Category: Lever harp

Ep. 248 – Staccato notes on the harp, featuring Debussy’s “Girl with the Flaxen Hair”.

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In this episode I answer a viewer’s question about playing ascending intervals, and how to make them staccato, specifically in the end of Debussy’s Prelude No. 8 (“La fille aux cheveux de lin/Girl with the Flaxen Hair”).

I’ve done lots of other episodes on muffling and dampening over the years: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-24-muffling-and-dampening-techniques/

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

My music video of the Debussy:

 

Ep. 247 – 4th finger muffling technique

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Here’s a technique that you can use to “slide” your fourth finger along a previously played string to muffle it on the way to playing the string above it. Very useful to have in your bag of tools!

I’ve done lots of other episodes on muffling and dampening over the years: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-24-muffling-and-dampening-techniques/

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. 245 – Accent! A scale exercise

In this episode I take a look at a scale exercise from Renie’s Method for Harp that works on accenting different fingers – always useful!

Other Harp Tuesday episodes featuring scales: https://www.harptuesday.com/category/scales/

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

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Ep. 242 – Building an electric harp (Harp-E)

I purchased and built an electric harp from a kit! Here’s my experience building it – look for a full review soon.

The harp is a “harp-e”, available at https://www.harp-e.com/collections/for-individuals I did an interview with the designer of harp-e, Joris Beets, that got me interested in buying one (filmed at the World Harp Congress in Wales): https://youtu.be/XlTTmlffmj4

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

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Ep. 241 – An affordable, self-assembled, electric harp? A look at Harp-E

Joris Beets was kind enough to take some time to chat with me at the World Harp Congress about his newest invention – Harp-E!

Lots more info about this harp at https://www.harp-e.com/ And the Harp-E channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEPCNakbK2x_c1FC2NAFheg

Hope you enjoyed this on location video about a very cool harp! 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

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Ep. 238 – Grip the strings – fundamental harp technique.

I love the feeling and sound that gets created by firmly gripping the harp strings – putting quite a bit of one’s fingers on the strings. In this episode I give a close up (and slow motion) look at how far I put my fingers between the strings.

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

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Ep. 236 – creating a harp cart out of a golf cart

Harp carts can be expensive and hard to find – in this episode I show how I’ve been able to use a cheap golf cart as a pretty decent harp cart!

Re-purposing stuff is always fun – in this case I didn’t really have to do anything, just taped on some plastic padding and added a couple bungie cords.

Of course, golf carts aren’t designed for harps, so use this idea at your own risk, but it’s worked out very well for me!

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

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Ep. 235 – A simple placing exercise for the harp

This simple (but not easy!) exercise is particularly good for a number of things, but particularly for working on placing all 4 fingers on the way down, rather than walking the fingers down one at a time. Hope you find it useful!

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

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Ep. 234 – 3 tips for memorizing music

In this episode I talk about three techniques you can use to help to memorize music and demonstrate them in action as I attempt to memorize a piece of music called Cherry Trees at Merchiston written by Isobel Mieras (http://www.isobelmieras.co.uk/) Written originally for the 2020 virtual edition of the Edinburgh Harp Festival, it is available as part of this collection: http://www.creightonscollection.co.uk/Pages/scores/SM/SM668.htm

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

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Ep. 231 – what is the difference between 3/4 and 6/8 time signatures?

The time signatures of 3/4 and 6/8 both contain a total of six 8th notes. So what is the difference between them?? This is a question I’ve often been asked by students, and in this video I attempt to answer. (Quick answer – 3/4 has 3 beats or pulses per bar, and 6/8 only has 2 beats).

For further reading, the wikipedia page on time signatures is a good starting place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature

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

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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

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Ep. 228 – A 1 minute chord exercise!

Happy New Year! To start off the year, here’s a short exercise that is a great candidate to turn into a daily goal for 2022.

