Harp Spectrum

1 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

Composing For The Harp

by Joyce Rice
This article gives you some basic knowledge about the harp and how to write for it. It does
not claim to be a complete encyclopedia on the topic, but hopes to be helpful and correct in
what it does present. We will gladly consider suggestions of additions or alterations.

WELCOME, ASPIRING COMPOSER FOR THE HARP! Are you full of doubts about your
project? Do you feel that you dont know enough about the harp? Well, youre not alone, as
you can see by these quotes from several prominent musicians:
The harp is, in my opinion, the least understood instrument. Even the greatest geniuses in
music have not understood this instrument. Leopold Stokowski, in a radio interview by Arnold
Michaelis, 1961*
What [inexperienced] composers do not seem to realize is that the piano keyboard is a
treacherous trial ground for the testing of either the playability or the sound of their harp
parts. Sylvia Meyer, Principal Harp, National Symphony Orchestra, 1933-66*
It is not the harpists fault when writing is inconsistent with human anatomy. Susan
Dederich-Pejovich, Principal Harp, Dallas Symphony, 1977-present*
*From The Harp in the Orchestra (p. xii) by Beatrice Schroeder Rose, with her permission.

But take heart. These words of the late harpist, teacher and composer, Marcel Tournier, offer
you a simple objective:
Your goal is to make the instrument sound well and make the most of its resourcesThe
secrets of the harp are far simpler than certain people imagine, and its possibilities are neverending for those who have faith. Tournier, The Harp p. 93
And contemporary Boston composer Kevin Kaska says:
I thought of the harp as this instrument with all these limitations, and that all it could do were
some big glissandi and a little bit of simple piano playing (all diatonic, of course). I didnt
know, and until I sat down with harpists, the mystery had never been unraveled. Then I

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

2 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

watched Deborah Henson-Conant and how she played her jazzy music with all the pedal
changes, and Ann Hobson-Pilot playing a Salzedo piece while I followed the sheet music. Id
had no idea you could jump around on those pedals so fast and play big chords. Finally, I sat
down at a harp and actually played for 30 minutes, and I learned more about the instrument
than any book could teach me.
Help is on the way! Below you will find some basics about the harp family, some musical dos
and donts, and examples of whats easy on the harp and what isnt.

What is a harp?
The harp, goes the old joke, is a nude piano. Well, no, its not. They do both have lots of
strings, and the harp and the grand piano have similar shapes, and both use music written on
a grand staff, but please dont allow these superficial similarities to fool you.
Music dictionaries tend to define the harp as one of the most complicated instruments, most
difficult to play, or limited in what can be played upon it. True, a concert pedal harp is a
complicated instrument with 2000 or so parts, but with thousands of people playing it
worldwide, it cant be that tough. And true, the pedal harp requires coordination of hands and
feet in different tasks. (So what? So does a pipe organ.) But is the harp limited? In some
ways, but not at all in others. Ascending or descending chromatic scales or chords are more
difficult on a harp than on a piano, but playing in keys of 6 sharps or flats is sure a lot easier,
and pianos cant begin to touch the beauty of a harps glissandos or harmonics. So why not
dismiss these arguments and find out how you can produce music that harpists will find
approachable and ready to be played.
Lets start with a quick review of the basics. All harps are triangular in shape, but they come in
many varieties and sizes

Basic Harp for Beginners

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

3 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

The five harps illustrated above are some of the most common types. They are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Irish low-headed lap harp.

Gothic lap harp.
Medium-size folk harp (also called Irish, Scottish or Neo-Celtic).
Irish high-headed harp (usually with metal strings).
Pedal harp.
(Also see about Paraguayan harps.)

In this article we will focus on the two most common types of harps: the large orchestral harp
with pedals, and the smaller folk-type harp with levers.
Most harps have one set of strings in the order of the pianos white keys: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.
The C strings are red, and the F strings are dark blue. The rest are white.
Concert grand PEDAL HARPS have 47 strings, or six-and-one-half octaves, almost the full
range of the piano. The bottom string is C, three notes above the pianos lowest A. The top
string is G, four notes below the pianos highest C.

The large concert harps that you see in the orchestra have seven pedals (below), one for each
note in the scale, that are attached mechanically to discs (below) at the top of the strings and
are used to change all octaves of each note by two half-tones, flat (in the highest position) to
natural (middle position) to sharp (lowest position). Note that the lowest D and C strings and
the top G string do not have any mechanism and are not connected to the pedals, but can be
re-tuned beforehand if necessary.

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

4 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

The largest LEVER HARPS usually have 36 strings (a few go up to 38). Most lever harps
range between 29 and 36 strings, or four to five octaves.

Lever harps have a manually controlled device (flip-up lever, cam lever, or blade) at the top of
each string that can change each string by one half-tone: flat to natural or natural to sharp.
The left hand usually changes levers.

Pedal harps have pedals that simultaneously change all octaves of any given note, so one
pedal change will result, for example, in all F naturals becoming F#, or all B naturals becoming
Bb. Lever harps, on the other hand, can be set however the composer wishes, with one F#
and two Bbs, for example, and all the other Fs and Bs natural.

Tuning the lever harp

When a lever or cam is engaged, the string pitch is a half-step higher, and when disengaged
it's a half-step lower. We're using the word "engaged" because while most levers are moved
up to raise the pitch and down to lower it, some are the reverse, and some are sidewaysmoving blades.

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

5 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

Lever harp players commonly use the terms tuning in C or tuning in Eb. Those tuning in C
(with all levers disengaged) can play in the key of C and the keys with sharps: G (F#), D (F#,
C#) etc. Those tuning in Eb (tune in C with the B, E, and A levers engaged, which can be
disengaged to flat the string) can play in C, in the three flat keys of F, Bb, and Eb, and the four
sharp keys of G, D, A, and E.
Here are the notes that are readily available in each tuning:
C tuning: C C# D D# E E# F F# G G# A A# B B#
Eb tuning: C C# D D# Eb E F F# G G# Ab A Bb B
(For more on tuning, click here.)
Below, see an example by Ray Pool of the use of levers in the chromatic scale harmonized for
lever harp tuned in Eb. (The diamond notes represent levers that must be raised or lowered to
make the accidentals, and are not played.)

From Clever Levers

Writing well for the harp

As we have noted, probably the biggest mistake made by composers is writing for harp as if it
were a piano. An apparently easy passage for the piano may be quite formidable or even
impossible on the harp. A few fundamental things to remember are:
1. The harp is a plucked instrument; it physically takes longer to pull a string than to
depress a piano key.
2. The harpist sits at the upper end of the instruments range with the right arm wrapped
around the instrument, compared to the pianist who sits in the center of the instruments
range and can move both hands freely in either direction. This means that the harpists
right hand cannot reach the lower strings.
3. The harpist relies heavily on visual cues to locate specific notes (hence the colored
strings), unlike the pianist who can feel his location on the keyboard by the arrangement
of black and white keys. (This issue is further complicated by the harps orientation to
depth, unlike the pianos orientation to width; the pianist has full use of peripheral vision
to find notes, but the harpist does not have this ability.) Wild leaps and skips in
fast-moving passages should be avoided, especially in orchestral parts when the harpist
must watch the conductor, the score and the strings, which are all in different directions.
Now lets look at some specifics.

1. Notation
Write on a piano grand staff, generally with right hand (RH) in the upper staff, left
hand (LH) in the lower.
Occasionally all notes are in the same staff, and then its helpful to indicate those
played by the LH with stems down, and by the RH with stems up, as in the
following example:

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

6 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

(Henriette Reni)

Only four fingers are used on each hand: no pinky! Therefore the maximum reach
in each hand is the interval of a 10th. Please leave fingering suggestions to the
harpist, unless you allow a harpist to look over the music prior to publication.
Since harpists use only four fingers, please avoid figures like that in the following:

What makes this figure difficult to play quickly? The second group that appears to
be four 16th notes actually needs five fingers to reach from the D at the bottom of
the group to the G on the first beat of the next measure.

2. Range of hands: in general, because the harpists right arm is wrapped around the
instrument, the RH shouldnt be asked to reach below the first metal string [the G one
and one-half octaves below middle C]. The LH can play the entire range, if necessary.
Harp strings are closer together than piano keys, however, and harpists are
accustomed to reaching a tenth.

