponded via email several times previously) was there to greet us and she took us into the showroom. I must confess it was a lot smaller than I had been expecting, but there were so many beautiful harps in there, it took my breath away. And then, of course, my dad had to say something which brought horrifying images to my - and Kristen's, too, I'm sure - mind:
"Wow, they're kinda close together. It would be really exciting if one got bumped into and they all tipped over like dominoes!"
Gee, thanks, Dad. I'm sure Kristen had nightmares about that for a week!
In the middle of the room was a small square platform of light-colored wood, about 2 inches higher than the rest of the floor. They had set out 3 Ravenna 34s for me to look at: 1 new, 1 used, and 1 with green veneer on it. I instantly eliminated the green one, and then I had to decide between getting the new one, or the used one for $100 cheaper and with a 2-year warranty from Harp Connection instead of a 2-year warranty from the manufacturer. Since I wasn't too concerned about saving $100, and both harps looked like new, I decided to choose which one looked better to me. In form, both were identically made, but the wood of the used one was more open-grained than the new one, and I finally decided I liked the look of the new one better.
Just as I had come to this decision, one of the girls who works there came in and said,
"I bet you want to hear what it sounds like, don't you?"
I nodded eagerly and she happily sat down behind the harp I pointed to (the new one, of course!) and played a little ditty on it for me. I have to admit, even though several harpists who own Ravennas had already told me how much they love them, and even though I'd looked up YouTube videos to make sure they sounded high-quality, I was still stunned by how big and powerful the harp sounded. I'm sure I was grinning like an idiot and my eyes were probably glazed over with happiness at this point, and the girl seemed very pleased with my reaction. I went back to the front room and told Kristen that I'd picked a harp. She walked back to the showroom with me and I pointed to the one I wanted. She smiled, handed the rental contract to my dad so he could sign it (since I'm a minor) and, at my request, showed me how to tune it. Then we went back to the front room so she should swipe my debit card.
The harp came with a really great case with oodles of pockets on the side; they're big enough for me to put my music in, and have compartments for my tuning wrench and other doodads. I purchased a tuning aid for $20 and the Ravenna stand with 5" legs for $100.
I think I must have been in shock - or I still am - because I've never paid so much money at one time in my life! (I think the grand total was somewhere around $400...) As those who know me well can attest, I'm a terrible penny-pincher. If it's not necessity, I don't buy it. I think I only splurge once or twice a year, and that's usually on gifts for Christmas and birthdays. Or books. I can painlessly go without the latest fashion trends, but I can't go without books or sheet music. Period.
I was smiling so hard my face hurt as we left the Harp Connection. My dad didn't have to be back home for a meeting for a few more hours, and my mom suggested we check out one of the witch museums in the area, since there were several within 10 minutes of the Harp Connection. Even though I was eager to get home and drool over my harp, I agreed, since I love museums.
We ended up choosing the Salem Witch Museum, which happened to be undergoing some renovations on the outside, and I enjoyed the presentation very much. I do think $8.50/per person is a little expensive, since the presentation is in a room with scenes illustrated by mannequins and the narration is pre-recorded. Not to say that the presentation wasn't very good and highly informative, but the ticket price was a little steep. After the presentation, we were escorted into a room with several other mannequins that represented the progression of the social ideals associated with the word "witch" (and if you pushed a button on the wall, a recording explained everything about that particular witch-era).
The whole tour had probably taken 45 minutes or so, and I convinced my parents that we should head back home then. It's a good thing we did, because even though it was only about 2:30 in the afternoon, highway traffic slowed to a crawl for half the way home, and there was an accident blocking part of the road at one point. We just barely made it home in time for my dad to leave for his meeting. As for my mom and I, we snarfed down some dinner and headed out for a teen home-schoolers' social event that was very fun... but I won't tell you about it since it has nothing to do with harp! ;) All things considered, the day I got my harp was one of the happiest days of my life, even though I spent most of it in the car!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Getting my harp!
I'm sooooo excited! I found out on Monday, but haven't had a chance to do any blogging, so I'm gonna say it now:
I'M GETTING MY HARP TOMORROW!
There. I said it. And I managed not to spontaneously combust because of happiness. Amazing.
I haven't been able to sleep properly all week, since I found out. I go to bed with a huge smile plastered onto my face and the last thought I think is "x days until I get my harp!!!!!" I really wonder if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight... My appointment at the Harp Connection is at promptly 11:00 AM. I'll have to leave around 7:30 if I want to get there on time, leaving myself an extra 1/2 hour in case of potential slow traffic or getting lost because of the GPS (have you ever noticed that those things always seem to lead you astray?)
Anyway, I need to do some homework, but I wanted to announce it while I'm still in the "eager anticipation" stage of this "journey"! I'll post about the trip and what it was like as soon as I can. My first lesson is on Tuesday - I can't wait! ARGH, the excitement is killing me! I can't wait until tomorrow!!!!!! ^_^
PS: tonight, I'm going with my mom and her best friend to see a play called "Amadeus", it's about Mozart, who apparently only lived into his 20's... I'm very excited about that, too (I love theater) but it pales in comparison to the excitement I feel about getting my harp!
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
Highland Games 2010
On Saturday (September 18th) my parents and I went to Highland Games. We went last year, but on a Friday, when there is not as much to see. The Games really get kicked off on Saturday. I was very excited when I saw Saturday's schedule on the Games website, because 3 harp workshops were listed, plus my harp teacher and several others were collaborating to put on a harp concert in the evening. You have to buy tickets for the night-time concerts as well as your gate tickets, but luckily the tickets were only $10 a person so we gladly bought some.
Now, last year, only 2 harpists were slated to come, but one of them couldn't get her car to start, so I only got to go to 1 harp workshop. And by "workshop" I mean the lady played a song, then talked about the history of harps, then played another song, then talked about the different kinds of harps and explained a bit about how they were played, then played another song, and so on. This year, the workshops gave me mixed feelings because several harpists came and were actually teaching classes and people could join in the circle with their harps for free. I haven't actually started taking lessons yet, so I didn't understand much of what the instructor was saying - which made the workshops rather boring, and I must confess that I only stayed for the first half-hour or so of each - but at the same time I was thinking, "Oh, if I had my harp with me, I would be having soooo much fun!!!" Still, I made mental notes on some of the exercises that I stayed to watch and the instructors' admonitions to not rely solely on 1 finger, but to be constantly strengthening them all. I've promised myself that next year I'll try to go for all 3 days of the Games and bring my harp so I can join the harp circles and enter the junior-level competitions.
One of the best parts of Highland Games was being surrounded by upwards of 600 bagpipes all day! I absolutely love the bagpipes, and my dad decided he wants to learn to play them. He's convinced that we'll be able to do pipe/harp duets once we've both got some practice under our belts, but bagpipes are on a totally different level of MHz compared to pretty much every other instrument on the planet, so I don't think that's going to work...
The caper-tosses were fun to watch; a world champion team was coming in to compete, too, but we didn't hang around to watch - my mom and I wanted to see Albannach performing!
Last year, my mom and I absolutely fell in love with this band called Albannach (see my "Links" page for a link to their site). They play a mix of tribal drums and bagpipes, and sometimes they sing traditional Scottish songs. People pack themselves into the concert tent like sardines! And their music just moves you - literally! There was this little old lady with a walker standing in the crowd in front of me during one of their concerts we went to, and she was doodle-boppin' around like a giddy teenager.
Another band we fell in love with is the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. Imagine this - traditional drums/bagpipe music meets pop-rock + psychedelic stage lights, red high-tops, and the 2x World's Fastest Drummer champion...(a link to their site can also be found on my "Links" page.) Let me just say that you ain't lived until you've heard "We will, we will rock you" on bagpipes. They also played a cover of "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, which will be released on their latest album. I was so psyched because after their afternoon concert, they were at their booth selling t-shirts and CDs, so I got my pictures with them and their autographs. They're really nice and I wish all the best for them. They put a lot of heart and sweat into their work!