Want to hear more about my thoughts on goals, process, and more? Watch this conversation with Victoria at Talking Harps: https://youtu.be/XiuWoEmfF3M

I’ve covered many other aspects of playing chords in various Harp Tuesday episodes: https://www.harptuesday.com/category/chords/

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

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Ep. 226 – An in-depth look at Handel’s Chaconne in D minor, arr. for harp.

An in-depth look at my arrangement for lever harp of the the Chaconne from Handel’s Suite in D minor, HWV 448. (One of seven pieces in my book, Transcriptions for Lever Harp).

Listen to a music video of the Chaconne in this Harpist in the Wild video.

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: 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 http://eepurl.com/nBSlz

Ep. 225 – Finger independence featuring Nordic Spaces

Placing all four fingers but only playing 2 at a time – featuring a section from my composition Nordic Spaces.

This type of finger independence can be extremely handy! For more, check out Harp Tuesday episode 23, plus page 32 from Betty Paret’s First Harp Book and/or the first set of the Lariviere exercises.

Sheet music for Nordic Spaces is available at https://www.joshlayne.com/store/?product=nordic-spaces-downloadable-sheet-music-pdf

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: 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 http://eepurl.com/nBSlz

Ep. 224 – how to play open thumb/“étouffé”

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I demonstrate how to play open thumb/“étouffé” notes – useful for muffling and/or for getting a staccato sound.

I’ve done many other Harp Tuesday episodes on muffling.

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

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Ep. 223 – how to play Aurum Aqua

A look at how to play Aurum Aqua, a short piece featuring downwards arpeggios in the style of Hasselman’s La Source or Pratt’s The Little Fountain.

Susan Dahl Graham, the composer, has made the sheet music available for free! Download it here.

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: 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.

And make sure to watch the Harpist in the Wild episode featuring Aurum Aqua:

 

Ep. 222 – Recording harp outdoors, auto-syncing audio, plus bonus Skye Boat Song performance

How I record on outdoors with a handheld recorder (Zoom H5) placed inside the body of my lever harp, PLUS how to automatically sync the audio afterwards using free video editing software, DaVinci Resolve.

Download DaVinci Resolve

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

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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. 220 – Harp fingering principles, featuring “The Wind that Shakes the Barley”

A look at harp fingering principles, through the lens of figuring out fingerings for a traditional Irish reel – The Wind that Shakes the Barley.

Want a copy of the leadsheet with my final fingerings? Get it for free (plus a bunch of other music) by signing up for my email newsletter! https://mailchi.mp/bcfffee4008e/barleyleadsheet

https://thesession.org/ is a fantastic free resource for traditional Irish music.

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

Ep. 218 – An Arpeggio Drill

In this episode I demonstrate how to use a metronome that is gradually speeding up to practice arpeggios. Also check out this episode on arpeggios: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-39-exercises-arpeggios-scales-and-more/

The metronome I’m using is “pro metronome”:
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eumlab.android.prometronome

Apple https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pro-metronome-tempo-beat-subdivision-polyrhythm/id477960671

I did a similar episode featuring rolled chords: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-185-rolled-chord-drills/

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

Ep. 214 – Playing descending thirds with a thumb slide

In this short technique episode, I give a look at how to playing descending 2 note chords (3rds, 6ths, etc.) using a thumb slide – a technique that opens up the possibility of more speed than playing each chord individually.

You can also check out the in-depth episode I did on slides almost 10 years ago! https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-27-slides/

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

Ep. 213 – Easy harp music – how to play “Night Song”.

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I take a look at a short piece from Betty Paret’s “First Harp Book”. “Night Song” is a beautiful piece, and great practice for right hand chords (3rds and 6ths).

I could resist a beautiful June day, and took Harp Tuesday outside! This also ties in with my new series, Harpist in the Wild. Episode 2 (A Baroque Feast) is about to wrap up, with the season finale on June 5. More at https://www.harpistinthewild.com/

Paret’s “First Harp Book” is an excellent book with some nice music and great fingerings. You should be able to find it at your favorite local music store, or online for example at https://www.harpcenter.com/product/paret-first-harp-book/harp-music-books-betty-paret

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. 200 – How I did I get started playing the harp? My harp origin story

Happy Birthday, Harp Tuesday!

