Harp Column Blogs: Carl SwansonArchive

I do a limited amount of teaching, and only take students who have been playing the harp for awhile. I've run into a problem with several of these students that has been vexing and for which I tried without success to find a good solution.  Please understand, I am not in any way saying nor suggesting the previous teacher of each of these students is to blame.  They are not.  The problem is part of the learning curve of getting students into harder repertoire.

The problem is this.  Students start developing practice habits as soon as they begin playing the harp, and as the student moves into harder repertoire, those original practice habits are inadequate for perfecting the more difficult pieces.  The result is that the student gets the piece to a certain point, and then there it sits, with inumerable stops and starts and trips and missed notes.  It took a while for me to realize several years ago that the student I was teaching at the time who had this problem had, in effect, learned these stops and starts.  After all, she did them everytime she practiced the piece, but she never stopped to work out the problem spot.  She'd just stop, regroup, and continue on.

I now have a very talented student who in many ways is a dream to  teach.  But as I've pushed him into harder repertoire this year, the same problem was cropping up.  I tried practice sessions during the lesson.  I tried giving him a second lesson each week.  The result had limited success, and I was getting more and more frustrated that he wasn't finishing anything(i.e. getting each piece to performance level.  He's been working for several weeks now on the Hasselmans La Source, and this problem of stops and starts, dropped notes, etc. was driving me nuts.

So right after his last lesson I had an idea.  I emailed him and told him to play the first 4 or 5 pages through, and everytime he tripped, missed a note or stopped, to put a check mark above that spot in the music.  Then go back and practice only the checked places, one at a time, until he could play through it without a problem.  When he got to the point  where he could play through that spot 3 or 4 days  in a row with no stop the first time through, he could remove the check mark.

He came for a lesson today, and the result was dazzling.  He played the first half of the piece(which had been bolted to this stop-and-start stage for weeks) at performance level.  It was ready to record.  And he was able to focus his attention on the nuances and musical expression because he knew the notes cold.

I thought some of the teachers here might like to hear about this, and I hope it helps you and your students.

EMERGENCY REPAIR FOR A BROKEN PEDAL ROD

From the recent posts that have been up concerning broken pedal rod repair, I decided this should be the next tip.  In many cases, with the right tools on hand, you can do an emergency broken rod repair without changing the rod.  It's much faster than changing the rod, and may get you out of an emergency.  Here's how it works.

Tools you will need: a new pedal coupler, a bent nose vise-grip pliers, a small screwdriver, and my book A GUIDE FOR HARPISTS

THE REPAIR

If the rod is broken at the bottom, which is where they break 99% of the time, the break will occur right at the point where the rod screws into the pedal coupler.  There are usually more threads left on the rod.  Lay the harp over on its side so you can work on the bottom end of the instrument.  If the broken rod is E or F, you probably won't even have to remove the base(pedestal).  If it's any of the other rods, take the base off the instrument, using your tuning key to unscrew the bolts holding it on.

Now take the bent nose vise-grip pliers and attach it to the broken rod ABOVE the threads(i.e. on the smooth part of the rod so you don't damage any threads) and unscrew the rod about 8 full turns.  Count each full revolution so you know how many you have done. DO NOT UNSCREW THE ROD COMPLETELY .  The rod is screwed into the action coupler at the top about 18 to 20 full turns, so unscrewing the rod 8 turns will not disengage it from the action.

Now take your new pedal coupler and screw it onto the rod about 8 full turns.  Leave the vise-grip pliers on the rod while you are doing this and hold the pliers in one hand to prevent the rod from screwing back in while you screw the new pedal coupler onto the broken rod.  Remember, screw the new coupler on about 8 full turns.  Be careful to get the coupler started on the threads correctly so you don't ruin the threads and jam the coupler.

The new coupler probably came with a pedal coupler screw, so now you need to try the new screw in the hole in the pedal bar to see if it fits. If the new pedal coupler screw doesn't fit the pedal bar, then try the old pedal coupler screw in the new coupler.  Check both of these things first by trying the old screw in the new coupler, and the new screw in the pedal bar.  Whichever one works best is the one you will use.  Now connect the coupler to the pedal bar.  Put the base back on (just hold it in place without bolting it on) and test for overmotion(see A GUIDE FOR HARPISTS, chapter 12).  If there is overmotion, correct that now.  Once overmotion has been eliminated, bolt the base back on.  The repair is complete.

As soon as you can, you should install a new pedal rod to replace this one, but if time is short (backstage for a concert, waiting for a wedding to start, etc.) this is the fastest way to get the harp functioning again.

You will have to(way ahead of time!!) order a pedal coupler that is compatible with the rods in your harp.  Call the manufacturer and explain that you want a coupler that will fit the rods in your instrument. As an example of what you are facing, Lyon & Healy has had several different coupler threadings over the years, and the newest Lyon & Healy's have all Salvi parts(pedal bars, pedal couplers, springs, rods, etc.) in their harps, so what they are currently using now will not fit your older Lyon & Healy.