Lever harp – Harp Tuesday

Ep. 196 – How to play “Good Morning, Little Yellow Bird”

30 years ago, on Oct. 9th, 1990 I started learning “Good Morning, Little Yellow Bird”. This is the earliest piece of music I have on which my teacher (Kathryn Ely) wrote the date we started. 30 years later I thought it would be fitting to do a Harp Tuesday episode on it – hope you enjoy!

Ep. 195 – two common harp accompaniment patterns

A look at two very common left hand accompaniment patterns and how to play them fluidly! 1,5,8,9,10 crossing under (or 1,5,8,10,12) plus the big stretch of a 1,5,8,10 without crossing under.

Hope this is helpful!

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

Ep. 193 – My system for notating lever changes

Here’s the system I use to indicate lever changes easily and clearly in Finale. Lever changes can pose a bit of challenge to show exactly which lever is to be changed.

Even if you work with a different notation software (Musescore, Sibelius, etc.) I hope this episode is helpful and gives you some ideas 🙂

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. 189 – Do new wire harp strings make a difference?

My Camac Excalibur is almost three years old (hard to believe!) and I recently replaced the wire strings.

In this video I talk about and offer tips on the process, as well as playing before and after sound samples to try and give an idea of what effect it has to put on new strings!

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. 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. 179 – Two exercises for playing syncopation and offbeats

Two exercises you can do with a metronome to work on playing syncopated and offbeat rhythms.

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. 177 – Learning new things – and why it can seem harder than it is!

The Governor in Our Brains and The Mountain… or the Jungle – why learning new things can seem hard. In this episode I talk about a couple of concepts that relate to learning things that are new to us. Hope you find this helpful, would love to hear from you in the comments!

Ep. 175 – Playing a four finger chord – wrist and finger angle

Here’s a look at how to position your wrist and hand and how to close your fourth finger in order to play 4 finger chords cleanly and easily.

Ep. 172 – Figuring out lever changes for a Handel “Chaconne”

Join me as I attempt to adapt for lever harp this beautiful Chaconne from Handel’s Suite in D minor, HWV 448.

You can find the original sheet music I’m working from on IMSLP.

I was inspired to learn this Chaconne after watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh4i6acTgH4

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. 168 – How to play Rousseau’s Minuet in G minor

In this episode I take a look at a piece from Mildred Dilling’s collection “Thirty Little Classics for the Harp”. It’s a Minuet in G minor by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (yes, the philosopher). A beautiful, elegant tune that’s easy to play.

Ep. 166 – Playing the harp without pain – a few thoughts

Some general, non-technique related thoughts on ways to stay pain-free while playing the harp. Please note: I am not a medical professional! 🙂

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. 163 – Practicing lever changes from “To Zanarkand”

“To Zanarkand” is a beautiful melody by Nobuo Uematsu from the video game Final Fantasy X. I plan to record a music video of this sometime this summer and I still need to practice the lever changes towards the end of the piece – join me as I work on them!

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. 160 – How to analyze music and find patterns (featuring “Primavera”)

Finding patterns in music is such a powerful tool! In this episode I analyze a section from Einaudi’s “Primavera” as an example. Whether you want to memorize a piece or just improve your fluency while playing from sheet music, looking for and finding patterns will serve you well 🙂

Ep. 159 – Polyrhythm – playing 3 against 4

A quick look at how to play a 3 against 4 rhythm. I did a similar episode on 2 against 3, using Debussy’s First Arabesque as an example: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-124-playing-2-vs-3-rhythms-in-debussys-1st-arabesque/

Ep. 158 – What Key Am I In?? (Music theory)

A bunch of sharps or flats in the key signature at the start of a piece? Here’s how to figure out what key you’re in! 🙂

I have several episodes on chords that might also be useful:

Ep. 34: Chord basics

https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-122-fundamental-exercises-on-the-harp-chord-progressions/

Ep. 156 – Musing on fingerings

A bit of a ramble about fingerings! When can we and can we not trust our hands to tell us when a fingering is bad or good?

As promised, here’s the link to Hasselman’s “Petite Berceuse“ at the harp archives.

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. 154 – Arranging “Skye Boat Song” part 3

The final episode of my look at arranging the Skye Boat Song:

And here’s the music video:

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 🙂

Ep. 147 – How to play the “Little Fountain” downwards arpeggios

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about ways to practice playing fast downward arpeggios – using Samuel Pratt’s classical “The Little Fountain” as my example!

And I did a Slow Motion Monday episode from a different angle:

Ep. 146 – Learn “Oh Come Emmanuel” on the harp

In this episode I show how to learn an easy version of Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel / Veni, Veni Emmanuel. Find the free sheet music at http://www.joshlayne.com/emmanuel

Ep. 145 – Learn “Deck the Halls” on the harp

In this episode I talk about how to learn an easy arrangement I did of “Deck the Halls” (AKA Deck the Hall or Nos Galan).

