Harpers for Housing

Harpers for Housing: a holiday tradition!

Sunday, December 4th at 2pm
at the Lincoln Street United Methodist Church,
5145 SE Lincoln St., Portland
Suggested donation: $10
(please click here to see a map)

Come enjoy a festive holiday concert featuring harpers, singers, and a wonderful mandolin player!  This is a benefit for a wonderful local nonprofit, the Northwest Pilot Project, which “provides housing services for seniors ages 55 and older who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.”  NWPP assists elders in living their lives in safety and dignity, which is more important than ever in difficult economic times.  Kathleen Staub, a friend of mine and a well-known, beloved local lever harp teacher, is the organizing force behind this event.

Tagged: concert, Fundraiser, Harpers for Housing, Portland ]]> http://pdxclarsach.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/harpers-for-housing-sunday-december-4th/feed/ 0 pdxclarsach OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA http://pdxclarsach.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/samhain-in-portland/ http://pdxclarsach.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/samhain-in-portland/#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:25:03 +0000 Sue http://pdxclarsach.wordpress.com/?p=670 ]]>

The new Trinity on the porch, Samhain 2011.

Samhain is, for me, the most significant season of the year. It is a time when I build an ancestor altar with photographs of my beloved dead, from a well-loved grandfather who died before I was born, to a dear old cat whose long life came to a close this past winter. The faces are all there, familiar and honored.

Tonight Amy and I are attending the Dark Harvest Ballads, an event sponsored by a local group of musicians, Mistral, who specialize in Breton music. Tonight’s performance will be, according to the organizers, “an evening of spooky, cathartic songs drawn from the English tradition, exploring themes of death, struggle, and untimely departures…” We attended a previous incarnation of the event, and had a dark, splendid time. I enjoy John Fleagle and Robin Williamson’s old ballads laced with foreboding, so this is my cup of tea. It is also, to Mistral’s credit, a benefit concert for the Oregon Food Bank. Samhain blessings to Mistral for their generosity.

The elegant new Trinity (shown above my my porch) is nearly complete, lacking only a string for the loop (the bottom drone string), and an end cap. A wonderful master metalsmith is making a custom cap for it, and I’ll be sure to show photos when it arrives.

With Samhain good wishes,

-Sue

See and hear for yourself what you may think of the sound of gold throughout the instrument. Some commentators on the WireHarp list think gold isn’t worth the investment, but I heartily disagree. If you’d like a closer look at the instrument, William MacDonald has posted a video clip:

–Sue

Freshly strung, on its first outdoor excursion, and not yet in tune. Photo by Sue.

It’s here! It’s here.

I’ve had a hectic week since the arrival of the new Trinity College harp on Wednesday. I had asked my luthier, David Kortier, to let me string it. Suffice it to say that several times this week I have wondered about that decision, but let me tell you, it has been a highly useful education in a very compressed period of time. I’ll write about it shortly. For now, here is a photograph of the Trinity taken just around the corner from my house, where there was a patch of shade on a warm summer afternoon.

Over the past several days friends have stopped in to visit, and to meet the new instrument. One jokingly referred to the four pieces of the unstrung clarsach as “some assembly required.” My former teacher, Doug, who had been gently harassing me for months about my decision to commission this instrument, which I suspect he thought wildly extravagant, came by yesterday, and while both the student Trinity and the new replica were out, he couldn’t keep his eyes off the new arrival. He picked it up, inspected every surface, and after a good, lengthy visit, seemed to be almost as smitten with it as I am.

I’ll post reports shortly on the process of transferring gold from one instrument to the other (so far, so good!), and will tell you how things settle in.

Now, back to tuning. The whole instrument is still 2 notes below its final tuning, and I’m bringing it up gradually.

–Sue

New Trinity Replica Before Stringing, July 2011.

David Kortier in Duluth, Minnesota, US, has made a beauty.  The box is willow, the neck and forepillar are black walnut, and the back panel is Austrian bog oak.  Stay tuned for many more photographs, and my updates on stringing and transferring the gold bass strings to this new instrument.  I expect that it will be both exciting and nerve-wracking.

-Sue

I cannot tell you how often I see posts on the WireHarp list from students who bemoan the lack of knowledgeable teachers in their area.   Complain no more, good people, as there is a solution to this dilemma!  Skype lessons can put you in touch with some of the most skilled teachers and players imaginable.

This article is authored by my friend Sam Tyler of Portland. She and I both study with teachers who live in another state or country through using Skype.  The article, published recently in the Wire Branch‘s newsletter Wire Strings, is reprinted here with permission.  I have added some photographs which do not appear in the original newsletter article.
My best advice to you?  Try some Skype lessons!

–Sue

Exploring Skype Lessons for the Clarsach

The odyssey begins when we fall for this siren of harps–the clarsach. We trust the voyage will reveal itself, if only we set sail. Sometimes our ship finds ports of call, great cities of harp festivals and workshops, where we are showered with ancient writings full of curious markings, and melodies that haunt our dreams. But we travel the sea alone, without a map or compass. It is all too easy to drift. What we need, of course, is an experienced guide who can point us in the right direction. The reality is most of us are becalmed far away from help.

Enter Skype software–free video calls anywhere you can logon to broadband internet service using either an internal computer camera or a webcam attached to a USB port. Suddenly we can take lessons with some of the best clarsach teachers in the world. As one Skype student said “it’s like being a ordinary cello student and having Yo-Yo Ma come to your house once a week to teach.”

For purposes of this article, I interviewed (by Skype, of course) four clarsach teachers — Simon Chadwick, Cynthia Cathcart, Bill Taylor, and Ann Heymann, and seven of their Skype students. Before we get into the particulars, I want to state right up front that every student was wildly enthusiastic about the long-distance lessons and their teachers.

The Skype Venue

In most ways Skype video lessons are just another venue; they provide a place to hold a lesson so that teacher and student can see and hear each other. Travel time is minimal, taking just a few seconds while your computer makes a connection. However, this venue does present some technical problems at times.

The most obvious challenge is that teacher and student share two dimensional views of each other in a limited window. This small viewing area means that teachers and students need to frame themselves well–a quiet room free from interruptions with good lighting appropiately placed. A teacher cannot walk around a student or reach out and correct a hand position, so making hand and strings clearly visible is important. From time to time the lesson may be interrupted by a frozen or pixalated screen. And Skype’s compression, which is just fine for voice transmission, does weird things to the long resonance of the clarsach, particularly in the lower registers. But take heart, pioneering teachers and students have found ways to circumvent the limitations.

Skype Tools

Skype students can use recording software that works in conjunction with Skype to save their lessons in video format for review. Call Recorder (shareware) and Pamela(freeware) are two small applications mentioned in the interviews. Students should check with their teacher before using recording software. Any recording should be for the student’s private use only and should not be posted or shared without express permission from the teacher.

Video files can take up a lot of hard drive space. The simplest solution is editing. A student can watch a replay of the lesson and then edit the video, snipping out portionsof a lesson to save. Saving video directly from a Skype lesson can do even more than give you a quick reference. One right shoulder playing student takes editing one step further “flipping” demo clips, so that the left shoulder played demo of the teacher appears as a right shouldered view.

Video can also help the teacher get a clear view of a student’s progress. Students can capture short videos of themselves using the internal computer camera, a webcam or a digital camcorder. One advantage of the webcam is that you can move it easily to a position near your harp for close-up views. If you have never played around with video and are a bit daunted by the thought of incorporating this in a lesson, rest assured that it is fairly easy.

Although materials like notation and text can be scanned and sent by e-mail, large video files need another method of transmission. One option is to use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server. Another option for sending video files is to upload the video to a free YouTube account as an unlisted file, so that only teacher or student can view the video once they are given the specific URL for that particular clip. No one can access unlisted files by browsing. Although there is time involved in uploading, the viewer gets very high resolution and sound quality that can make it worth the extra effort.

