SPRINGDALE — Emily Carpenter can’t recall exactly what it was that led her to ask her mother for a harp one Christmas several years ago.
“I honestly don’t remember,” said Emily, a ninth-grader at Springdale’s Central Junior High School. “I wish I had something that made sense. I probably had seen one on television or in a movie and liked it a lot.”
Before her harp request, the 14-year-old Tontitown resident had no experience with a musical instrument. Now, after nearly five years learning the harp, she’s aiming to make a career of it.
She already has her own business card. She has played at two weddings. She plays at her church, Cross Pointe Community Church in Tontitown. And earlier this month, she provided Christmas carols for the shoppers at Dillard’s Department Store in Fayetteville.
At A Glance
Pedal Harps Vs. Lever Harps
A piano has white and black keys; its black keys are its sharps and flats. Achieving those sharps and flats on a harp is where its pedals or levers come in. Pedal harpists can play a sharp or flat note by pressing a pedal with their foot. Lever harpists must use a hand to flip a lever for each individual string they want to play in sharp or flat.
Pedal harps are bigger, heavier, louder and more expensive than lever harps. Pedal harps are used to play the classical repertoire, while lever harps are best for the Celtic repertoire.
Source: www.enjoytheharp.com
Marsha Carpenter, Emily’s mother, said she’s been surprised by the way Emily has stuck with the instrument.
“It’s something she just loves to do,” Carpenter said. “She loves to play for people. She’s good at it. She’s definitely found her calling.”
It took about a year to find a harp and someone who could teach Emily, Carpenter said.
They finally found Rebekah Swicegood of Lowell, who has played the harp for nine years and is the harpist for the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas.
While teaching her the harp, Swicegood also taught Emily the piano, which is considered the foundation for learning most other instruments, Swicegood said.
“She’s done a great job with her music. I’m hoping she’ll continue with it,” Swicegood said.
Emily started playing on a 2-foot-tall lever harp. She now plays a 7-foot pedal harp, which she rents from Swicegood.
The harp and piano are not Emily’s only musical talents. She also is the first-chair clarinetist in Central Junior High’s band.
She spends about 90 minutes per day practicing the harp and at least another 15 minutes practicing the piano.
“Everything I do is related to music,” Emily said.
She will perform Sunday at her church, where she plans to play “O Holy Night” and “I Saw Three Ships.”
After high school, she hopes to attend the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, which specializes in the arts.
Harpists are not exactly common, though Northwest Arkansas has a small network of them.
Beth Stockdell of Fayetteville has played the harp for almost 10 years. She plays a restaurant gig once per month in addition to weddings, funerals and parties.
Stockdell offers lessons, but said students tend to back out once they realize how difficult the harp is to learn.
“It seems regal and beautiful, and, hopefully, as a professional, I make it look easy. But it’s not an easy instrument,” Stockdell said.
Cost is another issue. A good pedal harp can cost $40,000 or more, Stockdell said. Lever harps are considerably cheaper, but a good one might still cost a few thousand dollars.