Got Gertrude back. Am very happy about this. Have been playing nonstop after a month of no harping. Anyone know what that means? That means blisters. Yow.
I'll be going to a local bardic night that's getting started here in the barony of Storvik tomorrow night, so I'm doing this sort of awkward tight-rope dance. Want to practice, so I remember things tomorrow. Want to not practice to much so the blister can heal a bit and not be distracting tomorrow. As a result, I'm practicing veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwy quiiiiiiiiiiet!
This blog seems to have become all about pain lately! Seems in recent posts I've got 2 references to blisters, 1 reference to phantom wrist-pain and 1 reference to mooshing my thumb down on a hot stove. I swear I'm not constantly injuring myself on my harp, really! It's just....pain is interesting! Ask any fighter, they'll back me up.
Anyway, here's a promise: tomorrow I will post about bardic night, and not about pain. Less pain, more poetry, how's that sound?
December 08, 2010
November 07, 2010
God, I'm stupid!
D-Day - 10/23, scheduled move to Atlantia for a few months.
Prior to 10/22 - Isolde hatches brilliant schemes to safely check her dear, beloved Gertrude on the plane to Atlantia such that she will not be destroyed. Said schemes involve pillows, duct tape and a huge, mucking rubbermaid bin.
10/22, evening - Isolde realizes that her largest rubbermaid bin is not suitably huge and mucking. But whatever, it's only for a while, and she'll be too busy to do much harp anyway.
10/23 - Isolde flies to Atlantia. Gertrude does not.
11/7 - Isolde vows never again to go anywhere for more than a week without her harp.
Kids - it's like my fingers itch! I'm going stir-crazy here without a musical outlet! I really should look into getting some kind of bardic thing going here in Storvik (not that I have any idea where that would happen, given the lack of parking at my place). One can do bardicness without a harp. But it's NOT THE SAME!!! I WANT MY HARP!!! GARGH!!!
While it's true that I miss my husband and my kitties more, that's all somehow less irritating. Since, y'know, I COULD HAVE BROUGHT GERTRUDE WITH ME AND DIDN'T CUZ I WAS DUMB!!! Anyway, said sorely missed husband will restore her to my restless fingers over Thanksgiving. *twitch* And in the meantime, I seriously will figure out some kind of SCA music outlet or I really will go nuts.
Prior to 10/22 - Isolde hatches brilliant schemes to safely check her dear, beloved Gertrude on the plane to Atlantia such that she will not be destroyed. Said schemes involve pillows, duct tape and a huge, mucking rubbermaid bin.
10/22, evening - Isolde realizes that her largest rubbermaid bin is not suitably huge and mucking. But whatever, it's only for a while, and she'll be too busy to do much harp anyway.
10/23 - Isolde flies to Atlantia. Gertrude does not.
11/7 - Isolde vows never again to go anywhere for more than a week without her harp.
Kids - it's like my fingers itch! I'm going stir-crazy here without a musical outlet! I really should look into getting some kind of bardic thing going here in Storvik (not that I have any idea where that would happen, given the lack of parking at my place). One can do bardicness without a harp. But it's NOT THE SAME!!! I WANT MY HARP!!! GARGH!!!
While it's true that I miss my husband and my kitties more, that's all somehow less irritating. Since, y'know, I COULD HAVE BROUGHT GERTRUDE WITH ME AND DIDN'T CUZ I WAS DUMB!!! Anyway, said sorely missed husband will restore her to my restless fingers over Thanksgiving. *twitch* And in the meantime, I seriously will figure out some kind of SCA music outlet or I really will go nuts.
October 01, 2010
John Dowland for Harp
It seems that during the medieval and renaissance periods, there was a good deal of crossover between the lute and the harp. Lute/harp was a popular duet pairing, and a piece published in 1546 (Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia que contrahaze la harpa en la manera de Ludovico") draws a comparison between the harp and, in this case, the vihuela (a more guitar-like relative of the lute).
Given this, it seems that early lute repertoire would be a very reasonable place to look to fill the gaping void that is our collection of early harp music (it just hasn't survived, folks, and that sucks). So I've embarked on a new project (yeah, I'm still working on those other ones, they're going fine). I've just started transcribing a collection of John Dowland's lute pieces for harp. It's the Folger manuscript, and according to the Folger library it was recorded by Dowland himself between the years 1594 and 1600, which makes it oh-so-suitable for the SCA.
