I'd say you're right on about this mailing list. This list seems to be a
good cross-section of the harp community in general, which is primarily
folk-harp. With a decent pedal costing $15,000, it's no wonder :-)
>I'd like to hear from some serious pedal harpists about some
>serious issues, like fingerings for some maddening orchestral passages or
>solo pieces. How about something involving maintenance on these harps?
Keep reading :-) Or check out the archive. There have been quite a few
discussions in the past about all those subjects.
> Are there any pedal harpists out there with anything worth
>contributing, or are we all too busy working and practicing to meet here?
Well, this being an all-volunteer mailing list :-), discussions tend to
crop up only when someone wants to say something. If you have a question,
by all means ask! But it's not "edited" in the way that a magazine is
edited, so there's no staff trying to plan, schedule or balance content.
wireharp@ix.netcom.com (RWM) writes,
>I am reminded of a statement made by a famous soprano/FOLK (ewwwww)
>harpist regarding a great sorrow felt because O'Carolan did not have a
>formal education....ahh he could have done some REAL music then, who
>knows....
That guy sounds like a butthead. Many wonderful musicians (like Tori
Amos) tried school but got thrown out for being too creative. :-)
Schooling does not imply quality or skill or creativity, oft the opposite.
>If "serious" pedal harpists, sir, like yourself are not
>contributing to this list, it is most likely because their arrogant
>overinflated egos will not fit in the same room with a computer and a
>chair....er, excuse me,have to practice some fingering
>techniques...won't take long, I am only using one......
But you, Mr. Robert Mouland, sound like a real BEAVIS! Perhaps you should
get together with the soprano mentioned above and heckle videos for MTV...
If you were trying to make the case that certain harpists are jerks,
well, I dare say you've made it :-)
As for why you never see our messages, it's because we pedal harpers
send out Special intelligence-detecting mail that automatically avoids
the mailboxes of people like you.
-Bob
P.S. We solve the computer-and-chair-and-ego problem quite simply:
we type standing up.