The Instrumentalists Thread - Page 9

***RÃan*** · 10-08-2011, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midge

Midge's violin timeline:

1. desire to play violin
2. buys a crappy violin off craigslist
3. finds out crappy violin is crappy and unplayable.
4. borrows better violin from step-father-in-law, who is borrowing it from a local church
5. starts learning to play violin
6. finds out crappy violin is cheaper to fix than originally thought
7. pays 20 dollars to have crappy violin fixed
8. starts to tune crappy violin (I was very excited. I finally was playing my OWN violin).
9. plastic thingy on the end that holds the fine-tuners snaps and nearly severs arm (ironically the string is perfectly fine).
10. Midge is

OMGOODNESS! I'm glad you're ok, though! I hope you get your violin up and running soon

When my mom had her gigantor lever harp, she said that strings popping on that baby were like a gunshot!

and they always seemed to happen in the middle of the night.

***Tessar*** · 10-08-2011, 02:55 AM

Rian, if this doesn't blow your mind then nothing will.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Nj...e_gdata_player

O_O

***RÃan*** · 10-08-2011, 12:47 PM

*picks up the pieces of her mind*

hee hee! that is SO cool!

The only thing that would drive me nuts is that I move while I play, and I would be constantly kind of pushing and pulling the harp from the other person!

I see they're staying very still to prevent this.

How fun!

***Tessar*** · 10-09-2011, 02:41 PM

The soundbox isn't quite done being painted yet, but I strung the harp yesterday and have been playing it nonstop. .... and by playing I mean tuning. Lordy this thing goes flat after two plucks.

***RÃan*** · 10-09-2011, 05:46 PM

So you were able to work around the problems? How did you fix it?

(yeah, I bet it takes a while to hold the tuning ...)

***RÃan*** · 10-09-2011, 05:54 PM

My neighbor's daughter is really interested in playing the harp and has been for some time, but the price put her off - now that I told her about the cardboard harp, she's thinking about it again.

What harp did you get? The Waring cardboard harps that I see online have a straight harmonic curve/neck (the top part), but the youtube link showed a cardboard harp with the regular curved harmonic curve/neck. What is yours like? Which model is it?

***Tessar*** · 10-10-2011, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

So you were able to work around the problems? How did you fix it?

Wood glue. Lots of woodglue.

I think it's actually sturdier than I assumed... or maybe those nails I put in it are helping? Who knows! Either way, it's holding up and working great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

What harp did you get? The Waring cardboard harps that I see online have a straight harmonic curve/neck (the top part), but the youtube link showed a cardboard harp with the regular curved harmonic curve/neck. What is yours like? Which model is it?

I have this model:

http://www.backyardmusic.com/Harps.html

It's about $10-20 more expensive than the Waring, but you get some extra strings.

Waring is 19 strings, mine is 22.

I love it. It's SO great to practice on. I think the teacher was quite happy with the progress I've made in practicing on it since Saturday evening, and I noticed my playing on her harp was markedly better than at my last lesson.

I will say, moving from working on hers to coming home and practicing on mine again within a 20 minute period, now I'm like.... awww...... I miss the full sized harp.

But it's perfect for practicing the technical stuff (finger relaxing, scales, arpeggios, etc.). And it does have an enchanting little sound. I'm very happy with it.

***RÃan*** · 10-11-2011, 02:26 AM

that's great news - I'm so happy to hear that!

I'll share that info with my neighbor.

***Tessar*** · 10-11-2011, 06:32 PM

You should! It's a great little harp.

I'm sure mine will be even better as soon as my sister finishes painting the soundbox and I'm able to actually glue the whole thing together.

My teacher gave me the Bach Prelude in C (Ave Maria....) and it's a bit irritating because you need an F# to get past the first page, and then you'd have to do some lever flipping for the last few measures. *sigh* So I'll just be doing whatever I can for practice.

***RÃan*** · 10-11-2011, 07:30 PM

wait - you don't have levers, do you?

***Tessar*** · 10-11-2011, 07:35 PM

No.

Levers would've raised the price beyond the point of the practicality of a technique harp.

***RÃan*** · 10-12-2011, 02:08 AM

why in the world did she give you a piece with lever changes, then? There's a ton of music out there ...

***Tessar*** · 10-12-2011, 12:11 PM

We were a little rushed for time. I also wanted something to strengthen my arpeggios.

***Earniel*** · 10-12-2011, 02:17 PM

Heh, that looks a lot less cardboard-y and far more sturdier than I was imagining. There are indeed quite a few interesting things you could do to illustrate a soundbox like that... *represses inner artist*

Ahem. Will you be posting a picture of your harp when your sister has finished painting it? I'm curious.

***Tessar*** · 10-12-2011, 02:30 PM

Pfffft. Will I be posting a picture?..... I'm going to be posting so many pictures it will make your head spin.

I'M GOING TO POST SO MANY PICTURES THAT IT WILL PROBABLY BE, LIKE.... ONE. ONE PICTURE.... i.e. a thousand words.

***Earniel*** · 10-12-2011, 02:44 PM

GOOD.

You do that, son. And better make it snappy.

***Tessar*** · 10-13-2011, 03:52 PM

I WILL!!!!

I'm excited... hopefully this weekend will be the finishing of the harp. It's a little amazing that this has spread out over the better part of three weeks.

I believe that, if I hadn't cared about decorating, the harp probably would've been done in three to four hours.

Amazing.

It should be worth it, though. The design my sister is doing is totally gorgeous.

I had actually forgotten, till she was finishing up the bit she did last weekend, that she made me a Gondor shield years and years ago. My family went to a Ren. Festival and my other sister and I got little wooden swords. Then my mom helped us make plywood shields at home, and my oldest sister painted mine green, with the white tree in the middle, and a golden trim. That was an awesome shield. o_O I wish I could remember what happened to it....