I'm arranging it for lap-harp, of course. My harp has 22 strings and no levers - harps in Dowland's period had up to 26 strings and no levers, so my transcriptions will be faithful to what a harp-playing contemporary of Dowland's would have played in those respects, at least. I'm tackling "Frog Galliard" first, and this one I'm practicing up while I transcribe it (although I'll play through all of them to make sure they work, I'll only practice up the best ones - there are 61 pieces in the MS!). Here's David Taylor playing it on the archlute:
I'm so pleased with this music so far - it's so much fun to play! I think this collection of transcriptions, if it keeps going well, could be a valuable contribution to the small-harp repretoire out there. There's not much out there for small harps (particularly without levers), and what there is frankly is not that technically challenging. The songs in the Folger MS range from fairly simple to blisteringly difficult with many many levels in between. And there's a duet! This will give more advanced players something to keep them interested, beginning players something to work through as they progress and damnit, it'll show the world that serious classical music can be played on the small harp! It was in period! Why the hell aren't we doing it anymore???
Given this, it seems that early lute repertoire would be a very reasonable place to look to fill the gaping void that is our collection of early harp music (it just hasn't survived, folks, and that sucks). So I've embarked on a new project (yeah, I'm still working on those other ones, they're going fine). I've just started transcribing a collection of John Dowland's lute pieces for harp. It's the Folger manuscript, and according to the Folger library it was recorded by Dowland himself between the years 1594 and 1600, which makes it oh-so-suitable for the SCA.
I'm arranging it for lap-harp, of course. My harp has 22 strings and no levers - harps in Dowland's period had up to 26 strings and no levers, so my transcriptions will be faithful to what a harp-playing contemporary of Dowland's would have played in those respects, at least. I'm tackling "Frog Galliard" first, and this one I'm practicing up while I transcribe it (although I'll play through all of them to make sure they work, I'll only practice up the best ones - there are 61 pieces in the MS!). Here's David Taylor playing it on the archlute:
I'm so pleased with this music so far - it's so much fun to play! I think this collection of transcriptions, if it keeps going well, could be a valuable contribution to the small-harp repretoire out there. There's not much out there for small harps (particularly without levers), and what there is frankly is not that technically challenging. The songs in the Folger MS range from fairly simple to blisteringly difficult with many many levels in between. And there's a duet! This will give more advanced players something to keep them interested, beginning players something to work through as they progress and damnit, it'll show the world that serious classical music can be played on the small harp! It was in period! Why the hell aren't we doing it anymore???
September 10, 2010
Dreaded Wrist Pain
If you're a musician (or a fighter, or a knitter, or a tennis player, etc...), you know how alarming wrist pain can be. You start to notice a dull achey stripe down the center of the inside of your wrist, and the first thing that pops into your head is "OMG CARPAL TUNNEL!!! I'LL NEVER PLAY THE HARP/SWORD/NEEDLES/RACKET AGAIN!!!"
This is usually not the case. Normally, after a short freak-out, I just take this as a sign that I've been practicing too much and my wrist is tired. I put the harp down for a day or two, and when I pick it back up, I concentrate on playing with a nice, healthy technique (WRISTS STRAIGHT!). Some people will wear wrist braces for a while to make sure they're not torquing their wrists doing some other random thing. This is smart.
So yesterday, I noticed the tell-tale wrist pain. "WTF?" I thought, irritated. "I've been living in unpacking-new-house-land for the past week! I haven't touched my harp OR my needles OR my rapiers for at least that long! Unfair!" Seriously, the unpacking hasn't even been of the heavy-lifting variety. By the end of the day, the pain was shooting all the way up to my shoulder. So not cool.
So here's a tip for people who have alarming, unexplainable wrist pain - examine how you sleep! Turns out I was sleeping on my side with my bottom shoulder thrust forward underneath me and my arm curled up around me with my wrist hooked around my neck. It was ugly. Trying to find another comfortable way to sleep was uglier. But hey, now my wrist feels fine!
It's something most of us don't think about, but really - when you spend 8 hours every night ganking the buhjeezus out of your wrist, good harp technique will only get you so far. And if you sleep as hard as I wish I did, try wearing wrist braces to sleep one night, and see what it won't let you do. It's enlightening.