This episode is special not only because it’s episode 200, but also because Harp Tuesday turns 10 years old today! Ten years ago on Dec. 1, 2010, I uploaded the very first episode of Harp Tuesday. (https://www.harptuesday.com/ep1/)

Support from my patrons has been invaluable over these past few years. You can become my patron and support the work I do on YouTube at: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 199 – A virtual duet! Renié’s “Les pins de Charlannes”

A special virtual duet episode of Harp Tuesday! I’ve uploaded myself playing the 2nd harp part to Henriette Renié’s beautiful duet, “Les pins de Charlannes” and I invite you to play the 1st harp part along with me!

Sheet music can be found at IMSLP: https://imslp.org/wiki/Les_pins_de_Charlannes_(Reni%C3%A9%2C_Henriette)

I did a similar idea many years ago (in 2013!) for the Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria”: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-52-ave-maria-duet/

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

Ep. 197 – Godefroid’s Etude in E minor arr. for lever harp

A viewer did this excellent adaptation for lever harp of the theme from Felix Godefroid’s Concert Etude in Eb Minor. In this episode I introduce you to the piece and look at how to play it.

You can download it for free (account registration needed) at https://musescore.com/user/30597084/scores/6352144

I did a look at the pedal harp version (sheet music available for free at https://archive.org/details/etudedeconcerten01gode/page/n3/mode/2up ) in Harp Tuesday episode 65: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-65-la-source-and-etude-de-concert/

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

Ep. 192 – Playing a left hand harmonic+chord (at the same time)

How to play a left hand chord with a harmonic on top. I talk about the various chords+harmonics in Godefroid’s take on “The Last Rose of Summer”.

The pedal harp sheet music can be found at https://archive.org/details/ladernirerosedtm00gode/page/2/mode/2up

I’ve arranged it for lever harp as part of my new book, “Transcriptions for Lever Harp”: https://www.joshlayne.com/store/?product=transcriptions-for-lever-harp-volume-1-downloadable-sheet-music-pdf

More videos on harmonics: https://www.harptuesday.com/harp-tuesday-ep-9/

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

Ep. 191 – How to play Xylophonic sounds on the harp

What are “Xylophonic Sounds” on the harp and how do you play them? Find out in this episode of Harp Tuesday 🙂

My new composition, “Uncharted Shores“, features some xylophonic sounds, as does my composition Forgotten Summer.

Uncharted Shores:
Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og_yuRQz934
Sheet Music: https://www.joshlayne.com/store/?product=uncharted-shores-downloadable-sheet-music-pdf

Forgotten Summer:
Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWhDpSrGUDo
Sheet Music: https://www.joshlayne.com/store/?product=five-solos-for-lever-harp-downloadable-sheet-music-pdf

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

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. 186 – What is musical phrasing?

A look at one of the most important part of music – phrasing, or the space between the notes! In this episode I analyze three different recordings of a bar from Chopin’s Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2 to try to make clear what I mean when I’m talking about phrasing.

This episode is a followup to a couple of recent blog posts about listening.
Part 1 https://www.joshlayne.com/blog/focused-listening-part-one/
Part 2 https://www.joshlayne.com/blog/listeningpart2/

Ep. 185 – Rolled Chord Drills

Play along with me as I do some rolled (broken) chord practice on the harp!

I’m using a metronome app called Pro Metronome (thanks to viewer Keven for his suggestion!) and its “practice mode” to very gradually speed up the pace. Link below, though note that practice mode is a paid upgrade. Do you have a favorite app that does something similar? Let me know in the comments!

Android link
Apple link

Ep. 184 – Learning “Down by the Salley Gardens” by ear

I thought I’d do something a little different today and try and teach (and learn myself!) a tune by ear. A beautiful Irish tune known by a number of different names – Down by the Salley Gardens (or Sally Gardens), Maids of Mourne Shore, The Foggy Dew, etc.

