Just thought I would help to muddy the waters a little....
I presume that those in favour of taking lessons are refering to a
classical technique (of whichever school) and would be advocating the
raised thumb and a passing thechnique. It would seem that this is the
prescribed technique for *the* harp, irrespective of whether it is suitable
for the instrument or not.
There is no such thing as a single technique. It would be quite pointless
to go to a teacher and learn a technique designed for a large, high tension
instrument and then try to implement it on a low tension, small harp...yet
this goes on all the time.
I have taken 3 lessons on the harp...all on points of musical stylistics
rather than on technique and all long after I had tought muself to play
harps. Since then I have spent the bulk of my life working out different
techniques to make different types of harp work. I have been a professional
harpist for the last 17 years and can certainly do more than pluck my way
through a few tunes.
I am perfectly capable of playing a large double action with the technique
presented in the Bochsa tutor books but can also play with the vertical
hand position recomended by Elouis or with the 5 finger technique of
Desargus and Mme de Genlis.
I would suggest that if I had been through the brainwashing of a classical
training, I would have had a great deal more of a struggle in adapting my
hands to the minute string spacings of a gothic harp ot the intracacies of
chromatic stringing.
Provided a student has a reference and is prepared to be totally honest
with themselves, there is no reason why anyone should not teach
themselves...it is far more important to be comfortable with ones own
playing than to slavishly follow some ortadox technique.
Mike.