How Do You Learn?

One of the discoveries I made in my interviews with teachers was the wide range of teaching approaches for their online students.

Simon Chadwick

Simon Chadwick. Photo from his Picasa site.

 Simon Chadwick has been giving Skype lesson for about two years, but his interest in video teaching began much earlier. Years before Skype was available, Simon was involved in a project to create video clips that could be put up on a web site to demonstrate harp technique.

With Skype Simon found a good way to work with students using oral harp traditions. His focus is on ancient Gaelic music; studying manuscript facsimiles, students learn to work from original sources. Simon explained, “Like notation, oral tradition has its own collection of standard units, but they are different from modern notation. There are gestures, fingerings that take advantage of natural strengths and weaknesses in the hands, genres like dances structured by specific rhythms, and styles of playing. Once learned they are not forgotten because you find they appear again and again.”

Simon wants students to understand the aesthetic principles and historic structures behind what they are learning. He told me, “the way you think about things determines how you retain and memorize and use material.” He feels this approach to learning orally along side a teacher allows you to retrieve the music effectively and develop ideas for performance with an eye to historic accuracy. Students may begin by singing new music, so that they have it firmly fixed in their heads before placing it on the harp.

All of Simon’s students are fully committed to approaching the harp in an historic way; they play left-shouldered and have found that the traditional methods suit their needs. One student told me, “I get frustrated with sheet music, I find I am much quicker to

learn through an aural approach.” Simon does not use supplemental video, nor does he give students modern notation. His tools are manuscripts, early tablatures, and some voice song files–the focus is real time experience of the oral tradition.

Simon’s informative web site at http://www.simonchadwick.net is full of resources on historical harps and music, and provides more information regarding his lessons.

Cynthia Cathcart

Cynthia Cathcart. Photo from her website used with permission.

Like Simon, Cynthia Cathcart has been offering Skype lessons for about two years. She has developed her own materials for teaching and uses her book, Pathways, which presents a clear sequential track for acquiring fingering and damping skills, and is geared to new students. Cynthia has designed her online classes to take advantage of the benefits offered by video technology.

Midweek students use the web cam to video their progress. The video file is sent via an FTP server and Cynthia reviews the file before meeting with the student on Skype. Describing the process she said, “You know they are going to listen to it before they send it and that helps them develop their own critical ear–they notice things missed when playing.” Her student complimented the video process telling me that it has allowed her to move rapidly from one short piece to another gaining new skills at a steady pace, saying,“it keeps pushing me beyond my comfort zone–but not so far as to be overwhelming.”

The student’s video allows Cynthia to see the week’s progress in a clear resolution; she can replay the video if needed to focus on problem areas. After the lesson she puts together new materials which includes a video of herself playing assignments, notation, notes on new techniques, a report on the lesson summarizing what was covered, and perhaps some additional exercises. These materials are transmitted to the student by FTP server and e-mail. Online lesson time allows students to play problem areas and for Cynthia to focus on resolving any difficulties or questions. Teacher and student both use a webcam as it gives them the flexibility to zoom in on the strings during a lesson.

Because the previewing, video making, and lesson preparation off camera is fairly time consuming, the lesson is divided into two parts–part of the lesson time on-Skype and part off-line. Cynthia also welcomes students to e-mail her between lessons with questions as part of her role as teacher. She notes that Skype seems to require more structure– an impromptu detour in a lesson could leave the student looking at an empty chair while the teacher goes looks for a special reference or book!

Cynthia welcomes working with a student’s personal goals (i.e. exploring modes for a student working with healing music, or focusing on music appropriate for church performance).

Cynthia’s web site is at http://www.cynthiacathcart.net/ An interesting aside–one of Cynthia’s students came to her after seeing one of Cynthia’s videos on YouTube.

Bill Taylor

Bill Taylor. Photo used with his permission.

