Notes from the Harp
Issue #11 January 2009

Welcome to Notes from the Harp!

In this issue, I'm featuring a tutorial about what to do with your left hand when you play from a lead sheet. I hope you have fun trying some new ideas!

We'll also look at why we often watch our hands (unlike pianists), improvising with the Habanera, and resources for keeping your hard-working body in excellent shape for playing the harp, as well as details for those considering Skype harp lessons.

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In This Issue:

Article
Lead Sheet Basics: What to Do with Your Left Hand

Technique Question: Why do we look at our hands?

Improvisation Starter
The Habanera

Resources
Keeping Your Body Healthy, How to Get the Most out of Skype Lessons

What do you play in your left hand when using a fake book or lead sheet?

That's a question I get asked all the time. The main things you need are an open mind and a willingness to "play" with possibilities (that's why we call it "playing" the harp!). If you're ready to experiment and discover what you like best as you go along, this page will get you started. If you already play from lead sheets, perhaps there will be a new idea or two to freshen up your style.

Please note: This tutorial requires that you know something about chords. If you need help with that, go look at the resources on the music theory page.

Before you can experiment with multiple ideas, you need to be able to play the same thing (simple chords or broken chords) in your left hand through the entire tune until you can do it without thinking much about it too much.

In fact, the very best thing to do first is to simply play the note indicated by the chord symbol (C for the C chord), droning it once or twice per measure as you play the melody with your right hand. (This can actually be a beautiful and haunting accompaniment if you love the notes as you play them).

Here's another tip: one way to really get the chords in your mind is to sing the chords names to the melody as you play.

Next, keep singing and go on to playing whole chords (usually rolled on the harp) all the way through and then broken chords (also called arpeggios) until both are also easy. If you get bored, that’s a good sign and means you are comfortable changing chords and fitting the left hand to the melody.

For the rest of this tutorial, complete with notated examples of patterns, please go to this new page on My Harp's Delight.

Q: When I started piano, my teacher would cover my hands with paper so I couldn't watch them. She said watching my hands would make me slower. When I see harpists perform, they almost always have their music memorized and watch their hands when they play. Is this how you are supposed to play, or can a harpist learn to play by touch? I'm just wondering how anyone can memorize hundreds of pieces for performing. --Helen, in South Carolina

We all learn differently, but for many of us, going back and forth from the music to our hands gives us tennis neck. Memorizing means we play better and get less lost. Harp strings are harder to see and find than piano keys, and watching the patterns on the strings actually teaches us the music.

There is no one right way to play the harp. It is of course possible to play without looking at your hands, but harder than it is on the piano (and gravity is not on our side). Many of us use music at least part of the time, especially for longer gigs. Knowing your chords so you can play without reading every note is a huge help, not just to playing from music without having to study every note, but to learning to play without it (and to memorize, as well).

If you learn to improvise and "make things up", and you can pick out melodies here and there, you can play for a long time without anyone else's music (in sight or memorized). There are many ways to gain fluency; you just need to find what works best for you.

In the last issue of Notes from the Harp, I gave you an improvisation using the harmonic minor scale. One place that this scale shows up is in the Habanera (often confused with the tango). I'll repeat the notes about tuning that I gave you then:

If your harp is tuned in C (or you've put up your levers for C), engage your G# levers. In your left hand, play the following chords in succession (called a chord progression): Am, E, F, E. (The notes in those chords are ACE, EG#B, FAC, and again EG#B). Let's use 4/4 time and play the chord just on beat 1, changing chords every two measures.

Now, in the right hand, you may play any notes, but you'll notice that when your LH chord is F, the G# sounds rather dissonant, so you might want to avoid it on those measures. That same G# gives the harmonic minor it's distinctive sound, creating the E major chord instead of an E minor chord. Whether you understand that music theory or not, you can have fun experimenting with this scale. Glissing and fluttery patterns are very satisfying with this tuning.

By the way, if you have only F, C and B levers on your harp, disengage the B's to create Bbs, and then engage the C#s. Now your harmonic minor scale is Dm. Play Dm, A, Bb, and A chords to go with this scale, and avoid the C# when playing the Bb chord. (Chord notes are DFA, AC#E, BbFD, AC#E).

Okay, so here's the fun NEW part. Below is a simple pattern of chords in Am with the traditional Habanera rhythm. (If you're playing in Dm, use the same pattern on the Dm, Gm, A, and Dm chords, with your C#s for the A chords).

Of course, you can play the chords in any order and make up beautiful melodies for your right hand as you get more comfortable. Try to improvise for at least 20 minutes just to allow yourself to get bored with the pattern. Boredom means you've got it, and that's when something new and magical can happen!

Have fun!

Coralie Cousin, a French physiotherapist who specializes in working with musicians, has publishing a very helpful article online that looks at the special body considerations of playing the harp. She has worked with the famous classical harpist Isabelle Perrin and her students. While her work focuses on pedal harpists, her suggestions are equally helpful to any harpist. Find the article here: Physiotherapy for Harpists

Stretching is as important for a harpist ~ or any musician ~ as it is for an athlete. You will want to make sure that your hands, arms and shoulders are especially well taken care-of. This site has some wonderful stretches for you to add to your daily practice routine: Stretches for Musicians

Resources: Getting the most out of Skype Lessons

If you are considering working with a teacher via Skype (or other video-conferencing technolcoy), you might like to know that I've added a page to the site with some helpful tips. You'll also find all the technical specifications to help you get started. Getting the Most Out of Skype Harp Lessons

All content by Susan Zevenbergen, Copyright 2009.

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