While it kind of defeats the purpose (of learning it by ear) if you’d like a free copy of the music with my fingerings, sign up for my newsletter

(Existing subscribers, email me and I’ll send you a copy!)

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. 180 – 8 note chord progressions

A look at eight note (four notes per hand) chord progressions, using the opening of Naderman’s First Sonata as an example. (You can find the sheet at the harp archives).

Such a useful thing to automatically be able to do! Here are a few other Harp Tuesday episodes that touch on chords and chord progressions: https://www.harptuesday.com/category/chords/

Ep. 178 – Composing a new piece

In this episode of Harp Tuesday you get a real-time look as I start a new composition.

I always have a bit of a soft spot for these real-time episodes, but primarily I think they’re useful for me, haha 🙂 Still, I hope you find this interesting and/or useful – comment if you end up watching the entire episode!

Ep. 170 – Playing fast ornaments (featuring “The Nightingale”)

In this episode I talk about how choosing a fingering that focuses just on a fast ornament or section and then comes off, even if there are additional notes after the ornament, can be a useful approach. I use two sections from Deborah Henson-Conant’s “The Nightingale” to demonstrate what I mean.

Sheet music for “The Nightingale” can be found at DHC’s website https://www.hipharp.com/

Ep. 165 – How to play “Petite Berceuse” by Hasselmans

A look at Alphonse Hasselman’s lovely “Petite Berceuse“. In the key of C and playable on a 25 string harp, the sheet music is in the public domain and can be found at archive.org – https://bit.ly/2Jo2aY9

Harpist in a Tree, episode 2, features me playing “Petite Berceuse” in a tree 🙂 Watch it at https://youtu.be/2hezgZDifyk

Ep. 164 – How to play with two hands at the same time (featuring Skye Boat Song)

Is playing a separate pattern in each hand a challenge for you? In this episode of Harp Tuesday I offer some ideas of how to coordinate playing with both hands at the same time, using as an example a small section from my arrangement of The Skye Boat Song.

You might also find this episode useful: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-110-coordinating-two-hands-contrary-motion-and-practicing/

My arrangement of The Skye Boat Song is available as a PDF at http://www.joshlayne.com/store/

Ep. 162 – Playing a smooth left hand pattern in Fauré’s Pavane

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I use the left hand pattern in Kim Robertson’s arrangement of Fauré’s Pavane to talk about three things to do to make an up and down left hand pattern sound as smooth and flowing as possible.

Kim Robertson’s Celtic Harp Solos is an excellent book. Your favourite harp music retailer will probably have a copy (or could obtain one for you). For example: https://gourd.com/robertsonbooks.html

It’s also available as a PDF download: https://harpcolumn.com/music/all-music/artists/kim-robertson/celtic-harp-solos/

 

 

Ep. 161 – Relax! Staying relaxed while playing the harp

Relaxation is so important when playing any instrument – both for speed and to remain injury and pain free. Making sure your fingers don’t stay clenched into the palm when they aren’t playing is one key to staying relaxed. In this episode I talk about how to achieve that (including using a rubber band as an aid!) and demonstrate how it looks.

Ep. 155 – Non-standard harmonics (extended technique)

Normally, when we play a harmonic on the harp it sounds an octave higher.

But it’s possible to play harmonics that sound an octave and a 5th higher, or 2 octaves, or 2 octaves+ 3rd, 2 octaves+ 5th, etc.

In this episode I demonstrate a technique I worked on recently to facilitate these extended harmonics that’s different from the way we normally play harmonics. Hope you enjoy 🙂 Would love to hear from you if you use an unusual physical approach when playing harmonics!

Ep. 149 – 151 in-depth look at Scheherazade on the lever harp (3 parts)

A look at Barbara Brundage’s wonderful arrangement of Themes from Scheherazade for lever harp.

