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Composing For The Harp
by Joyce Rice
This article gives you some basic knowledge about the harp and
how to write for it. It doesnot claim to be a complete encyclopedia
on the topic, but hopes to be helpful and correct inwhat it does
present. We will gladly consider suggestions of additions or
alterations.
WELCOME, ASPIRING COMPOSER FOR THE HARP! Are you full of doubts
about yourproject? Do you feel that you dont know enough about the
harp? Well, youre not alone, asyou can see by these quotes from
several prominent musicians:
The harp is, in my opinion, the least understood instrument.
Even the greatest geniuses inmusic have not understood this
instrument. Leopold Stokowski, in a radio interview by
ArnoldMichaelis, 1961*
What [inexperienced] composers do not seem to realize is that
the piano keyboard is atreacherous trial ground for the testing of
either the playability or the sound of their harpparts. Sylvia
Meyer, Principal Harp, National Symphony Orchestra, 1933-66*
It is not the harpists fault when writing is inconsistent with
human anatomy. SusanDederich-Pejovich, Principal Harp, Dallas
Symphony, 1977-present*
*From The Harp in the Orchestra (p. xii) by Beatrice Schroeder
Rose, with her permission.
But take heart. These words of the late harpist, teacher and
composer, Marcel Tournier, offeryou a simple objective:
Your goal is to make the instrument sound well and make the most
of its resourcesThesecrets of the harp are far simpler than certain
people imagine, and its possibilities are never-ending for those
who have faith. Tournier, The Harp p. 93
And contemporary Boston composer Kevin Kaska says:
I thought of the harp as this instrument with all these
limitations, and that all it could do weresome big glissandi and a
little bit of simple piano playing (all diatonic, of course). I
didntknow, and until I sat down with harpists, the mystery had
never been unraveled. Then I
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watched Deborah Henson-Conant and how she played her jazzy music
with all the pedalchanges, and Ann Hobson-Pilot playing a Salzedo
piece while I followed the sheet music. Idhad no idea you could
jump around on those pedals so fast and play big chords. Finally, I
satdown at a harp and actually played for 30 minutes, and I learned
more about the instrumentthan any book could teach me.
Help is on the way! Below you will find some basics about the
harp family, some musical dosand donts, and examples of whats easy
on the harp and what isnt.
What is a harp?The harp, goes the old joke, is a nude piano.
Well, no, its not. They do both have lots ofstrings, and the harp
and the grand piano have similar shapes, and both use music written
ona grand staff, but please dont allow these superficial
similarities to fool you.
Music dictionaries tend to define the harp as one of the most
complicated instruments, mostdifficult to play, or limited in what
can be played upon it. True, a concert pedal harp is acomplicated
instrument with 2000 or so parts, but with thousands of people
playing itworldwide, it cant be that tough. And true, the pedal
harp requires coordination of hands andfeet in different tasks. (So
what? So does a pipe organ.) But is the harp limited? In someways,
but not at all in others. Ascending or descending chromatic scales
or chords are moredifficult on a harp than on a piano, but playing
in keys of 6 sharps or flats is sure a lot easier,and pianos cant
begin to touch the beauty of a harps glissandos or harmonics. So
why notdismiss these arguments and find out how you can produce
music that harpists will findapproachable and ready to be
played.
Lets start with a quick review of the basics. All harps are
triangular in shape, but they come inmany varieties and sizes
Basic Harp for Beginners
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The five harps illustrated above are some of the most common
types. They are:
1. Irish low-headed lap harp.2. Gothic lap harp.3. Medium-size
folk harp (also called Irish, Scottish or Neo-Celtic).4. Irish
high-headed harp (usually with metal strings).5. Pedal harp. (Also
see about Paraguayan harps.)
In this article we will focus on the two most common types of
harps: the large orchestral harpwith pedals, and the smaller
folk-type harp with levers.
Most harps have one set of strings in the order of the pianos
white keys: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.The C strings are red, and the F
strings are dark blue. The rest are white.
Concert grand PEDAL HARPS have 47 strings, or six-and-one-half
octaves, almost the fullrange of the piano. The bottom string is C,
three notes above the pianos lowest A. The topstring is G, four
notes below the pianos highest C.
The large concert harps that you see in the orchestra have seven
pedals (below), one for eachnote in the scale, that are attached
mechanically to discs (below) at the top of the strings andare used
to change all octaves of each note by two half-tones, flat (in the
highest position) tonatural (middle position) to sharp (lowest
position). Note that the lowest D and C strings andthe top G string
do not have any mechanism and are not connected to the pedals, but
can bere-tuned beforehand if necessary.
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The largest LEVER HARPS usually have 36 strings (a few go up to
38). Most lever harpsrange between 29 and 36 strings, or four to
five octaves.
Lever harps have a manually controlled device (flip-up lever,
cam lever, or blade) at the top ofeach string that can change each
string by one half-tone: flat to natural or natural to sharp. The
left hand usually changes levers.
Pedal harps have pedals that simultaneously change all octaves
of any given note, so onepedal change will result, for example, in
all F naturals becoming F#, or all B naturals becomingBb. Lever
harps, on the other hand, can be set however the composer wishes,
with one F#and two Bbs, for example, and all the other Fs and Bs
natural.
Tuning the lever harpWhen a lever or cam is engaged, the string
pitch is a half-step higher, and when disengagedit's a half-step
lower. We're using the word "engaged" because while most levers are
movedup to raise the pitch and down to lower it, some are the
reverse, and some are sideways-moving blades.
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Lever harp players commonly use the terms tuning in C or tuning
in Eb. Those tuning in C(with all levers disengaged) can play in
the key of C and the keys with sharps: G (F#), D (F#,C#) etc. Those
tuning in Eb (tune in C with the B, E, and A levers engaged, which
can bedisengaged to flat the string) can play in C, in the three
flat keys of F, Bb, and Eb, and the foursharp keys of G, D, A, and
E.
Here are the notes that are readily available in each
tuning:
C tuning: C C# D D# E E# F F# G G# A A# B B#
Eb tuning: C C# D D# Eb E F F# G G# Ab A Bb B
(For more on tuning, click here.)
Below, see an example by Ray Pool of the use of levers in the
chromatic scale harmonized forlever harp tuned in Eb. (The diamond
notes represent levers that must be raised or lowered tomake the
accidentals, and are not played.)
From Clever Levers
Writing well for the harpAs we have noted, probably the biggest
mistake made by composers is writing for harp as if itwere a piano.
An apparently easy passage for the piano may be quite formidable or
evenimpossible on the harp. A few fundamental things to remember
are:
The harp is a plucked instrument; it physically takes longer to
pull a string than todepress a piano key.
1.
The harpist sits at the upper end of the instruments range with
the right arm wrappedaround the instrument, compared to the pianist
who sits in the center of the instrumentsrange and can move both
hands freely in either direction. This means that the harpistsright
hand cannot reach the lower strings.
2.
The harpist relies heavily on visual cues to locate specific
notes (hence the coloredstrings), unlike the pianist who can feel
his location on the keyboard by the arrangementof black and white
keys. (This issue is further complicated by the harps orientation
todepth, unlike the pianos orientation to width; the pianist has
full use of peripheral visionto find notes, but the harpist does
not have this ability.) Wild leaps and skips infast-moving passages
should be avoided, especially in orchestral parts when the
harpistmust watch the conductor, the score and the strings, which
are all in different directions.
3.
Now lets look at some specifics.
1. Notation
Write on a piano grand staff, generally with right hand (RH) in
the upper staff, lefthand (LH) in the lower.
Occasionally all notes are in the same staff, and then its
helpful to indicate thoseplayed by the LH with stems down, and by
the RH with stems up, as in thefollowing example:
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(Henriette Reni)
Only four fingers are used on each hand: no pinky! Therefore the
maximum reachin each hand is the interval of a 10th. Please leave
fingering suggestions to theharpist, unless you allow a harpist to
look over the music prior to publication.
Since harpists use only four fingers, please avoid figures like
that in the following:
What makes this figure difficult to play quickly? The second
group that appears tobe four 16th notes actually needs five fingers
to reach from the D at the bottom ofthe group to the G on the first
beat of the next measure.
2. Range of hands: in general, because the harpists right arm is
wrapped around theinstrument, the RH shouldnt be asked to reach
below the first metal string [the G oneand one-half octaves below
middle C]. The LH can play the entire range, if necessary. Harp
strings are closer together than piano keys, however, and harpists
areaccustomed to reaching a tenth.
3. Best keys for the best sound: the ones that have the fewest
levers/pedals engaged,because unengaged strings vibrate at their
longest length and result in the richest tone.On the pedal harp
that would be the key of Cb. (See Benjamin Brittens Interlude
fromthe Ceremony of Carols.)
4. The sustain of the harp: Once strings are plucked, they set
their own duration ofsound without any other means pedal, bow,
breath to keep them going. Therefore,there may be several harmonies
lasting over some seconds as the sounds areproduced and decay. The
upper notes have very little sustain, so writing long, tiednotes in
the treble is useless. The bass notes, however, have an extremely
long sustain,and often need muffling before proceeding to the next
chord. (Country and pop harpistLouise Trotter likes to say that you
can play a bass octave and go down to the corner toget groceries.
When you get back it will still be vibrating!)
5. Harmonies and voicing: the sustain makes thick chords in the
lower stringssometimes sound muddy rather than lush. It is better
to under-harmonize thanover-harmonize in a harp composition.
6. Staccato, legato, sostenuto: the natural sound of the harp is
a sostenuto, with theplucking action creating a tone that rings
until it decays completely or the string isplucked again. The only
way to achieve a staccato-like effect is to muffle the stringswith
the finger or hand immediately after playing, so do not write
staccato notes onfast-moving passages, or with large leaps between
the notes or chords. Whateverlegato the harpist produces is
achieved by phrasing and careful placing.
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7. About rests: Rests signify the cessation of sound, and for
most players that meansa separation from the instrument. Wind
players stop blowing, string players lift theirbows. Harpists,
however, replace their hands upon the strings to stop sound.
Whenyou write quarter note, rest, quarter note, rest, do you want
the harpist to stop the soundon the rest, or could two half notes
produce as desirable a sound?
8. Repeated notes: One cannot repeatedly play the same string in
rapid succession asyou can on a piano. The best way to accomplish
this is by using an enharmonicequivalent, for example setting D#
and Eb pedals or levers and alternately playing thosestrings, so
that two fingers can create the effect of a repeated note. It is
played fastestbetween two alternating hands. [Harpists who play
with their nails long (on someParaguayan and wire harps) play
repeated notes very well with their nails, keepingfingers stiff and
moving back and forth across the string.]
9. Arpeggios can be played very fast when using both hands and
alternating them (thinkof the Nutcracker cadenza as it is commonly
played, with arpeggios in the samedirection). If you write the
arpeggio in one hand and something else in the other, thearpeggio
will be much slower.
10. Glissandos for the pedal harp can be in any arrangement you
want diatonic,pentatonic, whole note, diminished, etc. but
glissandos for lever harps are limited tothe notes available
depending on how the instrument is tuned (in C or Eb). In
bothcases, remember that every note of the scale must be accounted
for (unless you stopsome notes, as Ray Pool has experimented with).
See A Harpists Survival Guide toGlisses, by Kathy Bundock
Moore.
11. Harmonics are produced by "stopping" the string at its
midpoint and plucking thestring just above that point, producing a
note an octave higher than normal, with a clear,bell-like tone.
Notate harmonics on the string where they are played, not where
theysound. Harmonics sound best on open strings, that is, as a flat
on the pedal harp, orwith the lever disengaged on the lever
harp.
You can see and hear examples of various pedal harp techniques
on this video, Discover
the Harp, provided by harpist Gail Barber . You will need the
Real Player(and a fast internet connection!) to view this. If you
move the viewing slider to about 10minutes into the video, you will
see and hear examples of arpeggios, glissandos,harmonics, and other
techniques. The Philharmonia Orchestra web site also has somevideos
in their Orchestra section that demonstrate various harp
techniques.
More about pedals 1. Pedal harpists can easily play in keys with
six or seven sharps or flats theyjust set the pedals and go.
2. If you write in an unusual sonority, say with A flats and D
flats, but B naturalsand E naturals, indicate this in the key
signature with the B and E naturals inparentheses, then the A and D
flats.
3. Pedals are in this order:
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Two pedals can be changed simultaneously and quickly if theyre
not on the sameside.
Pedals are depressed to make the sound higher, and raised to
make the soundlower. You can push the pedals down (flat to natural
to sharp) faster than you canraise them (sharp to natural to flat).
Still, both these moves can be done veryquickly.
4. Pedal changes can create unwanted sounds in some
circumstances. If a string is stillsounding and the harpists hands
are too busy to muffle it, a pedal change on that string maybe
noisy. Sometimes this can be avoided by using enharmonic notes.
5. The harp can play any note enharmonically except for D
natural, G natural and A natural. This is helpful to know when
working with pedals. Careful writing can sometimes distributefast
pedal changes more equally between the two feet such as changing D#
and F# (left andright feet) rather than Eb and F# (both right
foot).
6. It is usually preferable to leave pedal markings to the
harpists, who often have personalpreferences. If you do feel the
need, however, write only F# rather than the unnecessarychange F
natural to F#, and make that notation directly under the note or
chord where the F#occurs. You might, however, write a small pedal
diagram periodically throughout the pieceespecially in sections
where there are rapid modulations, and always at each
rehearsalnumber or letter in orchestral parts:
[Note names FYI only] (D, C, Bb, Eb, F, G, Ab)
(D#, C#, B, E, F#, G#, A)
7. Every accidental, key change or glissando requires pedal
movement allowtime for it.
Special notationMany symbols have been developed in harp
notation. Here as an introduction are some fromMarilyn Marzukis The
Sacred Harpist, publ. 1980:
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(Note: More up-to-date notation usually places the harmonic note
where it will be played, andit will sound an octave higher.)
What's easy to playHarp Spectrum special projects person John
Carrington, harpist with the Pacific NorthwestBallet and Seattle
Symphony, suggests the following:
1. Glissandos, preferably with the first octave notated to make
perfectly clear whatnotes are wanted.2. Arpeggios a few up or down,
not an on-going chromatic series.3. A few rolled chords spread over
four octaves in voicing.4. A melody over a simple harmonization in
half notes.5. A perpetual motor in one hand with a repeated
sequence of running 16th or 8thnotes.6. A single harmonic that is
doubling for extra color the entry of another instrument,
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i.e. a French horn, piccolo or trumpet long tone.
What's difficult to play1. Abundant rapid chromaticism (think
Chopin).2. Five-fingered piano-derivative material.3. Lots of
quickly changing notes and chordal harmonies.4. Rapidly repeated
attack on the same chords.
And finally, work with a harpistEven after youve learned the
theory of how harps work and the basic rules for writing forthem,
it still makes sense to see if it all fits on a real harp played by
a harpist. As you read inthe introduction, Kevin Kaska learned from
Deborah Henson-Conant and Ann Hobson Pilotthat theres more to harp
music than glissandi and diatonic playing.
Another composer, Mary Elizabeth, says: I suddenly needed a harp
part in a chamber/choralChristmas setting, so although I had never
even seen a piece of harp music, I included a fairlystraightforward
part. To make up for my inexperience and lack of knowledge, I took
the pieceto Heidi Soons, the first chair harpist with the Vermont
Symphony Orchestra, to check it. Sinceshe graciously gave me the
opportunity, I composed a piece for harp and mezzo with a kind
ofKlezmer feel to show her as well. I didn't know anything of the
specialized vocabulary ornotation for harp, but I was intrigued by
the sound, and Heidi saw through my inexpert notationand choices,
and she enjoyed the second piece so much that she said she'd
perform with me(and we did several concerts the next year). So she
played my pieces and I learned from herabout the harp's
capabilities, limitations, and notational requirements. As soon as
I saw her doa technique, I would include it (as appropriate) in my
music. I began to learn about pedaling,fingering, tapping on the
soundboard, and enharmonics. I would write something and watchand
listen as she tried it and commented on it. Then I revised, as
necessary. She still checksany new harp piece I write.
If you dont know any harpists, write to Harp Spectrum and well
try to hook you up with a harpplayer in your area. Well be watching
for your new works!
More informationNow its time for you to get a book. Fortunately
there are several available. Much of thecontents of this article
was borrowed, with permission of the author, from The Pocket Guide
toHarp Composing by Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher. My sincere gratitude,
Darhon, for yourgenerosity. You can see her many Dragonflower Music
publications at www.dragonflower.com,and they are available at most
retailers, as well.
I am also very grateful to Beatrice Schroeder Rose for allowing
me to use several quotes fromher recently published and invaluable
book The Harp in the Orchestra.
Here are some very helpful publications. They may be found at
Lyon & Healy (L&H)www.lyonhealy.com, Sylvia Woods Harp
Center (HC) www.harpcenter.com, or VanderbiltMusic (V)
www.vanderbiltmusic.com.
Master Glossary of Symbols and Special Effects for Harp, by
Faith Carman (L&H, V)
Harp Scoring, by Stanley Chaloupka (HC, L&H, V)
Writing for the Modern Harp (Q&A for a college composition
class), by Lucile H. Jennings. 740-594-5520
The ABC of Harp Playing including The Use of the Harp in the
Orchestra by Lucile Lawrence (HC, L&H)
A Harpists Survival Guide to Glisses, by Kathy Bundock Moore
(L&H, V)
Tuning Your Harp in Eb Major, by Ray Pool (L&H, V)
The Harp in the Orchestra, by Beatrice Schroeder Rose (HC)
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Modern Study of the Harp, by Carlos Salzedo (HC)
A Quick Reference Glissando Chart, by Sylvia Woods (HC)
Writing for the Pedal Harp, 2nd edition, by Ruth Inglefield and
Lou Anne Neill(www.us.harp.com).
British composer F L Dunkin Wedd
(www.myspace.com/dunkinweddcomposer) has devised asimple method for
keeping track of pedal positions. He calls it The Virtual Harp.
Also: Sibelius Notational Software. Composer Mary Elizabeth
says, the plug-in that addsharp pedal diagrams, by Neil Sands, was
for me an educational tool as well as a notationalone.
Permissions and Sources:Drawing of five harps is from Mel Bay
Publications Basic Harp for Beginners, by Laurie Riley, MB#95109.
1994 by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Pacific, MO 63069. All Rights
Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
Photo of gold pedal harp courtesy of the Swanson Harp Company,
with permission of Carl Swanson.
Pedal harp discs photo from www.BlackandGoldHarp.com, with
thanks to harpist/photographer Kari Gardner.
Photo of Triplett Catalina lever harp with permission of Debbie
Triplett.
Photo of lever harp with labeled parts is by Wm. Rees,
Traditional Harps, used with permission.
The Chromatic Scale, Harmonized is from Clever Levers, Harmonic
Exercises for Advanced Lever Harpists, byRay Pool, by Ray Pool,
email [email protected], website www.raypool.com.
The Reni excerpt is from p. 51 of The Harp by Marcel Tournier,
Henry LeMoine & Cie, editeurs, 1959.
The Notation Guide is from The Sacred Harpist by Marilyn
Marzuki, Hinshaw Music, 1980.
Harp video was linked to by permission of Gail Barber.
Postscript:
One composer took our advice to heart and wrote Harp Spectrum
for the names of harpists inNew York who might help him. Here's
what he had to say afterward:
This past spring, I composed a piece for orchestra. I rarely get
a chance to write for such alarge ensemble, and my knowledge of the
harp was very limited. I turned to the Harp Spectrumfor help. I
found the articles to be excellent and thorough. I took the advice
to contact JoyceRice about finding a harpist in my area to review
the part I was composing. Meeting withprofessional harpists Ray
Pool and Cynthia Otis was absolutely crucial. I can't stress
enoughhow dramatically this improved both my understanding of harp
technique and my ability tomaximize the instrument's potential in
an orchestral setting. The Harp Spectrum and itscommunity are
valuable resources for any composer, and I am very grateful for
their existence!
-Joachim HorsleyComposer & Producer, New York CityJune
2005
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