Find the free sheet music at http://www.joshlayne.com/deckthehalls

Ep. 144 – How to play the opening of Handel’s Passacaille on the Harp

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I look at how to play/finger the opening of Handel’s “Passacaille” (as transcribed by Tiny Béon).

The Passacaille is the last movement from Handel’s Suite in G minor, HWV 432

I talk quite a bit about finger independence throughout this episode – check out Harp Tuesday ep. 23

Ep. 143 – Avoiding buzzing in Debussy’s “Arabesque”

I’m home from my fall 2018 European tour and ready to get back into recording Harp Tuesday episodes! Here’s a look at a short section from Debussy’s 1st Arabesque that features two different places where you have to be very careful to avoid buzzing!

Ep. 142 – Playing a fast 123 pattern from Lapkon’s Spinning Wheel

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I take a look at a fun pattern from Lauren Scott’s interesting new book, Adventures for Lever Harp

Ep. 140 – My new harp – one year in!

A year ago I bought a beautiful new Camac “Excalibur”. I did a video talking about it when I first got it and I thought it would be fun to do something a year later (spoiler alert, I’m still in love 🙂

Ep 138 – Problem solving on the harp with Debussy’s Prelude

In this episode I talk about problem solving as I try to make a section easier at the end of Debussy’s “Prelude” (from his Suite Bergamasque).

Ep 136 Arranging “Skye Boat Song” part 2

Here’s part 2 of my process of arranging the Skype Boat Song. Was inspired to do this from remembering my Arranging Greensleeves Project and thought the time was right to do something like that again! I’ll be arranging the Skye Boat Song over several episodes, watch part 1 here.

Ep 135 Open octave/muffle refresher course

A quick look at left hand muffling with open octaves. Also check out Episode 24.

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 133 How to play Barbara Allen on the harp (patterns and shapes!)

Ep 131 How often do harp strings break? Do I need a replacement set?

Ep 130 – Turn your harp into a guitar – strumming techniques

I did a follow up Slow Motion Monday video:

Ep 128 Arranging “Skye Boat Song” part 1

I’ll be arranging the Skye Boat Song over several episodes, starting with this real time look today. Hope you enjoy!

Ep 127 practical tips on tuning your harp

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I offer a few practical tips on tuning your harp. For some additional information on tuning, see Harp Tuesday ep. 5

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 125 How to play lever harp in an orchestra

In this viewer requested episode I offer some tips and tricks to playing orchestral harp parts, written for the pedal harp, on a lever harp.

I do this by going over the harp part to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol. You can download the sheet music and follow along.

Ep. 124 Playing 2 vs 3 rhythms in Debussy’s 1st Arabesque

In this episode I look at how to play the polyrhythm of 2 against 3 using examples from Debussy’s First Arabesque.

You can find Renie’s transcription of the Arabesque at IMSLP – http://imslp.org/wiki/2_Arabesques_(Debussy%2C_Claude) (Look for the “Arrangements and Transcriptions” tab).

Ep. 123 Looking at the Butterfly jig

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I use the Irish slip jig The Butterfly as a starting point to talk about fingering and technique. Music for the Butterfly and 1000s of other traditional tunes can be found at https://thesession.org/tunes

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. 121 Fundamental exercises on the harp – 4 finger exercise

In this episode I talk about how to play a 4,3,2,1,2,3,4,3,2,1 pattern – a great basic exercise and good workout for the fingers!

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. 112 Looper pedals! Exploring electric harps part 2

In this episode I continue my look at electric harps (playing a “Firefly 2” electric harp I bought last year from Wickford Harps / Dick Ranlet http://wickharps.blogspot.ca/) with a focus on looper pedals and some of the things you can do with a looper pedal!

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. 110 Coordinating two hands, contrary motion, and practicing

In this episode I take a look at a contrary motion exercise you could use to practice coordinating two hands at once. But the practice principle I talk about can be applied to anything you’re working on!

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. 94 Playing unbroken chords

We so often play chords with a break/roll, even if it’s very slight. It’s good to be able to play chords with every note sounding at the exact same time – here I offer a few thoughts on hand position and finger action when playing 4 finger solid chords.

Here’s a “Slow Motion Monday” video of me playing chords:

Ep. 92 Learning “En Roulant” on the lever harp

I talk about learning En Roulant from Betty Paret’s First Harp Book.

Among other things I discuss counting/clapping a 6/8 rhythm and looking for patterns when learning a new piece!

Ep. 90 Slow motion scales and more!