Bill has only recently brought his well-honed teaching skills to Skype and structures a lesson as much like in-person lessons as possible. He does not require videos from

students, but is excited about the added dimension they can bring to a Skype lesson. When a student makes a video it solves the sound transmission problems inherent with Skype. He told me,“Having the student make a video tidies up the presentation in all aspects.” Bill also noted the advantages of being able to backup a video in order to review a section and the possibility of viewing the video with the student during the lesson to help the student see a problem area.

Typically Bill uses standard notation with detailed fingering to present new material. He plays the music through, so that the student can record it and use it for reference between lessons. By playing during the online lesson he can stop and point out challenging areas that might be encountered and work in real time with the student to make sure ornaments, fingering, timing, etc. are understood. If the student does not use recording software, Bill can e-mail sound files for reference after the lesson. He often includes historical and musical genre information related to the music in the lesson to give students insights for interpretation. Bill’s student shared, “ Bill can make a piece come alive…Skype lessons have taken me to a new level with my playing, not just learning to physically play better, but to get inside the music.”

Speaking on the subject of what to expect in a lesson, Bill told me, “lessons must be paced in useable size pieces. As students internalize information they begin to bring something of themselves to the process. They might draw on abilities in a variety of areas–improvising, sight reading, even arranging. I try to plan practical things, ways to get students to explore possibilities in a piece, to bring something to the work, to internalize interpretation and to use the skills they have learned. Ultimately I want the student to acquire and build their own repertoire–to work in their own areas of interest.”

Bill’s web site is http://www.billtaylor.eu/ where you can find articles he has written and the lengthy discography which includes both solo and group work.

Ann Heymann

Ann Heymann. Photo from her website.

Ann has truly pioneered teaching the clarsach. Out of her decades of performing ancient Gaelic harp repertoire and in depth research of old manuscripts, Ann discovered and developed the “coupled hands” approach to playing the clarsach. Rather than being separated in high and low registers on the harp, the player’s hands alternate in sequences that naturally clarify strong beats and easily add historically appropriate harmonies; the interplay creates a balance that allows the music to unfold in a natural almost dance-like choreography. Her book Coupled Hands for Harpers, which introduces the approach in a gradual progression, has been a classic tutorial for clarsach harpers.

The philosophy of coupled hands underlies Ann’s work with her students. One student who came from a classical pedal harp tradition told me, “coupled hands is so organic, the music flows so naturally.“ Another said “Ann’s amazing wealth of knowledge and context for the music, not only inspires me to research new repertoire, but takes me deeply into the music I am playing.”

Ann says she works to help the students develop a relaxed and effective technique with the focus on feel. “I want a player’s fingers and hands to connect directly to the sound, to open the way towards a certain amount of improvisation.”

The lesson format is much like an in-person lesson. Ann says, “I work with students based on their needs and their level –my style is informed by whom I am teaching.” Some students require more detailed notation, another may be helped by special sound files that slow down the music and put variations into separate tracks to facilitate aural learning. For one student who was struggling with hand position problems, Ann made a video of herself playing from different angles.

Skype’s two dimensionality makes pinpointing technical problems in playing harder to see, so Ann asks students to play from different angles. She particularly likes to see over the shoulder — the “harper’s eye view.” One of her students sends her video before a lesson as a way to give Ann these extra angles. Video is not required and Ann likes the immediacy of seeing the student play during a lesson. She may demonstrate techniques or new music during a lesson and students can record her playing with Skype-connected software for later reference.

Ann is willing to work with a wide variety of repertoire as long as it is level-appropriate and idiomatic for the harp. Although she is thrilled to have students who follow historical and traditional standards, she enjoys helping students who follow a different muse.

Ann’s web site http://www.annheymann.com is where you can learn more about her historic approach, her books and CD’s, and her many accomplishments including her seminal work with precious metal strings.