3. Best keys for the best sound: the ones that have the fewest levers/pedals engaged,
because unengaged strings vibrate at their longest length and result in the richest tone.
On the pedal harp that would be the key of Cb. (See Benjamin Brittens Interlude from
the Ceremony of Carols.)

4. The sustain of the harp: Once strings are plucked, they set their own duration of
sound without any other means pedal, bow, breath to keep them going. Therefore,
there may be several harmonies lasting over some seconds as the sounds are
produced and decay. The upper notes have very little sustain, so writing long, tied
notes in the treble is useless. The bass notes, however, have an extremely long sustain,
and often need muffling before proceeding to the next chord. (Country and pop harpist
Louise Trotter likes to say that you can play a bass octave and go down to the corner to
get groceries. When you get back it will still be vibrating!)

5. Harmonies and voicing: the sustain makes thick chords in the lower strings
sometimes sound muddy rather than lush. It is better to under-harmonize than
over-harmonize in a harp composition.

6. Staccato, legato, sostenuto: the natural sound of the harp is a sostenuto, with the
plucking action creating a tone that rings until it decays completely or the string is
plucked again. The only way to achieve a staccato-like effect is to muffle the strings
with the finger or hand immediately after playing, so do not write staccato notes on
fast-moving passages, or with large leaps between the notes or chords. Whatever
legato the harpist produces is achieved by phrasing and careful placing.

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

7 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

7. About rests: Rests signify the cessation of sound, and for most players that means
a separation from the instrument. Wind players stop blowing, string players lift their
bows. Harpists, however, replace their hands upon the strings to stop sound. When
you write quarter note, rest, quarter note, rest, do you want the harpist to stop the sound
on the rest, or could two half notes produce as desirable a sound?

8. Repeated notes: One cannot repeatedly play the same string in rapid succession as
you can on a piano. The best way to accomplish this is by using an enharmonic
equivalent, for example setting D# and Eb pedals or levers and alternately playing those
strings, so that two fingers can create the effect of a repeated note. It is played fastest
between two alternating hands. [Harpists who play with their nails long (on some
Paraguayan and wire harps) play repeated notes very well with their nails, keeping
fingers stiff and moving back and forth across the string.]

9. Arpeggios can be played very fast when using both hands and alternating them (think
of the Nutcracker cadenza as it is commonly played, with arpeggios in the same
direction). If you write the arpeggio in one hand and something else in the other, the
arpeggio will be much slower.

10. Glissandos for the pedal harp can be in any arrangement you want diatonic,
pentatonic, whole note, diminished, etc. but glissandos for lever harps are limited to
the notes available depending on how the instrument is tuned (in C or Eb). In both
cases, remember that every note of the scale must be accounted for (unless you stop
some notes, as Ray Pool has experimented with). See A Harpists Survival Guide to
Glisses, by Kathy Bundock Moore.

11. Harmonics are produced by "stopping" the string at its midpoint and plucking the
string just above that point, producing a note an octave higher than normal, with a clear,
bell-like tone. Notate harmonics on the string where they are played, not where they
sound. Harmonics sound best on open strings, that is, as a flat on the pedal harp, or
with the lever disengaged on the lever harp.
You can see and hear examples of various pedal harp techniques on this video, Discover

the Harp, provided by harpist Gail Barber

. You will need the Real Player
(and a fast internet connection!) to view this. If you move the viewing slider to about 10
minutes into the video, you will see and hear examples of arpeggios, glissandos,
harmonics, and other techniques. The Philharmonia Orchestra web site also has some
videos in their Orchestra section that demonstrate various harp techniques.