The night harp concert was really great. As it turns out, Bill (my teacher) is the music director for Highland Games! He played 3 or 4 pieces, 2 of which he composed himself. They were magnificent! Then an ensemble of 4 harps played a few songs, which was really amazing. The room where the concert was held was very "alive", so the acoustics were great and everything just reverberated through your body. There's something really powerful about a whole group of harps playing all together. Then a harpist from Wales who now lives in Seattle, Judith, played a whole bunch of songs. She also sang Gaelic, sometimes with the harp and sometimes a capella. At the end of her part, she sang 3 reels all in a row; the first was called "A Kiss from the Fiddler's Sweetheart", the next was "The Old Lady's Jig" and the last - you'll love this one - was "If I Had a Grumpy Old Man, I'd Dunk Him in the Pond, and if He Wasn't Clean I'd Dunk Him Again". I wish I understood Gaelic because I bet that last one was a hoot!
The last performer was Maeve Gilchrist (again, visit my "Links" page!). She brought with her a friend from her college days, who accompanied her on his fiddle. She played the harp and sang with a wonderful, strong voice, and he played the fiddle so beautifully! I must confess that the violin/fiddle isn't exactly my favorite instrument, but the way he played, it sounded like melting butter or the sunshine on your back. Maeve played mostly songs that she'd written herself, and if I had some extra cash, I would totally buy her CD right now! It was a very wonderful concert.
I'm only sorry that I almost fell asleep several times near the end of it; I'd woken up at about 4:30 AM (unable to sleep from excitement) and then a happy, busy day filled with LOTS of walking finally caught up to me during the concert.
All in all, it was a very fun day. I enjoyed just being able to chill with my parents and revel in Scottish culture, even though I'm actually VERY Irish :P ... I wish I'd been finish this post sooner, but I've been very busy with school! I guess I'm glad that Blogger has the option of saving drafts! So, just pretend that I actually posted this a month ago...
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
Now, last year, only 2 harpists were slated to come, but one of them couldn't get her car to start, so I only got to go to 1 harp workshop. And by "workshop" I mean the lady played a song, then talked about the history of harps, then played another song, then talked about the different kinds of harps and explained a bit about how they were played, then played another song, and so on. This year, the workshops gave me mixed feelings because several harpists came and were actually teaching classes and people could join in the circle with their harps for free. I haven't actually started taking lessons yet, so I didn't understand much of what the instructor was saying - which made the workshops rather boring, and I must confess that I only stayed for the first half-hour or so of each - but at the same time I was thinking, "Oh, if I had my harp with me, I would be having soooo much fun!!!" Still, I made mental notes on some of the exercises that I stayed to watch and the instructors' admonitions to not rely solely on 1 finger, but to be constantly strengthening them all. I've promised myself that next year I'll try to go for all 3 days of the Games and bring my harp so I can join the harp circles and enter the junior-level competitions.
One of the best parts of Highland Games was being surrounded by upwards of 600 bagpipes all day! I absolutely love the bagpipes, and my dad decided he wants to learn to play them. He's convinced that we'll be able to do pipe/harp duets once we've both got some practice under our belts, but bagpipes are on a totally different level of MHz compared to pretty much every other instrument on the planet, so I don't think that's going to work...
The caper-tosses were fun to watch; a world champion team was coming in to compete, too, but we didn't hang around to watch - my mom and I wanted to see Albannach performing!
Last year, my mom and I absolutely fell in love with this band called Albannach (see my "Links" page for a link to their site). They play a mix of tribal drums and bagpipes, and sometimes they sing traditional Scottish songs. People pack themselves into the concert tent like sardines! And their music just moves you - literally! There was this little old lady with a walker standing in the crowd in front of me during one of their concerts we went to, and she was doodle-boppin' around like a giddy teenager.
