Each installment of our Tear-Out Tunes series features a new piece written by one of the best harpist-composer-arrangers in the business. Each composer will tell you a little bit about their piece, and also give you some helpful tips for learning it and getting the most out of the experience.
The new piece is yours to keep. We even put it right in the middle of the magazine so you can tear out the whole sheet and put your new tune on your music stand.
Download this issue to get this tune now!
I have always loved Christmas music, both traditional carols as well as the more “swinging” numbers we hear throughout the holiday season. With its warm sound and twinkly upper register, the harp is the perfect instrument for playing these tunes—it’s the icing on the Christmas cake!
What is a “cwtch”?
American readers might be unfamiliar with this Welsh word “cwtch,” (which rhymes with “butch”). According to the Urban Dictionary, the word has origins in the Middle English word “couche,” which meant a resting or hiding place. Today the Urban Dictionary gives two definitions for cwtch: 1. a cupboard or cubbyhole. 2. a cuddle or hug. But an article from the University of South Wales notes that this definition is inconclusive because there is no literal English translation. A cwtch is similar to a cuddle or a snuggle or a hug, but a cwtch has its own feel.
“Ask a Welsh person what a ‘cwtch’ is and often they’ll give you a fond smile, because a cwtch is evocative—it has the magical quality of transporting someone back to the safety of their childhood,” the University of South Wales writes of the popular colloquial term. “This corresponds with the word’s other meaning, which is a place to safely store things—if you give someone a cwtch, you’re figuratively giving them a ‘safe place.’”
The piece
I wanted to start the piece in a classical style with a beautiful dominant pedal introduction (G in the bass in bars 1–4), which then leads into the A section with a simple Christmas tune (bars 5–17).
We reach the swung B section (bars 22–40) via a stormy cinematic section (bars 17–22). For the right feel, think of the movie Frozen when they are fighting through the snow on their journey to reach the castle.
In the B section you will find some hints of “Silent Night” and “Good King Wenceslas,” and an optional improvised area (bars 27–31). Here you are free to express and investigate your own sound before returning to the original tune, finally ending with a coda of a distant “Jingle Bells.”
Style and rhythm
Style this piece as you wish. You might decide to play the whole thing as written, not swinging anything. Or maybe you choose to swing the quavers. [Ed.—See our key to British music terms on pg. 22.] You could even play the first page straight, swing bars 17-40, and then return to the A section with a swing in your step. Swing is all about the quavers. So, whenever you see quavers, it’s your choice whether to swing them or not. The semiquavers are always played straight.
The piece is wide open for your interpretation. After performing for many years on Christmas Day, I understand the importance of freedom. You may need to make the piece longer at a gig. You may need to make the piece more elaborate for a solo performance, or you might enjoy the simplicity of it if you’re playing at home for yourself. Be free and see what you come up with. Try improvising, try swinging, try adding the lever changes, and add some dynamics and phrasing. Be willing to try anything! Just don’t compromise the beat. Hold it tightly.
Key
The piece is in C major/A minor. On the first page, there are some A-flats, but this piece will still work well with A-naturals. If you wish to play the A-flats, you will hear a richer harmony, but if you fancy a lever/pedal free piece, sticking with A-naturals is fine.
Improv
If you look at the improv section (bars 27–31) and wonder, How? Don’t panic. You don’t have to play it. If you would like to improvise but aren’t sure how to begin, here are some ideas:
The improvisation is based on bars 22–26, so use the left hand from bars 22–26. In the right hand, start with something similar to 22–26, and change a note here and there. As you become braver, change a few more notes. You can play anything, but some notes will sound better than others (especially the notes of the chord). Remember which ones don’t work as well.
Keep the left hand going—this is important! If you would like a little spice, try a D-D# lever/pedal slide in the A-minor bars.
When you return to the top, it’s up to you whether to swing the first page. Try it and see what you think! Keep the quavers straight in the coda, finishing with the distant sound of “Jingle Bells.”
This piece can be as easy or as hard as you make it. You can always add an A-flat in the G7 bars to make a richer sound. Adding harmonics and glisses can also achieve the “Christmas sound.”
I hope you like it and make it your own! •
Quaver Questions
A quaver is the British English musical term for an eighth note in American English. It’s not the only note value for which the Brits use different terms than Americans. Here are a few of the basics:
semibreve (whole note) lasts four beats, or a whole measure of 4/4 time
minim (half note) is two beats, or half of a measure
crochet (quarter note) is one beat, or a quarter of a measure
quaver (eighth note) is half of a beat
semiquaver (sixteenth note) is a quarter of a beat