You can buy it at https://www.harpcenter.com/product/pdf-download-brundage-class2-scheherazade/ or as part of Barbara Brundage’s collection “Classics on Request #2” https://www.harpcenter.com/product/pdf-download-brundage-class2-scheherazade/

I highly recommend listening to the full orchestral original. Here’s a link that shows the score as it plays:  (We hear the violin solo+harp chords “Scheherazade” theme for the first time at 0:52  )

Hope you enjoy! Thanks to one of my patrons for the suggestion – I wasn’t aware of this arrangement and it’s beautiful and a lot of fun to play 🙂 You, too, can become my patron and support Harp Tuesday at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 148 – How to improvise on the harp: two suggestions


Happy 2019 everyone! I’m busy finishing my annual New Year’s Improv video, and I thought what better subject for today’s Harp Tuesday episode than a look at improvisation. I offer two concrete ideas to spark your creativity and get you improvising in 2019 🙂

You might also enjoy episode 70

And here’s a playlist of my various improv videos

Ep 134 Adapting Tournier’s “Noel” for lever harp

A real-time look at adapting for lever harp the first of six “Noels” by Marcel Tournier. Tournier wrote these for pedal harp, and there’s a certain amount of modulation going on in this Noel. Still, having played through it a couple times I’m hopeful that I can adapt it for lever harp – join me for the journey and lets see if it works out! 🙂

Ep 126 How to regulate your harp

Some useful links:

Dusty strings:
https://manufacturing.dustystrings.com/harps/accessories-hardware/tools-maintenance
https://manufacturing.dustystrings.com/blog/sharping-levers-camac-vs-loveland

Thormahlen Harps:
http://www.thorharp.com/pages/regulatingcamaclevers.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRcLPupXuIc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFKYjmmjzvM

Great set of articles about all sort of harp maintenance by Mike Lewis, here’s the link to the article on regulation:
http://www.harptech.com/Articles/Regulation/Regulation.html

Rees levers:
https://reesharps.com/regulating-rees-harp-levers/

Loveland levers (via musicmakers): https://www.harpkit.com/mm5/pdf/Instructions/Lever-1Regulation.pdf

 

Ep. 122 Fundamental exercises on the harp – chord progressions

In this episode oI talk about chord progressions and working on the ability to automatically go up and down a chord sequence (root, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion). As a companion to this episode you might find these two episodes helpful:

https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-34-chord-basics/
https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-71-chordjumping-exercise/

 

Ep. 120 “Alfonso el Sabio” from Kim Robertson’s “Celtic Harp Solos”


In this first episode I take a look at a beautiful piece called Alfonso XII el Sabio (13th century Spain) from Kim Robertson’s sheet music book “Celtic Harp Solos . (I wonder if in fact it’s music associated with Alfonso X el Sabio).

EDIT – Thanks to Therese Honey in the YouTube comments – it is indeed from Alfonso X “Cantigas de Santa Maria”  This is number 166 “Como póden per sas culpas”. Check out this site which has sheet music for the entire set of songs: http://www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/166#music/r

With a rather hypnotic tune and great rhythms this is a very fun piece to play!

(Celtic Harp Solos is an excellent book. Your favourite harp music retailer will probably have a copy (or could obtain one for you). It also appears to be available as a PDF download. For example:

https://gourd.com/robertsonbooks.html

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/kim-robertson-celtic-harp-solos-digital-sheet-music/19899385

And check out Kim Robertson’s website.

Ep. 117 & 118 “Soupir” on lever harp

In episode 117 I demonstrate how to play Marcel Tournier’s beautiful composition Soupir on the lever harp. Written for the pedal harp, it works very well on the lever harp as well! Download my adaption for free. (Want to play this on the pedal harp? The sheet music I used, sans my notation, can be found at archive.org)

(Note that in the video I’d forgotten to circle the low Gb at the end to indicate it’s to be played as an enharmonic (F#). The PDF link has above has the correct notation).