Another band we fell in love with is the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. Imagine this - traditional drums/bagpipe music meets pop-rock + psychedelic stage lights, red high-tops, and the 2x World's Fastest Drummer champion...(a link to their site can also be found on my "Links" page.) Let me just say that you ain't lived until you've heard "We will, we will rock you" on bagpipes. They also played a cover of "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, which will be released on their latest album. I was so psyched because after their afternoon concert, they were at their booth selling t-shirts and CDs, so I got my pictures with them and their autographs. They're really nice and I wish all the best for them. They put a lot of heart and sweat into their work!
The night harp concert was really great. As it turns out, Bill (my teacher) is the music director for Highland Games! He played 3 or 4 pieces, 2 of which he composed himself. They were magnificent! Then an ensemble of 4 harps played a few songs, which was really amazing. The room where the concert was held was very "alive", so the acoustics were great and everything just reverberated through your body. There's something really powerful about a whole group of harps playing all together. Then a harpist from Wales who now lives in Seattle, Judith, played a whole bunch of songs. She also sang Gaelic, sometimes with the harp and sometimes a capella. At the end of her part, she sang 3 reels all in a row; the first was called "A Kiss from the Fiddler's Sweetheart", the next was "The Old Lady's Jig" and the last - you'll love this one - was "If I Had a Grumpy Old Man, I'd Dunk Him in the Pond, and if He Wasn't Clean I'd Dunk Him Again". I wish I understood Gaelic because I bet that last one was a hoot!
The last performer was Maeve Gilchrist (again, visit my "Links" page!). She brought with her a friend from her college days, who accompanied her on his fiddle. She played the harp and sang with a wonderful, strong voice, and he played the fiddle so beautifully! I must confess that the violin/fiddle isn't exactly my favorite instrument, but the way he played, it sounded like melting butter or the sunshine on your back. Maeve played mostly songs that she'd written herself, and if I had some extra cash, I would totally buy her CD right now! It was a very wonderful concert.
I'm only sorry that I almost fell asleep several times near the end of it; I'd woken up at about 4:30 AM (unable to sleep from excitement) and then a happy, busy day filled with LOTS of walking finally caught up to me during the concert.
All in all, it was a very fun day. I enjoyed just being able to chill with my parents and revel in Scottish culture, even though I'm actually VERY Irish :P ... I wish I'd been finish this post sooner, but I've been very busy with school! I guess I'm glad that Blogger has the option of saving drafts! So, just pretend that I actually posted this a month ago...
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Updates and Harp Names
Hello everybody, I thought I should post an update. :)
I've decided to try to get my harp by the end of October. I just discovered that I have about $600 left before I reach my goal amount. I won't get into all the details or my speculations, but my mom told me that it's very probable that I'll make at least that much during the initial 4 months I'm renting my harp, due to this new babysitting job.
This Saturday, I'm going to Highland Games with my parents! I'm very excited! I went last year and had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with my parents, even though I was little disappointed that there was only one harp performance/discussion. But that was because we went on a Friday last year. This time, we are going on a Saturday, which means I'll be able to participate in four harp workshops and see a concert that my future harp teacher is performing in later that evening, after all the Games are finished. My teacher(-to-be), Bill, is a very friendly, well-spoken-of man and I can't wait to start working with him towards my goal of becoming a bona fide harpist! (As opposed to being an obsessive harp fanatic, haha.)
I've been trying to pick a name for my harp. (Because that's what harp players DO, apparently...) Everyone I talk to has inevitably asked me "you are going to name it, right?" And finally I decided I should, so I can tell people that "yes, of course I named my inanimate object that has no brain and really doesn't care whether or not it has a name..."
So, from a crazy harpist's point of view, tell what you think about these names:
Well, that's it for now! Hopefully, I'll have much more exciting things to write about very soon!