***Tessar*** · 10-14-2011, 03:18 PM

I am not pleased with how I've been practicing.

I think for the rest of the week, I'm going to focus on scales, with my thumbs in the proper up position. It's way too easy, when I'm crossing over/under, to let that thumb slide down.

***RÃan*** · 10-23-2011, 01:31 PM

yeah, thumbs are troublemakers!

How's it going? And I wanted to recommend that you get Sylvia Woods' Music Theory and Arranging Techniques Book" - it's just beyond excellent.

***Tessar*** · 10-23-2011, 10:49 PM

I keep meaning to order a copy of that!! Maybe this week.

I've been terrible... not practiced a bit. Every once in a while I pick the thing up and play a few notes, but I haven't made time to actually -practice-.

Quite embarrassed and annoyed with myself.

This week I'm going to make up for it!!!!

10-08-2011, 12:47 PM	#163
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	picks up the pieces of her mind hee hee! that is SO cool! The only thing that would drive me nuts is that I move while I play, and I would be constantly kind of pushing and pulling the harp from the other person! I see they're staying very still to prevent this. How fun! __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva! Last edited by RÃan : 10-08-2011 at 12:51 PM.

10-09-2011, 05:46 PM	#165
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	So you were able to work around the problems? How did you fix it? (yeah, I bet it takes a while to hold the tuning ...) __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva! Last edited by RÃan : 10-09-2011 at 05:51 PM.

10-09-2011, 05:54 PM	#166
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	My neighbor's daughter is really interested in playing the harp and has been for some time, but the price put her off - now that I told her about the cardboard harp, she's thinking about it again. What harp did you get? The Waring cardboard harps that I see online have a straight harmonic curve/neck (the top part), but the youtube link showed a cardboard harp with the regular curved harmonic curve/neck. What is yours like? Which model is it? __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva!

10-11-2011, 02:26 AM	#168
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	that's great news - I'm so happy to hear that! I'll share that info with my neighbor. __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva!

10-11-2011, 07:30 PM	#170
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	wait - you don't have levers, do you? __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva!

10-08-2011, 02:55 AM	#162
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	Rian, if this doesn't blow your mind then nothing will. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Nj...e_gdata_player O_O

10-09-2011, 02:41 PM	#164
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	The soundbox isn't quite done being painted yet, but I strung the harp yesterday and have been playing it nonstop. .... and by playing I mean tuning. Lordy this thing goes flat after two plucks.

10-11-2011, 06:32 PM	#169
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	You should! It's a great little harp. I'm sure mine will be even better as soon as my sister finishes painting the soundbox and I'm able to actually glue the whole thing together. My teacher gave me the Bach Prelude in C (Ave Maria....) and it's a bit irritating because you need an F# to get past the first page, and then you'd have to do some lever flipping for the last few measures. sigh So I'll just be doing whatever I can for practice.

10-11-2011, 07:35 PM	#171
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	No. Levers would've raised the price beyond the point of the practicality of a technique harp.

10-12-2011, 02:08 AM	#172
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	why in the world did she give you a piece with lever changes, then? There's a ton of music out there ... __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva!

10-12-2011, 12:11 PM	#173
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	We were a little rushed for time. I also wanted something to strengthen my arpeggios.

10-12-2011, 02:17 PM	#174
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	Heh, that looks a lot less cardboard-y and far more sturdier than I was imagining. There are indeed quite a few interesting things you could do to illustrate a soundbox like that... represses inner artist Ahem. Will you be posting a picture of your harp when your sister has finished painting it? I'm curious. __________________ We are not things.

10-12-2011, 02:30 PM	#175
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	Pfffft. Will I be posting a picture?..... I'm going to be posting so many pictures it will make your head spin. I'M GOING TO POST SO MANY PICTURES THAT IT WILL PROBABLY BE, LIKE.... ONE. ONE PICTURE.... i.e. a thousand words.

10-12-2011, 02:44 PM	#176
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	GOOD. You do that, son. And better make it snappy. __________________ We are not things.

10-13-2011, 03:52 PM	#177
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	I WILL!!!! I'm excited... hopefully this weekend will be the finishing of the harp. It's a little amazing that this has spread out over the better part of three weeks. I believe that, if I hadn't cared about decorating, the harp probably would've been done in three to four hours. Amazing. It should be worth it, though. The design my sister is doing is totally gorgeous. I had actually forgotten, till she was finishing up the bit she did last weekend, that she made me a Gondor shield years and years ago. My family went to a Ren. Festival and my other sister and I got little wooden swords. Then my mom helped us make plywood shields at home, and my oldest sister painted mine green, with the white tree in the middle, and a golden trim. That was an awesome shield. o_O I wish I could remember what happened to it....

10-14-2011, 03:18 PM	#178
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	I am not pleased with how I've been practicing. I think for the rest of the week, I'm going to focus on scales, with my thumbs in the proper up position. It's way too easy, when I'm crossing over/under, to let that thumb slide down.

10-23-2011, 01:31 PM	#179
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	yeah, thumbs are troublemakers! How's it going? And I wanted to recommend that you get Sylvia Woods' Music Theory and Arranging Techniques Book" - it's just beyond excellent. __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva!

10-23-2011, 10:49 PM	#180
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	I keep meaning to order a copy of that!! Maybe this week. I've been terrible... not practiced a bit. Every once in a while I pick the thing up and play a few notes, but I haven't made time to actually -practice-. Quite embarrassed and annoyed with myself. This week I'm going to make up for it!!!!

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