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!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)