Welcome to the Modulation Staircase
ONLINE RESOURCE HUB
The “Modulation Staircase” is partly a learning game, partly sheet-music with an online resource hub – and partly a self-paced class.
This version Edition of the Staircase is focused on Eb Lever Harps but Pedal Harpists or C Lever Harps are welcome to adapt it — and you’ll see pedal as well as lever indications in the Star Chart Modulation Wheel.
Once you learn the patterns and how the game works, you’ll see that you can adapt it to any harp and any key.
This is a Brand New type of learning resource. We’re in BETA and still learning how to share it, so Please Expect the Content to Change. And thank you in advance for your patience.
THE STAR CHART MODULATION WHEEL
The Star Chart
Modulation Wheel
This “Star Chart” Modulation wheel will guide you as you make your modulations “up” and “down” the circle of 5ths.
Watch this Video to see how it works.
You can just click the forward or backward button on it to move through the modulations.
Once you know the pattern, and the modulation series, you won’t need the sheet music or the Star Chart Modulation Wheel, but while you’re developing your modulation spidey-sense, they can both help you.
This is brand new, so bear with me as we figure out the best way to share the Star Chart Modulation Wheel. (Note: It may not always be called the Star Chart Modulation Wheel — but it is for now!)
Star Chart for STEP 1 of Modulation Staircase by Deborah Henson-Conant
- To start the chart, just look for the little arrow in the lower left-hand corner of the image of above – or you should be able to use your right and left arrow keys to advance the chart.
- To watch full-screen click on the 4-arrow icon in the lower right corner.
THE 3 ELEMENTS OF THE GAME
… And how they work together
The 3 Elements of the Modulation Staircase are:
- The Sheet Music: So players have a guide and so teachers can work progressively with their students. If you haven’t already purchased it, there’s a link to purchase below.
-
The Pattern Breakdown: So you can see what each element of arrangement is represented in the pattern (see the pattern breakdowns below)
- The Star Chart Modulation Wheel: So you have a kind of practice-buddy that gives you a visual aid to the key, the levers you’re changing and the pedals if you play pedal harp. (see the Star Chart Modulation Wheel below)
The “Sheet Music” is just a guide. Once you learn the pattern for each step, you can simply play the pattern and advance the Star Chart Modulation Wheel. Eventually you won’t need any of it — but each element is part of the whole game of learning to modulate.
The Goal of the Game
The goal of the game is to become fluent with modulating from key to key, to easily identify the lever pattern of each modulation – and eventually to replace the exercises with real-world pieces – or improvisations.
The ‘Circle of Fifths’
We’ll be modulating around the “Circle of Fifths.” If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry. You don’t need to understand it in order to play the game. In fact, you will actually discover the Circle of Fifths as you play the game – and if you already know what the “Circle of Fifths” is, you’ll discover more about how it lives on your harp and how to use it.
It’s not about ‘Knowing’ more
The Modulation Staircase isn’t about ‘knowing’ more – it’s about having a practice that physically orients you, develops your fluency — and later on, in the future steps, helps you develop new techniques and warmups.
So Let’s get started!
THE SHEET MUSIC
Use the Buttons below to get to the page for each level, where you can download the sheet music and watch trainings where available
LEVER HARP
BASIC
Steps 1, 2, 3 & 4
Learn More
The Basic Steps: 1, 2 & 3 were created to let you practice the art of modulation ‘up’ and ‘down’ the Circle of Fifths (don’t worry if you don’t know what that means yet).
Each step is a PATTERN that you learn, and then you learn to modulate and play that pattern in a series of different keys.
Step 4 is a transition step to the “Intermediate” Warmups, introducing the “Power Progression” that many of the rest of the warmups use.
Scroll down for the BASIC trainings.
Note: these trainings may be moved to a separate page once the additional levels are added to this training.
LEVER HARP
INTERMEDIATE
Steps 5, 6 & 7
Learn More
Steps 5, 6 & 7 are intermediate versions of steps 1, 2 & 3. Step 5 focuses on arpeggios, Step 6 on scales & Step 7 on classical accompaniment technique.
Like 1, 2, 3 & 4, each step is a Pattern that you learn on it’s own, and then you learn to modulate it from key to key via the Circle of 5ths.
LEVER HARP
ADVANCED
Steps 8, 9 & 10
Learn More
Steps 8, 9 & 10 are advanced versions of steps 5, 6 & 7. Step 8 focuses on arpeggios, Step 9 on scales & Step 10 on classical accompaniment technique including internal modulation and various types double-lever changes including octave changes up and down, twists (one up and one down) and quick transitory shifts.
Like all the others, each step is a Pattern that you learn on its own, and then you learn to modulate it from key to key via the Circle of 5ths.
The big change in the Advanced steps is that the patterns themselves are much more complex. These are the patterns that DHC originally developed for herself to train herself to train her ears, hands and harp technique all together in a single set of modulating warmups.
PEDAL HARP
ADVANCED
Steps 11, 12 & 13
Learn More
Steps 11, 12 & 13 is a shortened version of the the ‘original’ warmups that I made for myself with the intention of working every part of my technique that I felt was weak, train me to modulate more smoothly, help me identify transitory modulations (in the Classical-style warmup), work both hands equally and have a warmup that I could do ‘without thinking’ – meaning, that I didn’t have to set a timer or determine when I ‘done enough’ warming up. Each warmup simply starts in Cb, modulates by the circle of 5ths up to C# (or as ‘sharp’ as possible in the case of the classical-style.
This Feb. 2024 Pre-Publication edition is a Preview Edition, modulating to 5 different keys. Once we have enough feedback on this edition, and we’ve incorporated the comments and suggestions, we’ll publish the ‘full’ version that modulates from Cb to C# (except in cases where doing so would require double flats or sharps)
If you’re reading the Preview Edition version, we invite you to be our ‘First Readers’ and to give feedback on the layout and notation of the warmups so we can make any edits to how it ‘looks’ on the page, or ways it might be easier to read in the final publication.
We made the decision to use the following key sequence so that you can experience modulating ‘Up’ from C to D, then ‘Down’ from D to Bb and back ‘up’ to C. This allows you to transition smoothly from each of the three warmups to the next: arpeggios, scales and classical style, so that you can get a sense of how the final, full modulating warmup series will work.
Questions? Suggestions? Hurrays?
We’d Love to Hear them All!
Please just be kind. This is a brand new kind of product – a hybrid between sheet music, app and class – and we’re still trying to learn the best way to offer it.
Thank you!
The Legacy Project Team that helped me structure, create and share this new edition with you is:
