Notes from a harp-gurl in the jungle of guitar-land. April 6, 2012 8:52 pm
I’m in the first week of this great but I’m taking it on harp.
So I get to one of the first exercises, which is to read a series of notes on the treble staff. “Ha!” thinks I, “now this is something I can do without even breaking a sweat. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. Maybe I’ll just skip this exercise.”
But I read on, to where it says that when you see a black dot on the staff, you should try to locate it somewhere on your instrument.
Woahhh…. “somewhere” on your instrument? I mean … a note is where it is, right???
Then I remember that, on a guitar — like on a violin – or any instrument with multiple strings and a neck — the same note can be in a bunch of different places depending on which string you play it on.
So … is that translatable to the harp, or on my instrument is it more like “An A is an A is an A — and it lives in the A place”?
I think, “Naaa … that’s a guitar thing …
…and then I remember harmonics! I could play the same pitch of A-above-middle-C on the A-above-middle-C … or I could play it on the string an octave lower, but make it sound at the pitch “A-above-middleC” by playing that lower A as a harmonic. And if I play the note two octaves below but do it as a different kind of harmonic, I’ll hear the same upper A, but on yet a different string.
And then I think … wait! If I use a tuning key to fret a string, I could make that same pitch of “A” on ANY string that’s below it! And … and … and if I used two chopsticks I could maybe get two adjacent strings to both sound the pitch “A” at the same time in two different places … and if I played the regular A and the chopstick A’s at the same time I’d be playing 3 A’s in three different places … and if I …
Which is just ONE reason I’m taking this class.
Deborah. best wishes this new instrumentation should be an excellent addition!! good Luck!!
I love you Deb. You are so creative and have the awe of a child! What an inspiration!
Can’t wait for your to synthesis the techniques for the electric harp. Please let me know when you will be ready to impart this knowledge to the growing community of electric harpers. You are an inspiration!
Thanks Richard! It’s an incredible journey already – even here at the headwaters! I will definitely try to keep the missives coming as we head deeper into the jungle! – DHC
Wow, Deborah! How cool. I wonder if there are other As located in the soundboard and body? I LOVED using the tuning key as the sharping device, since I almost always have that with me. And the chopsticks made me think of Evelyn Glennie for some reason. Could you play the strings with mallets? With Reiki blessings and aloha from Hawai’i Island…
Being compared to Evelyn Glennie for any reason is a huge honor. Thank you! And yes, absolutely, you can play harp strings with mallets. The big trick is getting enough sound and then getting them to dampen – but I’m sure there are people who are doing this! You’re reminding me I really have to get a video of “Muchas Manos” on line — it’s a duet I wrote for harpist and percussionist, both playing the same harp.