[Harp-L] Fwd: How do you hold your harp?

["Winslow Yerxa" <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

I know of at least two ways, the sanwich grip and the water scooping 
grip.

NOTE: ALL GRIPS ARE TOTALLY RELAXED - NO TENSION OR PRESSURE

Hold both hands up so that the palms are facing you. 

See the edges that run from the base of your little fingers down to 
the wrists?

Put the edges of your hands from the base of your little fingers down 
to the base of the hands so that they are touching. 

This pair of touching edges is like a hinge. YOu can swing the hands 
in toward each other while they are hinged together.

==Grip No. 1:

For the sandwich grip, place the harp in the crook between the left-
hand index finger and the left-hand thumb, with the index finger 
holding the harpalong the top cover plate and the thumb along the 
bottom.

At this point your hands are hinged together. You've got the harp 
between left index finger and thumb.

Now bend all of the fingers of the left hand, (and the thumb and the 
harp) inward so that the little finger of the left hand is running 
along the base of the fingers of the right hand.

Fold the fingers of the right hand over the fingers of the left hand.

Now bring the heels and thumbs of both hands together. 

You should have a completely airtight seal all the way around the 
harp.

You can open or close the grip in at least three different ways:

- open and close the edges of the hands just below the base of the 
little fingers.

- open of close the ball of the hand just below the thumbs

- open or close by undraping the fingers of the right hands from the 
top of the "wrap" over the fingers of the left hand.

- Use the thumbs and the area jsut below as a "hinge" line and open 
and close the rest of the hand shape like a clamshell.

==Grip No. 2

For the water-cup grip, first pick up the harp between the thumb and 
forefinger of either hand.

Place the hands togehter along the little-finger edge.

Place the harp so that the edges are held by base of each index 
finger and the front edges are held in place by the thumb tips.

Your hands together should form a cup, almost as if you were trying 
to scoop up a drink of water. You may want to crook the fingers of 
one hand slightly inward and fold the figers of the other hand over 
them slightly.

This grip seals up the back of the harp but not the part facing you.

You can open and close the cup at lest two ways:

-Raise the fingers of the outer hand.

- keeping the bases of the hand together as a rocking point and 
keeping the fingers together, open the area just below the base of 
the little fingers

--- In harptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, John Hitchens <makofan@xxxx> wrote:

I know you are supposed to get a nice big airtight seal at the back of
your harp, but I am finding it a bit awkward.  Who can describe the 
way
they hold their harp?




		
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