Enjoy the view. Take the scenic route. We’ve all heard this wise advice for making the most of life’s journeys. But have you considered how this mindset might relate to your time on the harp bench? To truly master the performance of a piece of music, whether it’s a classic or a new improvisation, we must be constantly aware of the structure of a piece and our moment-to-moment placement in the musical landscape. Are you ready to embark on a journey within your repertoire? Grab your pencil and your music, and let’s go!

Key areas: your GPS

Have you had the experience of performing a work from memory, and instead of finding the end you become lost in an inescapable loop, playing all of the correct strings in the wrong key? If we perform on auto-pilot, this is one of the greatest dangers—it’s far too easy to take a left turn into the wrong key when we should take a right turn. It’s a lot like trying to use Google Maps on your phone without having “location services” turned on.

For this reason, our musical “route planning” for a piece should always begin by identifying its key signature. Ask yourself whether a piece begins in major or minor (or neither one!) and look for the pedal or lever changes, which can signal movement to other key areas. Often, pieces will start in a key, migrate to a new key, and return to the original key. You can spot the key area changes by finding a section of the piece that has repeated accidentals that didn’t occur in the beginning. Often, these key areas will have a relationship such as relative major, relative minor, or being five scale degrees apart. Pescetti’s Sonata in C Minor is a great example of key area relationships. Of course—you will need to be fluent in key signatures in order to spot these changes, but once you memorize key signatures you’ll never forget them! By identifying these shifts between key areas (such as a major key and its relative minor), you’ll start the process of identifying the piece’s larger structure very early in your learning process.

Form: your map

Maps rely on streets, buildings, and a compass rose to give context and help you gain your bearings. Similarly, when you learn a new piece, be on the lookout for musical elements that can serve as landmarks, such as the larger patterns of key areas, new melodies, and new musical textures. Often, these changes will give you the best insight into the predictable structure of a piece.

The most basic musical structure is A-B-A (known as three-part or ternary form), meaning that you play a section, followed by something different, followed by the third section that is a like the first. You can think of it as a musical sandwich. There can be lots of variations on this, including a repeat of the middle section surrounding something new which looks like A-B-C-B-A (also known as rondo form). Think of this as a triple-stack sandwich. Many of the sonatas that we perform represent something similar to either or both of these structures with extra developmental sections.

Don’t forget to look at the title of the piece; it often gives a clue about the piece’s structure. A “sonata” has an over-arching A-B-A structure, while a theme and variations will have repetitions of similar material, but each of the variations can represent a snapshot of one of these other structures. A piece that is called “fantasy” or “rhapsody” might have a structure that seems more like improvisation, but will often include repetitions of themes as well.

Harmonies: your altimeter

Just as landscapes include peaks and valleys, harmonies can provide a reading of what’s happening on a local level within a piece, and these harmonies support the larger structure of the work. Harmony is the term that we use to describe the effect of notes that sound together, often (but not always) as chords. Harmonies also play a crucial role in building the structure of phrases. They tell our ears whether we are at the beginning or end of a phrase, and whether a phrase sounds like a statement or a question, depending on the type of cadence.

As you work through your piece, make a special note of any harmonies that seem surprising or unresolved, especially when they occur at the end of a phrase. These moments throughout the work create different settings for all of the other musical elements.

You don’t need a music theory degree in order to note the harmonic moments that sound dissonant or resolved, but describing or notating what you’re hearing can be helpful in understanding the role of harmony. (For a review of basic music theory, see my “Learning Curve” articles from the September/October and November/December 2011 issues of Harp Column).

Melodies: your horizon

Within any harmonic setting, the horizontal movement of notes creates a melodic picture and gives a sense of movement through the piece. Often, the melody is a group of notes that our ear naturally focuses upon. But, consider that the melody wouldn’t have any impact without its placement within the context of a piece’s form, key, and harmonic movement. As you examine the melodies within a piece, look for transpositions into new keys or groups that might be inverted or played in reverse.

Additionally, consider the contour of the melody by connecting the direction between the highest notes and the lowest notes. Does the melody change direction frequently or does it mainly travel in one direction (thus implying accents on weak beats)? Do the changes in direction match the strong beats in the measure, or do they go against the meter? The range of a melody can tell its own story—although they often occur in the highest notes played, watch for melodies which are transplanted to the left hand or melodies which might have longer note values.

Motives and development: your weather forecast

Just as we can read cloud patterns in order to predict storms or sunshine, the development of motives (little musical ideas) can provide the backdrop for a peaceful or turbulent section of the piece. Many works will take a small musical idea (think: first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony), and will develop it in many different ways. The treatment of each little motive can be an important clue about whether tension should be building, or whether you are moving toward a peaceful conclusion. If you can unearth what is occurring with the motives (sometimes the motives will be deeply embedded), you’ll have more insight about how to interpret the purpose for each section of a work.

Performance: your panorama

Now that you’ve surveyed each step within your piece, don’t forget to step back and enjoy the full view. Like a panoramic photo, there will be high points and low points within the music all working together to provide a complete picture. Always pause to gaze back, so you can soak in all the views along the musical trail; after all, your accumulated awareness is tied to your musical perspective. By becoming aware of the coordinates within a piece, you’ll have opportunities to create highlights based on your unique perspective and interpretation of the musical landscape.