In this episode I have fun slowing down three short clips. To start is a look at a right hand scale, followed by the last page of Grandjany’s “Rhapsody”, and finally a short section from Anne Vanschothorst’s “A Bird Came Flying”

Ep. 87-89 Ribambelle #1, 2, and 8 by Bernard Andrès

Harpist and composer Bernard Andrès has written a lot of music for harp, here in these episodes I look at three pieces from his book Ribambelle – a set of 10 short works for lever or pedal harp

Ep. 82 Playing an “Alberti Bass” pattern on the harp

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I take a close up look at playing a left hand pattern often referred to as an “Alberti Bass”. (For example, C, G, E, G, C, G, E, G, etc.)

Ep. 81 Playing with other people

From orchestral playing to harp ensembles to duets, playing with other people is a lot of fun! In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about two aspects of playing with others and give some specific exercises you can practice on your own.

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. 79 Coordinating two hands while playing the harp

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about some ways to try and make playing with both hands at the same time feel easier…

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. 72 Mozart’s Sonata No. 11 on the Harp

A look at my arrangement of Mozart’s Sonata No. 11.
Click one of the links below to download the free PDF!
In A Major (original key)
In C Major
In F Major

Public domain editions of the original and complete Mozart sonata can be found at Mutopia and IMSLP – you might enjoy exploring the rest of the Sonata!

Ep. 71 Chord/jumping exercise

A chord/jumping exercise! Download the free PDF here!

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.

(All files are PDFs)

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. 66 Two Bagpipe Tunes on the harp

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I take a quick look at “Two Bagpipe Tunes” from Mildred Dilling’s “Old Tunes for New Harpists”.

Ep. 62 Avoiding buzzing and surface noise

Ep. 60 Double harmonics and tremolos

Ep. 59 Dynamics and control

Ep. 58 Dealing with difficult sections

Ep. 56 Thoughts on practicing

Ep. 54 Scarborough Fair

In this episode I take a look at Deborah Friou’s wonderful arrangement of Scarborough Fair

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

Ep. 51 Back to basics

I take another look at the basic finger/hand motions involved in playing the harp, including some close-ups that give a clear picture of what I’m talking about!

Ep. 48 and 50 Variations on a Welsh Carol

An in-depth look at Ank van Campen’s Variations on a Welsh Carol

Ep. 47 Working on 4-finger trills

Looking at 4-finger trills

Ep. 46 Using a metronome

I talk about using the metronome and some of the things that it can and can’t do

Ep. 45 Lever changes

I talk about how to do lever changes on the folk harp

Ep. 44 Tone

I talk about getting a good tone

Ep. 42 Ornaments and grace notes

I talk about ornamentation – turns, graces notes, trills, mordents, etc.

This wikipedia page is a good place to start exploring ornamentation

Ep. 39 Exercises – Arpeggios, scales, and more

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about three different types of exercises – scales, finger independence, and arpeggios. I give a somewhat in-depth look at arpeggios starting at 14:26

Ep. 38 Fingering basics

In this episode I try and cover some fingering basics and rules

Ep. 37 Dealing with tricky rhythms

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about dealing tricky rhythms – with a look at sections from Flowers in the Valley, the Sarabande from Bach’s Partitia no. 1, the Interlude from Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, and The Blue Dove.

Ep. 36: Memorizing music

I talk about looking at patterns as a way to help memorize music, and demonstrate by memorizing “Flowers in the Valley” from Betty Paret’s “First Harp Book”.

Ep. 34: Chord basics

I talk about chords – some very basic theory (what is a chord, anyway?), inversion, some possible exercises.

Ep. 31-33, 35, 43: Arranging Greensleeves project!

I had a lot of fun with this series of episodes – all about arranging Greensleeves. I ended up with an arrangement/composition that I really like, and it’s neat to see it happen bit by bit, including in the first episode, in real time!

And the music video!

Ep. 29: Learning “Old English Country Dance”

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I demonstrate learning the Old English Country Dance from Mildred Dilling’s “Old Tunes for New Harpists“.

Ep. 28: Nerves and performance anxiety – being at your best while performing

Still one of my favourite episodes 🙂

Ep. 27: Slides

A look at both thumb and fourth finger slides:

Ep. 26, Playing Fast!

Ep. 24, muffling and dampening techniques

A two part look at muffling and dampening techniques:

Plus check out episode 135:

And these Slow Motion Monday videos:

Ep. 23, 4-fingered chords and finger independence

In this episode of Harp Tuesday, I talk about playing 4-fingered chords, and working on finger independence:

Ep. 22 Learning O’Carolan’s Air

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about learning “O’Carolan’s Air” from Betty Paret’s First Harp Book.

Ep. 21 Fingering – scales and crossing over/under

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I go back to look at some basics, and talk about how to cross over/under to play scales and similar passages.

Ep. 18 Glisses

In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about glissando or glisses. The gliss is such a quintessential harp sound – but here I also explore some of the more unusual glisses that are possible: