How We Do It
Why does Joanna Jordan play the Electric Harp?
Many people ask me, "Why did you choose the electric harp instead of the acoustic harp when you played in Carnegie Hall where the acoustics are perfect?"
My answer is that I feel that electric harp captures the beautiful sound of an acoustic harp, improving upon its middle and lower notes (sounds), creating a rich, clear and distinct sound with the higher sounds lovely & mellow. Also, when I used to play the acoustic harp in concerts where you could hear a pin drop, audience members would tell me that they could not hear the harp when I played softly. Since I enjoy playing the harp expressively, with all kinds of dynamics, the acoustic harp became inferior as I had to play it louder than I thought was pleasing in order to be heard, with the end result being a performance that was not as musical as I can be with the electric harp.
I am not the only person with this opinion,
"In the 17 years that I have been Stage Manager, Joanna Jordan's concert was one of the best harp concerts I have ever seen here."
Dennis O'Connell, CARNEGIE HALL
"The sound of the Electric harp is phenomenal---and the album CLAZZIC brings together a wide variety of music giving it all a new face--Joanna's approach to the Prokofiev C Major Prelude is exquisite"
Michael Lyons,
Music Director/Program Host
THE NEW CLASSICAL 96.FM TORONTO
Also, when I play either in a noisy environment, where people are talking in the background or when I play the harp with other musicians that have louder instruments like the flute, violin or the guitar, bass or drums, the need to amplify the harp is a must. The electric harp amplified still sounds like a beautifl harp because it was created to work with sound equipment.
Please listen for yourself and decide whether you want to take that kind of shortcut.
Here are some samples of the harps, with or without amplification:
Years ago, I used to play as loudly as I could on my acoustic harp without amplication. I got compliments. However, I knew that while people could hear my music on the outskirts of the room as they entered, they could barely hear it when they were in the room where the event was taking place or when more people arrived. I did not feel good about making money this way knowing that there could be a better way to do things.
I tried putting microphones and pick-ups on the acoustic harp and it did not sound good at all. It sounded kind of tinny and certainly not at all like the lovely sound of an acoustic harp in my living room. Another issue was that the microphone not only amplified the harp, but the crowd noise as well. The pick-ups or a microphone amplified the pedals changing (that's what harpists do to change pitches) and it sounded like a herd of elephants. While this might be good for gigs that take place at safaris, I'm sure most people would not want these sounds when they hire a harpist!!!
So that's why I provide the Electric Harp. My clients ablsolutely love this harp!
How We Create Our Styles of Music
In all styles, we make great effort to present music that is authentic to its genre, creating elegance and excitement, when need be. The ability to make this kind of presentation has taken extensive training and many years of experience and expertise (not just training in classical music- we are trained in jazz, rock and world music), As well, we expand our repertoire every year by investing thousands of dollars on our musical arrangements.