More about pedals

1. Pedal harpists can easily play in keys with six or seven sharps or flats they
just set the pedals and go.
2. If you write in an unusual sonority, say with A flats and D flats, but B naturals
and E naturals, indicate this in the key signature with the B and E naturals in
parentheses, then the A and D flats.
3. Pedals are in this order:

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

8 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

Two pedals can be changed simultaneously and quickly if theyre not on the same
side.
Pedals are depressed to make the sound higher, and raised to make the sound
lower. You can push the pedals down (flat to natural to sharp) faster than you can
raise them (sharp to natural to flat). Still, both these moves can be done very
quickly.
4. Pedal changes can create unwanted sounds in some circumstances. If a string is still
sounding and the harpists hands are too busy to muffle it, a pedal change on that string may
be noisy. Sometimes this can be avoided by using enharmonic notes.
5. The harp can play any note enharmonically except for D natural, G natural and A natural.
This is helpful to know when working with pedals. Careful writing can sometimes distribute
fast pedal changes more equally between the two feet such as changing D# and F# (left and
right feet) rather than Eb and F# (both right foot).
6. It is usually preferable to leave pedal markings to the harpists, who often have personal
preferences. If you do feel the need, however, write only F# rather than the unnecessary
change F natural to F#, and make that notation directly under the note or chord where the F#
occurs. You might, however, write a small pedal diagram periodically throughout the piece
especially in sections where there are rapid modulations, and always at each rehearsal
number or letter in orchestral parts:

(D#, C#, B, E, F#, G#, A)

[Note names FYI only]

(D, C, Bb, Eb, F, G, Ab)

7. Every accidental, key change or glissando requires pedal movement allow

time for it.

Special notation
Many symbols have been developed in harp notation. Here as an introduction are some from
Marilyn Marzukis The Sacred Harpist, publ. 1980:

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

9 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

(Note: More up-to-date notation usually places the harmonic note where it will be played, and
it will sound an octave higher.)

What's easy to play

Harp Spectrum special projects person John Carrington, harpist with the Pacific Northwest
Ballet and Seattle Symphony, suggests the following:
1. Glissandos, preferably with the first octave notated to make perfectly clear what
notes are wanted.
2. Arpeggios a few up or down, not an on-going chromatic series.
3. A few rolled chords spread over four octaves in voicing.
4. A melody over a simple harmonization in half notes.
5. A perpetual motor in one hand with a repeated sequence of running 16th or 8th
notes.
6. A single harmonic that is doubling for extra color the entry of another instrument,

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

10 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

i.e. a French horn, piccolo or trumpet long tone.

What's difficult to play

1.
2.
3.
4.

Abundant rapid chromaticism (think Chopin).

Five-fingered piano-derivative material.
Lots of quickly changing notes and chordal harmonies.
Rapidly repeated attack on the same chords.

And finally, work with a harpist

Even after youve learned the theory of how harps work and the basic rules for writing for
them, it still makes sense to see if it all fits on a real harp played by a harpist. As you read in
the introduction, Kevin Kaska learned from Deborah Henson-Conant and Ann Hobson Pilot
that theres more to harp music than glissandi and diatonic playing.
Another composer, Mary Elizabeth, says: I suddenly needed a harp part in a chamber/choral
Christmas setting, so although I had never even seen a piece of harp music, I included a fairly
straightforward part. To make up for my inexperience and lack of knowledge, I took the piece
to Heidi Soons, the first chair harpist with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, to check it. Since
she graciously gave me the opportunity, I composed a piece for harp and mezzo with a kind of
Klezmer feel to show her as well. I didn't know anything of the specialized vocabulary or
notation for harp, but I was intrigued by the sound, and Heidi saw through my inexpert notation
and choices, and she enjoyed the second piece so much that she said she'd perform with me
(and we did several concerts the next year). So she played my pieces and I learned from her
about the harp's capabilities, limitations, and notational requirements. As soon as I saw her do
a technique, I would include it (as appropriate) in my music. I began to learn about pedaling,
fingering, tapping on the soundboard, and enharmonics. I would write something and watch
and listen as she tried it and commented on it. Then I revised, as necessary. She still checks
any new harp piece I write.
If you dont know any harpists, write to Harp Spectrum and well try to hook you up with a harp
player in your area. Well be watching for your new works!