This is usually not the case. Normally, after a short freak-out, I just take this as a sign that I've been practicing too much and my wrist is tired. I put the harp down for a day or two, and when I pick it back up, I concentrate on playing with a nice, healthy technique (WRISTS STRAIGHT!). Some people will wear wrist braces for a while to make sure they're not torquing their wrists doing some other random thing. This is smart.
So yesterday, I noticed the tell-tale wrist pain. "WTF?" I thought, irritated. "I've been living in unpacking-new-house-land for the past week! I haven't touched my harp OR my needles OR my rapiers for at least that long! Unfair!" Seriously, the unpacking hasn't even been of the heavy-lifting variety. By the end of the day, the pain was shooting all the way up to my shoulder. So not cool.
So here's a tip for people who have alarming, unexplainable wrist pain - examine how you sleep! Turns out I was sleeping on my side with my bottom shoulder thrust forward underneath me and my arm curled up around me with my wrist hooked around my neck. It was ugly. Trying to find another comfortable way to sleep was uglier. But hey, now my wrist feels fine!
It's something most of us don't think about, but really - when you spend 8 hours every night ganking the buhjeezus out of your wrist, good harp technique will only get you so far. And if you sleep as hard as I wish I did, try wearing wrist braces to sleep one night, and see what it won't let you do. It's enlightening.
September 06, 2010
What's Isolde working on?
I'm too uninspired/buried in unpacking (just moved! w00t!) to dredge up a focused or, like, y'know, interesting post, but I'm going to post sort of a generic "no really, I'm not just slacking" update mostly to keep myself feeling like I'm getting somewhere. Right.
So what's Isolde working on?
Three Words: This is a song by Mistress Eliane Halevey from Northshield. It's gorgeous, it reminds me of Northshield, and I wanted to have it under my belt. So I wrote a harp part for it, and I almost have it performance-ready. When Eliane sings this, she has a drummer or the audience accompany her with a simple beat and sings it acapella - it works really well. So I've incorporated that beat into the harp part, which is hella fun. The harp part itself is meant to build in intensity as the song moves forward, and I really hope I achieved that. Performance will tell.
Goliard: Doña Antonia Santiago da Lagos, of Ansteorra, wrote a poem for the occasion of Master Thomas of Tenby's baronial investiture. It stuck with me, I wanted it under my belt as an "Ansteorra" song, and so I'm setting it to music. It's metrically similar to "Frog Goliard," so I'm making it a sort of goliard/coranto...thing. I'm hoping to have it done by Ealdormere's coronation at the end of the month, but who knows.
Clarseach: I have one. It needs new strings. I have new strings. I need to put the strings on the harp. And then....then, my friends, there will be hella posting, cuz I have ideas! MBWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!
I guess it's something about music and melodies - given the right words, they eventually just jump into my head. It takes practice to get them right, but they'll happen whether I'm distracted or not. Not so with poetry. So when I have a lot of upheaval, like planning to move back to Atlantia while moving to a new house in Ealdormere, it seems that poetry takes a back seat. I miss it, though. I'll try to set aside some time to get something written before I head back South.
So what's Isolde working on?
Three Words: This is a song by Mistress Eliane Halevey from Northshield. It's gorgeous, it reminds me of Northshield, and I wanted to have it under my belt. So I wrote a harp part for it, and I almost have it performance-ready. When Eliane sings this, she has a drummer or the audience accompany her with a simple beat and sings it acapella - it works really well. So I've incorporated that beat into the harp part, which is hella fun. The harp part itself is meant to build in intensity as the song moves forward, and I really hope I achieved that. Performance will tell.
Goliard: Doña Antonia Santiago da Lagos, of Ansteorra, wrote a poem for the occasion of Master Thomas of Tenby's baronial investiture. It stuck with me, I wanted it under my belt as an "Ansteorra" song, and so I'm setting it to music. It's metrically similar to "Frog Goliard," so I'm making it a sort of goliard/coranto...thing. I'm hoping to have it done by Ealdormere's coronation at the end of the month, but who knows.
Clarseach: I have one. It needs new strings. I have new strings. I need to put the strings on the harp. And then....then, my friends, there will be hella posting, cuz I have ideas! MBWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!
I guess it's something about music and melodies - given the right words, they eventually just jump into my head. It takes practice to get them right, but they'll happen whether I'm distracted or not. Not so with poetry. So when I have a lot of upheaval, like planning to move back to Atlantia while moving to a new house in Ealdormere, it seems that poetry takes a back seat. I miss it, though. I'll try to set aside some time to get something written before I head back South.
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