In this episode I take a quick look at “Swinging” from page 5 of Betty Paret’s First Harp Book. It features right hand glisses – check out episode 18 for more on glisses: https://www.harptuesday.com/harp-tuesday-ep-18/
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There’s a standard fingering to use for any interval. Of course you don’t always have to follow it (especially if you have particularly small or large hands) but it’s worth knowing about – as well as the reasoning behind it.
You can download a PDF showing these typical fingerings here.
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3 years ago I bought a 4 piezo pickup kit on Ebay for $70 US. I finally got around to installing it – watch the installation process in this video and tune in next week for my thoughts after using it for a week, and thoughts on pick-ups in general.
The person I bought the pickups from, Rebelpickups, is not currently on Ebay but they are still selling their pickups – here’s a listing on marktplaats – use google translate to view in English or your favourite language: https://www.marktplaats.nl/v/muziek-en-instrumenten/snaarinstrumenten-harpen/m1986402347-super-pickup-voor-harp-lees-de-reviews-rebelpickups
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In this episode I take a look at “Deep in the Forest”, the first piece from Betty Paret’s “Second Harp Book”.
This lovely little piece contains arpeggios, rolled chords, près de la table, étouffé, harmonics, and a gliss, all within a page and a half!
Some related Harp Tuesday episodes:
Arpeggios
Rolled chords
Open thumb/“étouffé”
Harmonics
Glisses
Thumb slides
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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In this episode I take a look at the first (grade 1/grado 1) exercise from Pozzoli’s “Piccoli Studi facili e progressivi”, found in Maria Grossi’s “Method for Harp” (page 90 in the edition I have).
If you’re looking for exercises the entire book has lots of good material, almost all of which can be played on a lever harp.
If you’re looking for more videos on exercises, check out episode 39: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-39-exercises-arpeggios-scales-and-more/
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 http://eepurl.com/nBSlz
Get free sheet music and stay up-to-date on what I’m doing by signing up to my email newsletter at https://www.joshlayne.com/connect.html
What to do if you have an injury/can’t play with one hand for awhile? I offer up a few ideas, exercises, and pieces, with a focus on the left hand, as it tends to not be as accomplished as the right hand so it can be worth doing some left hand work regardless of whether you can play with both hands or not!
I mention the Lariviere exercises and Bochsa’s 50 etudes – they can both be found at the harp archives.
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In this episode I demonstrate a fundamental ability on the harp – being able to play any finger while all four fingers are placed in a row.
This can lead to exploring further finger independence work: https://www.harptuesday.com/category/finger-independence/
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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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
In this episode I teach an easy arrangement I did of Carol of the Bells, suitable for small (fully-levered) harps. Sign up to my email newsletter to get a free copy of this arrangement plus other free sheet music at https://www.joshlayne.com/connect.html
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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:
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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
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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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
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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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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.
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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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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!
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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
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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
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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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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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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.
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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
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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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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:
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.
Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne
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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.
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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
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
A look at one of my favourite pieces from Bernard Andres collection “Epices” (Spices).
I also did a look at “Pistache” from the same book in Harp Tuesday episode 109: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-109-pistachio-by-bernard-andres/
Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne
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
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
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!
A short etude to work on your left hand’s ability to jump from a low chord to a high chord and back again! Playable on a small harp – no sheet music, but I just teach it by rote – hope you enjoy!
Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne
Get the free sheet music by signing up for my email newsletter 🙂
Watch the companion Harpist in the Wild episode:
Here’s my answer to a viewer’s question on what you need to do on the harp to make a chord major or minor. (Answer – the fingers play the same strings – it’s all about the lever or pedal settings!).
In this episode of Harp Tuesday I take a look at how to play Carol Kappus’ beautiful arrangement of “Poor Wayfaring Stranger”. Check out Carol’s music and sign up for her email list at http://www.carolkappus.com
I recorded “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” as a standalone music video:
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
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
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
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!
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
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 🙂
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
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
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/
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!
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/
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!
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!)
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 🙂
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/
Two exercises you can do with a metronome to work on playing syncopated and offbeat rhythms.
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!
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!
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.
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
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/
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.
Some general, non-technique related thoughts on ways to stay pain-free while playing the harp. Please note: I am not a medical professional! 🙂
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://archive.org/details/petiteberceusepo00hass/page/2/mode/2up
Harpist in a Tree, episode 2, features me playing “Petite Berceuse” in a tree 🙂 Watch it at https://youtu.be/2hezgZDifyk
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/
“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!
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/
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.
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 🙂
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/
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:
https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-122-fundamental-exercises-on-the-harp-chord-progressions/
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.
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!
The final episode of my look at arranging the Skye Boat Song:
And here’s the music video:
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
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
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:
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
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
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
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!
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
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 🙂
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).
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.
A quick look at left hand muffling with open octaves. Also check out Episode 24.
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! 🙂
I did a follow up Slow Motion Monday video:
I’ll be arranging the Skye Boat Song over several episodes, starting with this real time look today. Hope you enjoy!
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
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
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.
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).
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
Sign up to my email newsletter to get a free PDF copy with my suggested fingerings!
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/
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!
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.
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:
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).
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
And for traditional music – The Session
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!
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 –
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!
“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 🙂
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
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
“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…
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/)
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/)
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:
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!
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”
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
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.)
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.
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.
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…
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
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!
A chord/jumping exercise! Download the free PDF here!
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:
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…”
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.
In this episode of Harp Tuesday I take a quick look at “Two Bagpipe Tunes” from Mildred Dilling’s “Old Tunes for New Harpists”.
In this episode I take a look at Deborah Friou’s wonderful arrangement of Scarborough Fair. Sheet music (including PDF) available at the Sylvia Wood’s Harp Center.
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
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 🙂
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!
An in-depth look at Ank van Campen’s Variations on a Welsh Carol
Looking at 4-finger trills
I talk about using the metronome and some of the things that it can and can’t do
I talk about how to do lever changes on the folk harp
I talk about getting a good tone
I talk about ornamentation – turns, graces notes, trills, mordents, etc.
This wikipedia page is a good place to start exploring ornamentation
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
In this episode I try and cover some fingering basics and rules
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.
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”.
I talk about chords – some very basic theory (what is a chord, anyway?), inversion, some possible exercises.
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!
In this episode of Harp Tuesday I demonstrate learning the Old English Country Dance from Mildred Dilling’s “Old Tunes for New Harpists“.
Still one of my favourite episodes 🙂
A look at both thumb and fourth finger slides:
A two part look at muffling and dampening techniques:
Plus check out episode 135:
Episode 224:
And episode 247:
And these Slow Motion Monday videos:
In this episode of Harp Tuesday, I talk about playing 4-fingered chords, and working on finger independence:
In this episode of Harp Tuesday I talk about learning “O’Carolan’s Air” from Betty Paret’s First Harp Book.
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.
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:
Trills:
Plus:
And
Arm and wrist movement:
How to change a harp string:
I later did a follow up to this episode, plus an episode on changing wire strings:
And low octave gut strings:
In this episode I talk about harmonics:
Over the years I’ve done a bunch of further videos on harmonics:
In this episode I talk about how to play one of the quintessential sounds on the harp – the rolled or broken chord:
Your second harp lesson. In this episode I talk about playing multiple notes at the same time (chords) and some fingering basics (connecting, etc.)
In this episode I cover two topics – tuning your harp and learning to read music. I’ve also included the conclusion to my look at learning to read music, Harp Tuesday ep.
Your first harp lesson! I talk about some basics to get you started playing the harp:
