Category: J.S. Bach

Ep. 292 – Creating a clean sound on the harp with left hand muffling (featuring Bach’s Prelude for Lute)

To get a clean sound on the harp we often need to use the left hand to muffle – whether it be a single note or a certain region.

By working on pieces that incorporate various LH muffles at specific places during the piece you can start to training your left hand to be able to automatically know when and how to muffle.

For more on muffling, check out these episodes.

I’m using my arrangement of the Bach Prelude for Lute in C minor BWV999 as an example – if you want to play it yourself I’ve arranged it for both lever and pedal harp (though muffling is a bit more challenging on the lever harp since there are a lot of lever changes going on 🙂

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Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 291 – How to listen for musical phrasing (featuring Bach’s Goldberg Variations)

Tuning your ear to pick up on musical phrasing – how we get from note to note – is a great thing to do. In this episode I demonstrate what that can mean using the ending of the “Aria” from Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

Also check out this three part blog and video series.

(If you want to play the Aria yourself I’ve arranged it for both lever and pedal harp).

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Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 252 – Practicing harmonics – a harmonic etude

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Harmonics on the harp really benefit from sustained practice, but often pieces only have a few harmonics. In this episode I use a very easy setting of a Bach Chorale that I did several years ago (episode 181) and turn it into an etude for harmonics!

I’ve done many videos on how to play harmonics over the years: https://www.harptuesday.com/harp-tuesday-ep-9/

And here’s the episode on the Bach Chorale – my discussion of the phrasing and dynamics apply whether you’re playing it with harmonics or not! https://www.harptuesday.com/ep181/

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 249 – Bach’s 1st Cello Prelude on the harp (special 12 years of Harp Tuesday episode)

In this special 12th anniversary episode of Harp Tuesday, I show how I play the Prelude of Bach’s 1st Cello Suite with only the left hand. It ends up fitting so nicely, it’s almost as if Bach intended it for the harp and it makes a wonderful left hand exercise 🙂

Download the music for free!

Sign up to my email newsletter to get more free sheet music, and of course lots more music, include other Bach transcriptions, at my online store).

I did a Harpist in the Wild episode featuring the cello prelude:

My original inspiration to try this Prelude with LH only was seeing that Fernando Guerrero had done so. Watch his video here  and he has whole book of movements from the cellos suites arranged for LH only: http://www.arlu.org/arlu.html (click on “publicaciones”).

If you want to play the Prelude on lever harp, it’s one of the pieces in Anne-Marie O’Farrell book of Bach transcriptions.

Ep. 230 – Muffling and lever changes

A look at the technique I use to muffle a string before changing its lever.

I’m using as an example Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C major, which is a fantastic piece to practice lever changes and muffles. Lots of arrangements for lever harp exist, including in my book “Transcriptions for Lever Harp”.

If you’re my patron at the $3+ level you can get a free copy of my arrangement of the Prelude.

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Get free sheet music and stay up-to-date on what I’m doing by signing up to my email newsletter at https://eepurl.com/nBSlz

Ep. 221 – Harp placement rules – only place in one direction

In this episode I attempt to clearly define the harp fingering rule of only placing in one direction/not playing out of order and demonstrate what that means in practice using Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C Major.

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

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Ep. 219 – Muffling Technique on the harp (Featuring Bach’s C sharp minor Prelude)

Placing on a string not to play it, but to muffle it, is an excellent option in certain passages. Here, I demonstrate it using a two bar section from Bach’s Prelude No. 4 (C sharp minor) from the Well-Tempered Clavier.

More videos on muffling on the harp: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-24-muffling-and-dampening-techniques/

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 211 – Playing fast and practicing Bach’s Toccata

In this video I look at how to break down and practice a short section from Bach’s Toccata in D minor. This method of finding a small section or “chunk” that you can practice effectively is a very important and useful concept for practicing in general!

Sheet music for my transcription is available at https://www.joshlayne.com/store/

Make sure to check out my Harpist in the Wild episode about the Toccata!

Ep. 194 – How to play the ‘Aria’ from Bach’s Goldberg Variations – working with tricky rhythms.

The Aria that starts off Bach’s Goldberg Variations has note values from half notes to 32nds and the rhythm can be a bit intimidating at first glance. In this episode I walk you through how to decipher and make sense of this and other music with tricky rhythms.

My arrangement of the Aria is one of seven pieces in my new book, Transcriptions for Lever Harp.

Ep. 190 – How to play the opening Mordent from Bach’s Toccata and Fugue

The mordent that starts the Toccata and Fugue in D minor is one of the most recognizable openings in all of classical music. In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about two possible fingerings – one that I feel is ideal for this type of pattern, and the other, that I ultimately ended up using 🙂

Watch my performance of the Toccata and Fugue:

Buy the sheet music at https://www.joshlayne.com/bachtoccata/

Ep. 181 – An easy Bach “Chorale” – phrasing and dynamics

An easy Bach “Chorale” gives me an opportunity to talk about phrasing and dynamics!

If you’d like the sheet music for this easy harp arrangement of “Erkenne mich, mein Hüter” from Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, just sign up for my email newsletter and I’ll send you a copy 🙂

Ep. 69 figuring out lever changes (Bach – Prelude No. 1)

In this episode of Harp Tuesday, I try to arranged Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C from the Well-Tempered Clavier for the lever harp.

The episode:

And you can watch me figure out the lever changes in real time:

I used a public domain setting of the piece from Mutopia

Here is a scan of the completed version with all my markings – download the images by right-clicking and selecting “save image as…”

Ep. 67 Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

In this episode I talk about Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (from Cantata BWV 147)

The beauty of virtual sheet music is I can easily offer a whole bunch of different versions. So pick the one you prefer, or download them all!

The arrangement is for the public domain, so feel free to copy and distribute as much as you would like. While you’re here, consider signing up to my email newsletter. It’s the best way to stay up-to-date on what I’m doing, plus you get some free sheet music! (And you can always check out my other sheet music available at my online store).

For lever harp with complete fingerings

For pedal harp with complete fingerings

The only difference between the two versions is a low B in the bass, and the markings for the lever/pedal change.  The next two versions include the low B.

Partial fingerings

No fingerings