Students Speak

Most students taking Skype lessons originally met their teachers at a class or workshop, often traveling great distances for the opportunity to study with that particular teacher. They never dreamed it was going to be possible to take private lessons with someone who might be thousands of miles away. So that you have a taste of their enthusiasm here are a few of the comments they made to me:

“Skype works fabulously…it is wonderful to have face-to-face time with a great teacher.”

“It’s amazing! Even if you can get to a special week of classes you need the continued input and access to a teacher to progress. I would come home from workshops with a head full of ideas, wanting to try everything. I would work on a few things, but it is hard to make progress without some continued help.”

“It is so gratifying to have the little ‘ah-ha’ moments that happen in lessons when you get an insight into the history of a piece, or finally understand how to use a technique well and can claim it for other music you work on.”

“Before Skype, when I worked on my own, it was two steps forward, one step back and sometimes two steps back. If you work on your own, you too often reinforce bad habits and it takes time to unlearn–the role of your teacher is to keep you out of the weeds.”

“Even with Skype’s limitations, boy, my teacher catches everything–fingering, damping. I don’t get away with anything!”

“Skype lessons are an ongoing conversation. I ask questions; I learn what questions to ask– how to go further into the music.”

Think you want to try it? Visit the web sites (I did not include lengthy introductions for the four teachers highlighted here as they are well-known to the clarsach community, but on their web sites you will find detailed bios and other helpful information). Make a list of your questions. The more you know about your expectations the better equipped you will be when you contact a potential teacher. Then e-mail the teacher with whom you think you would like to study and set up a time for a Skype chat. A teacher can give you suggestions regarding equipment, lighting, and good positioning. These were the four teachers I knew who were using Skype; you may have another teacher in mind with whom you want to study–can’t hurt to ask. It’s your journey and you get to steer the ship.

I leave you with one final student comment, “just tell them in your article to try it, it’s great!”

–Sam Tyler

(click on any photo to open a larger image)

I am posting this information on behalf of Kathleen Staub, a well-respected lever harp teacher and friend, who owns this instrument.  If you’re looking for a very affordable, high-headed modern brass-strung harp, take a look!

PLEASE NOTE:  kindly direct all inquiries to Kathleen at arpeggioharps@earthlink.net.

About the instrument

• Cunningham 33-string harp with brass strings and bridge pins (no blades)
• lowest string is C, 2 octaves below middle C; highest string is a g, 2+ octaves above middle C
• spruce soundboard and walnut body, with a base with four feet (stands freely)
• laminated neck has a beautiful, burled walnut grain (see the photo)
• in like-new condition
• comes with spare brass strings, tuning key and tuning fork
• includes an excellent assortment of books, including  A Gaelic Harper’s First Tunes, Coupled Hands for Harpers, and Legacy of the 1792 Belfast Harpers’ Festival by Ann Heymann, and From My Music Stand and Pathway by Cynthia Cathcart (see the photo for details)
• reasonably wide string spacing means you can play with finger pads if you’re a lever harper and don’t want to grow your nails
• cost $2900 new; for sale for $1900 plus shipping.  Seller will pay for insurance
• for additional information, visit the Cunningham Harps website to see a photo of a similar instrument.  Here is a sound clip of a similar instrument from the craftsman’s website.
• I have seen this harp in person, and took the photographs myself

Please note:  I have no financial interest in this sale.  Please contact Kathleen at arpeggioharps@earthlink.net with all questions.  Thank you for looking!

–Sue

Trinity College, Dublin. Photo by Sue, 2009.

As you may have heard, Queen Elizabeth made a recent historic visit to Ireland.  When she visited the faculty and staff of the Trinity College Library, historical harper Siobhán Armstrong was one of the academic and cultural eminences there to meet her.  The Queen of England had the good fortune to see and hear Siobhán playing her stunning sounding replica of the Trinity College harp while seated adjacent to the original harp in its case in the Long Room of the library.

Outside the Trinity College Library, Dublin. Photo by Sue.

