Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Dear Billooms: Yeah, I had pretty much decided on all that ‘tech.’ I was just curious how one utilizes all of this, AND gets some sound loops, prerecorded ‘backing’ and other things like that, and, if so, what other tech might be needed- and (more importantly) can/should the iPad act as a ‘central processing system’ for a ‘one-man band.’ I know I’m getting into a lot of areas I know nothing about, but was hopeful others on the boards might have some expertise.
For example, if you don’t have a Camac Big Blue, nor have a ‘plug-in’ jack on your acoustic harp, with a ‘plug and play’ feature, how to do you go about learning/choosing tech for that first step? And, if you drill a hole for a ‘semi-permanent’ plug jack do you void the warranty?
Which after-market microphone/electronic systems work best with the least amount of damage to an acoustic harp, in other words?Then…. when you have that, what next? I found this one video on YT –
that shows what appears to be a ‘mixer’ but obviously, someone has to do these types of settings either: a) beforehand, or have a ‘sound technician’ to change parameters- but there doesn’t appear to be something to prerecord all this. And this is just one piece of equipment! The comments on the video talk about at least four or five other things.
Then, one needs a speaker, etc… and all of a sudden, it’s too much ‘gear’ to carry for someone, whose desire to have a ‘one stop shop’ and a few simple attempts to have just a few features, that I thought Garage Band and Musescore could/would enable me to have on the iPad, and from there, some pedal to start/stop/change the ‘tracks.’If I am unclear, I’m very sorry, because I know nothing of this stuff- i just wanted to make music for other… ya know?
Where does one go to learn all this- especially if one has eschewed this tech all one’s life, in favor of ‘real’ (i.e, classical/acoustic) music? (yeah, I know- loaded terms. lol)
Doe that help clarify my question(s)? TYVM.
I refuse to use FB. And my question isn’t really one related to the component parts, which has some helpful vids on YT. I’ve done the preliminary research on that… I wanted to know if anyone has really “gone there, done that” among the harping community.
This seems like the best place to pose this question.
I’m finally at a stage where I think I will be able to play for things. I also want to use an iPad pro, with ForScore, and a page turner foot pedal device to minimize ‘stuff’ to carry, along with any sort of harp.
Has anyone had any experience using backup tracks created by GarageBand or other apps, and playing them through one’s iPad while performing (using Forscore, for example), and using the Pageflip or other foot device to control/use something resembling ‘accompaniment in a box’?
Or will this idea/scenario need a whole lot of other cables, equipment, tech, etc?
Thanks.Help! So, I am (as you know) a large man, with hands that can span a tenth on the piano. I also have some wrist mobility issues, due to age (not carpal tunnel). I’ve been very lucky with RH Harmonics, but the LH variation just DOESN’T Work for me. I get wrist pain, and my ratio of success is less than 10%. When I used a RH approach with my LH, my teacher was not pleased. Any suggestions as to how to get the LH lower palm pad and thumb to work together, and to not hurt in LH harmonics?
“Generally, even Camac Bardic, which I don’t like either, wins in several points. Triplett Shanti 28 with full set of Camac levers costs the same or just 100-200$ more, but the construction is much better, the sound is nicer and louder (maybe because it is 1.5kg lighter, no matter 1 string more in more comfortable range (from down A, not C).”
Katerina- Vielen Dank for your opinion. After getting nowhere trying to find current info on the Heartland Harp firm here on the forum, I’ve gone further afield. Looking at a Triplett Shanti for a Therapy harp, as I am a rather large (6’3″) man, and the Shanti is bigger than the Christina. Just got done talking with Triplett. This unsolicited opinion (even at the remove of @ a decade) helps.
I think it must have been SB or Glen Campbell, where I saw/heard Mason William’s song.
I’m Celtic. I always wanted to do something exotic like the harp, but was too timid… so I became an Opera Singer, instead?@!?
Anyway, learning curve aside, I am enjoying playing harp now. thanks.
Maybe even someday I’ll perform ‘with harp and voice.’Also-freakin-lutely great! Of course, I’ll never be able to play it, but that piece was THE piece that led me to investigate classical music, which then led to my entire career in music. What a GREAT connection. Congrats.
Mary, just remember. Historical veracity in a fiction novel only matters to those whose job it is to know those things- which usually can be overlooked by the fans! The mystique of the Harp, and the books written about it, was one of the reasons I decided to study harp back in the day (about the 1970’s)- that, and having been in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, in SO Cal. back then). Of course, it only took me close to fifty years to achieve that dream….lol.
In the books I read, you could have the protagonist ‘suddenly find’ an old harp, that merely needed tuning, as long as it advances the plot! Have you read Anne McAffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern? especially the book “Masterharper of Pern?”
Here’s a link to over 70 books wherein music plays a big part….
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13040.Music_in_Fantasy_FictionAnd, of course, there’s the quintessential children’s book about music, magic, and mystery: “A string in the Harp.”
Best of luck!May 2021 update:
Does ANYONE know ANYTHING about what is going on w/Heartland Harps?
I’ve read everything from broken promises, to excellent service, to six month delays on refunds for harps never made, to rave reviews of their CF Pedal harp, to ‘out of business.’ Yet the website is still up, and though their last blog entry was in 2019, new instruments have appeared since then- namely, a double strung harp that is very rea$onable!
Yet, their phone mailbox is constantly full, and visits to the shop are ‘by appointment only.’
I’ve even tried contacting Pam Bruner, as I loved her self-teaching books when I was first starting out, and wanted to compliment her, but she never responded.
I am going to start a Harp Therapy program soon, and wanted to get a CF harp to use for that, even with the HH cost differential. But if there is a problem with HH, I think harpists all over the USA should know it. It’s a great idea, and I’d be sad to learn that they are out of business….
I signed up for this about a year or two ago, started it, and then found a local teacher. It all seemed too ‘easy’- but, like all things, the devil is in the details. I came back to it (because my membership didn’t lapse) about four months ago (COVID) and realized that Alice’s approach (especially teaching lifting and placing) is nothing short of FOUNDATIONAL. She has answered all my questions, I am lifting and coming back to the strings, getting better all the time, and have asked her to do a Course for Beginners #3. She also now has a Harp Class option, which I would encourage teachers to involve their studios in! Her pedagogy is sound. Excellent! (FWIW, I am a college Voice instructor)
For whatever its worth, it’s pretty obvious Molly has a lot of disposable income- or major credit cards [!] as she has gotten a whole slew of harps in the last year or so, as her YT channel shows. Lucky her. https://www.youtube.com/c/MusicalMollyKhan/videos
So, in my case, after going insane trying to determine which [lever] harp to buy, being at a minimum of two hours (one way) from just ONE harp store, it really comes down to hoping that your ‘ears’ can actually hear via pre-recorded ‘samples’ of the various models out there. If only there were Harp stores in Target… or Wal-Mart- lol. Those people who live near a ‘harp shop’ are soooo lucky.
But, in my case, it’s finding a harp with the requisite sound,that then fits my body size. As a 6’4″ individual, so many harps are just so small….except for Pedal harps. But those are pretty standard.
Balfour & Biagio. Could you talk to the subject of the male physique and which lever harp configs out there, that might ‘fit’ someone over six feet, and/or with arms 34-36″ long?