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
I've decided to try to get my harp by the end of October. I just discovered that I have about $600 left before I reach my goal amount. I won't get into all the details or my speculations, but my mom told me that it's very probable that I'll make at least that much during the initial 4 months I'm renting my harp, due to this new babysitting job.
This Saturday, I'm going to Highland Games with my parents! I'm very excited! I went last year and had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with my parents, even though I was little disappointed that there was only one harp performance/discussion. But that was because we went on a Friday last year. This time, we are going on a Saturday, which means I'll be able to participate in four harp workshops and see a concert that my future harp teacher is performing in later that evening, after all the Games are finished. My teacher(-to-be), Bill, is a very friendly, well-spoken-of man and I can't wait to start working with him towards my goal of becoming a bona fide harpist! (As opposed to being an obsessive harp fanatic, haha.)
I've been trying to pick a name for my harp. (Because that's what harp players DO, apparently...) Everyone I talk to has inevitably asked me "you are going to name it, right?" And finally I decided I should, so I can tell people that "yes, of course I named my inanimate object that has no brain and really doesn't care whether or not it has a name..."
So, from a crazy harpist's point of view, tell what you think about these names:
- Gwyneth
- Chloe
- Varya [var-ee-uh] (The name comes from a character in a story that I'm writing)
- Lyra (because the lyre was an ancient form of the harp and I'd like to be clever :p)
- Serenity/Serena
Well, that's it for now! Hopefully, I'll have much more exciting things to write about very soon!
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
Monday, August 30, 2010
I got a job! :)
Our neighbor's son is going back to school this week. He gets home at 3:30 but his mom doesn't get out of work until 5:30, so she asked me if I would be willing to come over from 3:15 until she gets home so he won't be home alone. I'm so happy! She's willing to pay me $5 an hour (I guess that's the average rate for babysitting nowadays) and I'll be babysitting every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon from now on! I'd work for her every day if I could, but I have flute lessons on Tuesday afternoons and Fridays are very unpredictable for me. But that's still $30 a week that I wouldn't have otherwise.
Which means that - not including the bread I sell during the month - I'll make $120 a month and it will only take 5 months to earn the remaining $600 I'll need to buy my harp! And what's even better is that I just discovered that the Harp Connection has a rental plan! So, I pay a $125 deposit + $50/month for 4 months and at the end of the 4 months, I'll have the option to purchase my Ravenna or keep renting.
I'm so excited because this means that if all goes well with this babysitting job, I could possibly get my harp NEXT MONTH!!!!! You can't possibly comprehend how excited I am right now... [waves cheerleading pompoms and jumps up and down]
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
Which means that - not including the bread I sell during the month - I'll make $120 a month and it will only take 5 months to earn the remaining $600 I'll need to buy my harp! And what's even better is that I just discovered that the Harp Connection has a rental plan! So, I pay a $125 deposit + $50/month for 4 months and at the end of the 4 months, I'll have the option to purchase my Ravenna or keep renting.
I'm so excited because this means that if all goes well with this babysitting job, I could possibly get my harp NEXT MONTH!!!!! You can't possibly comprehend how excited I am right now... [waves cheerleading pompoms and jumps up and down]
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
"The Journey of a Thousand Miles..."
"...begins with a single step!" Hello everybody! This is my very first blog entry. I am so excited to share my harp journey with others who love the harp! If you'd like to read more about me, click "About the Author" at the top of the page.
I have already picked out my harp, a gorgeous Ravenna 34 by Dusty Strings. I found a harp teacher almost 2 hours from where I live... and believe it or not, he's the closest harpist!
I've also found lots of information about harps, harp (and finger) care, music, and many friendly people at the Harp Column's forums. The other people there have been incredibly helpful and have answered lots of questions.
If some of you who are sitting at your computer reading this blog want to learn harp - or any instrument - then I say "go for it!" Fulfilling dreams helps us lead fulfilling lives.
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
~Shelby
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