What makes the video clip such good viewing is the rare and welcome glimpse inside the beautiful Long Room, with its fine old collection of books, busts, and the Trinity College harp itself.  As you may be aware, photographs are not allowed in the Long Room, and when I was there last summer I saw a man escorted downstairs by security for pulling out his camera.  Therefore, if you have not had the chance to visit Ireland’s oldest harp in this magnificent library, be sure to check out this video clip before it expires on June 7, 2011.  It’s available HERE on RTÉ, the Irish national broadcasting service.

Highlights of the video include the following:

• 51 minutes:  the Trinity College Librarian introduces the instrument, complete with a close-up view of it in its case
• 1:05 minutes:  Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip approach Siobhán Armstrong and have a chat.  Armstrong is playing Carolan’s Farewell to Music at the time, and stops to talk with them both.
• 1:07 minutes onward:  follow the introductions in the reception line, and learn about the many faculty and culturally prominent figures present for the occasion, from Man Booker Prize winners to famous scientists and figures in publishing and the arts.
• It’s very worthwhile to play the video several minutes before and after the harp episode to enjoy Armstrong’s beautiful playing, and to observe the Book of Kells exhibit and conservation crew downstairs in the library in the exhibit, Turning Darkness Into Light.  I’ve visited several times, and have found the exhibit a wonderful way to learn about the history of the illuminated manuscripts held by the College, as well as the process the monks may have used to construct these manuscripts.

Some of Bridgetown's musicians. Photo by Sue, taken some years ago.

I moved quietly around the house at 4:15am this morning to avoid waking my partner as I set off for the pre-sunrise Beltane festivities at Washington Park in Portland.  My friend Doug and I were among the first arrivals, stamping our feet and walking the perimeter of the rose garden to warm up. To the east, the sky began to turn pink, and I could see the hazy outline of Mt. Hood edged in purple.

My favorite part of the morning is the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, always performed with great beauty.  This year there were several Morris sides, including a group from Eugene, and a cluster of young children who did a rather good job.  After the Morris dances, Doug and I tuned our harps and played for about 45 minutes in the once again quiet, sunny gardens before heading off to the eastside for breakfast.

For your enjoyment, here is a short clip of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance from the 2009 festivities at the rose garden.

–Sue

The Gaelic Harp Conference flyer.

David Kortier and Ann Heymann have once again produced an extraordinary collaboration in building and playing a replica of the Bunworth harp, a high-headed instrument built around 1734 for the Reverend Charles Bunworth.  This harp resides at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.

There’s a stunning opportunity for historical harpers to meet the Bunworth replica, along with the very best Gaelic harper in the world, Ann Heymann.  Dave Kortier, the luthier who made Ann’s marvelous sounding Trinity replica, and who builds the student line of historical instruments, will be on hand to discuss the project, and Karen Loomis will present information on her PhD research on early Scottish harps, including the Lamont and the Queen Mary.  The flyer is posted above.  Click for a closer look, or to download it, or visit the Harpcon page.

Simon Chadwick and his Early Gaelic Harp Info site (a sponsor of the conference) has created a very informative page on the Bunworth harp.  Take a look at it to brush up on your background information.

Another opportunity for summer workshops and study takes place in late June at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.  The Ohio Scottish Arts School meets from June 25 to July 1, 2011.  I attended this summer program and stayed in the dormitories at Oberlin in the summer of 2008, and I heartily recommend it.  Ann and Charlie Heymann will be there, and let me tell you, a week of intensive working in a small group of wire strung harp players is great fun and hard work.  We are the smallest track among the more common lever harpers, and that means that the group gets Ann all to itself, complete with plenty of opportunities for questions and answers, conversation, and fun.  I came home with a folder full of new music and a brain full of good ideas.

Here is the Museum of Fine Arts page describing the Bunworth harp, complete with photographs.

To my chagrin, I’ll be finishing up my work at the school where I teach when the Early Gaelic Harp Conference begins.  If you can go, drop everything and attend.  It will surely be worth it.

–Sue