I blame this on my coworker, because it's all her fault. :)
A few months back, my coworker had said something about how she was taking harp lessons. She'd gotten a Harpsicle from her teacher (I think) and she brought it in one day. It's a cute little harp (although I'm partial to the blueberry or mint flavor, myself) and it has a nice tone. The harp shop is really not that far away, either; it would be a nice one day trip.
See, a long, long time ago (seven years, actually), I sold my harp. I had four harps at one point; two Pakistanis (the Minstrel style and a wire-strung; both, despite where they came from, had very good tone. I got lucky.), one old Victorian parlor decoration harp (the only harp I ever saw at Burlington), and then my harp. A little wire-strung, 26 string Clarseach style harp that I found on ebay for a song. It was a pretty little harp, with no fancy carvings or anything, and I loved it to pieces.
Until I moved to Columbus and had to sell it to pay the phone bill. Or the rent. Or the electric bill. Take your pick. Either way, I had just started a job, needed the money, and had no other choice. I sold my harp to a musician (who then didn't pay me the entire amount for three months, which didn't help my dilemma at all and made it much worse), and decided that I would never be a musician. I didn't have time to be a musician. I had to deal with everything, including the idiot ex, and I tried to forget the fact that I ever had the desire to play the harp.
Only, the desire never really left. At odd times my fingers would itch for some strings, and at even odder times, I'd remember how it was to play my little harp, and wonder if it was still being played. I tried to forget it; I really did, but it just wouldn't go away.
Three years ago before I bought my house, I had even started to look at them again. I even had this idea that my dining room would be a great music room, and I envisioned a floor harp sitting in the bay window, because I still thought I wanted a nice harp. But then after I bought my house, money was tight, and I decided that I really wasn't cut out to be a musician after all. I didn't have time.
I got interested in other things, like cooking, crafting, baking and other stuff, and I tried to tell myself that maybe someday I would get a nice harp. Maybe. Someday.
But it just wouldn't go away. Last year at the RenFaire, I bought a psaltry, thinking it would tide me over and stave off the harplust, but it wasn't an instrument I could really learn on. I was playing Christmas songs the first night without any problem at all. It was nice, but not what I wanted. I might have done better to buy a plucked psaltry; at least then I would have had a zither-like instrument instead of something with a bow.
When my coworker brought her Harpsicle in, I tried to ignore the fact that I still wanted a harp. And that I'd been moving back to listening to some of the music I used to listen to--something I've not really done for many years. And I started thinking about maybe saving up my money and actually getting around to buying a harp.
So I went researching. The last time I'd looked at harps was three years ago, and the prices have risen (!!!) a bit since then. But there are still reasonable ones out there, including this one, which bears a remarkable resemblance to the one I sold seven years ago. They even have a cross-strung harp (I think they are too cool) and double strung harps!
The kicker? Stoney End has a rent-to-own program. I may be sunk.
A few months back, my coworker had said something about how she was taking harp lessons. She'd gotten a Harpsicle from her teacher (I think) and she brought it in one day. It's a cute little harp (although I'm partial to the blueberry or mint flavor, myself) and it has a nice tone. The harp shop is really not that far away, either; it would be a nice one day trip.
See, a long, long time ago (seven years, actually), I sold my harp. I had four harps at one point; two Pakistanis (the Minstrel style and a wire-strung; both, despite where they came from, had very good tone. I got lucky.), one old Victorian parlor decoration harp (the only harp I ever saw at Burlington), and then my harp. A little wire-strung, 26 string Clarseach style harp that I found on ebay for a song. It was a pretty little harp, with no fancy carvings or anything, and I loved it to pieces.
Until I moved to Columbus and had to sell it to pay the phone bill. Or the rent. Or the electric bill. Take your pick. Either way, I had just started a job, needed the money, and had no other choice. I sold my harp to a musician (who then didn't pay me the entire amount for three months, which didn't help my dilemma at all and made it much worse), and decided that I would never be a musician. I didn't have time to be a musician. I had to deal with everything, including the idiot ex, and I tried to forget the fact that I ever had the desire to play the harp.
Only, the desire never really left. At odd times my fingers would itch for some strings, and at even odder times, I'd remember how it was to play my little harp, and wonder if it was still being played. I tried to forget it; I really did, but it just wouldn't go away.
Three years ago before I bought my house, I had even started to look at them again. I even had this idea that my dining room would be a great music room, and I envisioned a floor harp sitting in the bay window, because I still thought I wanted a nice harp. But then after I bought my house, money was tight, and I decided that I really wasn't cut out to be a musician after all. I didn't have time.
I got interested in other things, like cooking, crafting, baking and other stuff, and I tried to tell myself that maybe someday I would get a nice harp. Maybe. Someday.
But it just wouldn't go away. Last year at the RenFaire, I bought a psaltry, thinking it would tide me over and stave off the harplust, but it wasn't an instrument I could really learn on. I was playing Christmas songs the first night without any problem at all. It was nice, but not what I wanted. I might have done better to buy a plucked psaltry; at least then I would have had a zither-like instrument instead of something with a bow.
When my coworker brought her Harpsicle in, I tried to ignore the fact that I still wanted a harp. And that I'd been moving back to listening to some of the music I used to listen to--something I've not really done for many years. And I started thinking about maybe saving up my money and actually getting around to buying a harp.
So I went researching. The last time I'd looked at harps was three years ago, and the prices have risen (!!!) a bit since then. But there are still reasonable ones out there, including this one, which bears a remarkable resemblance to the one I sold seven years ago. They even have a cross-strung harp (I think they are too cool) and double strung harps!
The kicker? Stoney End has a rent-to-own program. I may be sunk.
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