More information
Now its time for you to get a book. Fortunately there are several available. Much of the
contents of this article was borrowed, with permission of the author, from The Pocket Guide to
Harp Composing by Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher. My sincere gratitude, Darhon, for your
generosity. You can see her many Dragonflower Music publications at www.dragonflower.com,
and they are available at most retailers, as well.
I am also very grateful to Beatrice Schroeder Rose for allowing me to use several quotes from
her recently published and invaluable book The Harp in the Orchestra.
Here are some very helpful publications. They may be found at Lyon & Healy (L&H)
www.lyonhealy.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center (HC) www.harpcenter.com, or Vanderbilt
Music (V) www.vanderbiltmusic.com.
Master Glossary of Symbols and Special Effects for Harp, by Faith Carman (L&H, V)
Harp Scoring, by Stanley Chaloupka (HC, L&H, V)
Writing for the Modern Harp (Q&A for a college composition class), by Lucile H. Jennings.
740-594-5520
The ABC of Harp Playing including The Use of the Harp in the Orchestra by Lucile Lawrence
(HC, L&H)
A Harpists Survival Guide to Glisses, by Kathy Bundock Moore (L&H, V)
Tuning Your Harp in Eb Major, by Ray Pool (L&H, V)
The Harp in the Orchestra, by Beatrice Schroeder Rose (HC)

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

11 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

Modern Study of the Harp, by Carlos Salzedo (HC)

A Quick Reference Glissando Chart, by Sylvia Woods (HC)
Writing for the Pedal Harp, 2nd edition, by Ruth Inglefield and Lou Anne Neill
(www.us.harp.com).

British composer F L Dunkin Wedd (www.myspace.com/dunkinweddcomposer) has devised a

simple method for keeping track of pedal positions. He calls it The Virtual Harp.

Also: Sibelius Notational Software. Composer Mary Elizabeth says, the plug-in that adds
harp pedal diagrams, by Neil Sands, was for me an educational tool as well as a notational
one.

Permissions and Sources:

Drawing of five harps is from Mel Bay Publications Basic Harp for Beginners, by Laurie Riley, MB#95109.
1994 by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Pacific, MO 63069. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
Photo of gold pedal harp courtesy of the Swanson Harp Company, with permission of Carl Swanson.
Pedal harp discs photo from www.BlackandGoldHarp.com, with thanks to harpist/photographer Kari Gardner.
Photo of Triplett Catalina lever harp with permission of Debbie Triplett.
Photo of lever harp with labeled parts is by Wm. Rees, Traditional Harps, used with permission.
The Chromatic Scale, Harmonized is from Clever Levers, Harmonic Exercises for Advanced Lever Harpists, by
Ray Pool, by Ray Pool, email rpoolnyc@aol.com, website www.raypool.com.
The Reni excerpt is from p. 51 of The Harp by Marcel Tournier, Henry LeMoine & Cie, editeurs, 1959.
The Notation Guide is from The Sacred Harpist by Marilyn Marzuki, Hinshaw Music, 1980.
Harp video was linked to by permission of Gail Barber.

Postscript:
One composer took our advice to heart and wrote Harp Spectrum for the names of harpists in
New York who might help him. Here's what he had to say afterward:
This past spring, I composed a piece for orchestra. I rarely get a chance to write for such a
large ensemble, and my knowledge of the harp was very limited. I turned to the Harp Spectrum
for help. I found the articles to be excellent and thorough. I took the advice to contact Joyce
Rice about finding a harpist in my area to review the part I was composing. Meeting with
professional harpists Ray Pool and Cynthia Otis was absolutely crucial. I can't stress enough
how dramatically this improved both my understanding of harp technique and my ability to
maximize the instrument's potential in an orchestral setting. The Harp Spectrum and its
community are valuable resources for any composer, and I am very grateful for their existence!
-Joachim Horsley
Composer & Producer, New York City
June 2005

[Back to top of page]

08/02/2015 12:55

Harp Spectrum

12 di 12

http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/compos...

Home | What is a harp?

Historical Harp | Folk and World Harp | Pedal Harp |
Harp Building | Harp Works | Non-Harps |
Camps & Concerts | Links | Glossary |
Donate! | Get Involved! | Contact Us | About Harp Spectrum
Copyright 2002 - 2014, Harp Spectrum All Rights Reserved

08/02/2015 12:55