In episode 118 you get a look at me learning Soupir as I try to get it in shape to record it:

Ep. 113 Sheet music on tablets (forScore/iPad)

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about my experience using the forScore app on an iPad air in place of physical sheet music. (I’ve found it very useful).

ForScore

The Donner foot pedal I’m using

I mentioned three places to find free, public domain music online:

The International Harp Archives at Brigham Young University

IMSLP

And for traditional music – The Session

Ep. 111 Exploring electric harps part 1

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about and demonstrate the “Firefly 2” electric harp I bought last year from Wickford Harps / Dick Ranlet as well as talk about electric harps in general.

I will be doing a follow-up episode demonstrating using a looper pedal – if you have any questions you’d like answered let me know!

Video where Dick Ranlet demonstrates his two part harp system –

Ep. 109 “Pistachio” by Bernard Andres

“Pistache” (Pistachio) is one of a collection of pieces by Bernard Andres called “Epices” (Spices) where every pieces is based on a spice (Paprika, Cinnamon, Vanilla, etc.)

Pistache is probably my favourite from book one of the collection, and in this episode I take a look at it. Pistache has a bunch of cool effect/extended techniques, some fun rhythm stuff, and is just overall a blast to play 🙂

Ep. 100! A guide to buying a harp

Welcome to the 100th episode of Harp Tuesday! 100 is a big number and I feel proud to have reached it! 🙂 Thanks to all of you who watch and comments on my videos – you’re the reason I’ve made it to #100!

In this episode I offer some thoughts and advice on buying a harp, with an emphasis on advice for someone looking to buy their very first harp.

I hope this is helpful, and thanks for watching!

The complete episode is below, but I also split this episode into individual sections if there’s something specific you’re interested in.

1. Introduction https://youtu.be/lY2PVTGFb-A
2. General advice/synopsis https://youtu.be/znZ6D3Pyss0
3. Three categories of harps https://youtu.be/IINfg-emaQo
4. Celtic harps – how many strings? https://youtu.be/8m-vBBdJY7c
5. Celtic harps – do I need levers? https://youtu.be/OrqoGgxEc8I
6. Build quality and ergonomics https://youtu.be/JcdPXdPgG6k
7. Sound quality https://youtu.be/Q_hj0a-OvRQ
8. Strings – gut or nylon? https://youtu.be/P1xQUAT1mDw
9. Pedal harps https://youtu.be/9tz-M-EvqCQ
10. Other type of harps https://youtu.be/S87aHF79BiE

Ep. 99, 101-105 A look at Fantasy on Greensleeves for lever harp Part 1

In this six part series I take a look at my Fantasy on Greensleeves, the lever harp version. Be sure to check out my Arranging Greensleeves project page for more info, or to buy the sheet music!

Intro and theme:

Practice tips/Variation 1

Variation 2

Lever changes, Rhythm, and more – variation 3

Bridge and Variation 4

Ending and tremolos

Ep. 98 A look at Anne Vanschothorst’s “I Feel Different”

“I feel different” is one of my favourite compositions by Dutch harpist/composer Anne Vanschothorst. It felt like a great subject for my return to Harp Tuesday after a long break due to my European trip, etc.

Feels great to be back, and on almost exactly the five year anniversary of the very first Harp Tuesday episode!

Hope you enjoy – I’ll be doing a couple follow up Slow Motion Monday videos from this piece – look for that next week.

Check out Anne’s music at http://www.harpandsoul.com/ and buy her music books here: http://www.harpandsoul.com/#!shop/c1c9t

And of course check out her YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/user/annevans…

 

Ep. 97 a look at the Rondo from Bochsa’s “Air and Rondo”

In this special edition of Harp Tuesday from the Zagreb Harp Centre in Croatia (http://zagrebharpfestival.com) I take a look at the “Rondo” from Bochsa’s “Air and Rondo” – the first piece in Samuel Milligan’s “Medieval to Modern volume 2”.

Last episode I talked about the Air: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo8Nf…

Was wonderful to record surrounded by all these amazing Camac harps (http://www.camac-harps.com/)

Ep. 96 Bochsa’s “Air” from “Air and Rondo”

In this special edition of Harp Tuesday from the Zagreb Harp Centre in Croatia (http://zagrebharpfestival.com) I take a look at the “Air” from Bochsa’s “Air and Rondo” – the first piece in Samuel Milligan’s “Medieval to Modern volume 2”.

Next episode will look at the “Rondo” 🙂

Was wonderful to record surrounded by all these amazing Camac harps (http://www.camac-harps.com/)

Ep. 80 How to read music part 2 – Rhythm!

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I finally (!) finish my look at how to read music. In December of 2010, for my fifth episode of Harp Tuesday, I talked about how to decipher notes on the printed page and translate them into which strings to play on the harp… In this episode I talk about the other aspect of written music – Rhythm!

This was a tricky episode to put together, and I’m still not sure how much sense it makes, but if you’re trying to learn to read music hopefully this will help!

You can download the PDF sheet showing what shapes equal what note durations (Whole note, half note, etc.) here.

Ep. 74 – 78 Looking at “Variations on a theme by Mozart” (or is it?)

In these episodes of Harp Tuesday I look at a piece that I learned as “Variations sur un theme de Mozart”, playable on the Celtic harp and edited by Odette le Dentu. However, it turns out it may have nothing to do with Mozart! Thanks to a youtube comment I found the original on IMSLP – it’s the first of 4 Airs and variations by French composer Martin Dalvimare.

You can find the score and play along at IMSLP

Opening theme and first variation

Variation 3

Variation 4

Variation 2

Variations 5 and 6

Ep. 70 Accompanying and improvising

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about creating simple accompaniment patterns for the left hand based on chords, and offer some ideas on improv. Both draw heavily from a firm knowledge of chord structure – I did an episode on chords that might prove useful.

I use Auld Lang Syne as the demonstration piece for this episode. I’m reading from a handwritten lead sheet (chord symbols + right hand tune). Download the PDF here.

The section on improvisation starts at 10:22

Note that since this episode I’ve been doing more and more free improvisation – here are a couple shorter improvs and an improv concert:


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!)

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

Ep. 53 In depth look at “A Bird Came Flying”

In this episode of I take an in-depth look at Anne Vanschothorst’s A Bird Came Flying from her book of five original solos.

I recorded a music video of A Bird Came Flying last year.

The piece can be broken into 5 parts, here are time links to when I start talking about each part:
Start – Page 1  1:50
Page 2  12:15
Page 3   18:56
Pages 4+5   24:50
Page 6   30:15

Information on ordering the music book of A Bird Came Flying can be found here: http://www.abirdcameflying.com/order.htm

You can watch Anne Vanschothorst’s beautiful music video of one of the other pieces in the book (I Feel Different) here

Here’s audio from a concert I gave last summer of A Bird Comes Flying + I Feel Different – https://soundcloud.com/harpandsoul/harpist-josh-layne

Ep. 52 Ave Maria duet

For the first Harp Tuesday episode of 2013 I tried something new – a virtual duet of the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria.




I’ve recorded both parts to the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria, with the idea being that you can pick a part to play (tune/accompaniment) and then playing along with the video of the corresponding part – a virtual duet!

The tune is quite easy – just single notes for the right hand.  It can be played on the lever harp (there are two lever changes, but since the left hand isn’t playing they should be fairly painless…)

The accompaniment (Bach’s Prelude No. 1) is harder, and involves a number of pedal changes.  I’m also not sure how easy it will be to try and play along with the tune, since the tune has a lot of long notes, where there is no way of knowing whether we’re together or not…  Would love to hear your experiences if you try it!

You can download a PDF of the sheet music.  As long as it isn’t too confusing, I’d suggest trying to play from the score, which has both parts.  This lets you see what the other part is supposed to be doing 🙂

Download the score

Download the tune only

Download the accompaniment only