Pedal v. lever music

[lyn-boundy]

This is probably going to sound really stupid.

As I play the lever harp I’m generally attracted to music that claims to be written specifically for this but I wonder whether it would make any difference if I used music that is written for pedal harp? Can anyone tell me if there is any difference in the music for each? I assume that pedal harp music takes into account the larger number of strings available but are there any other differences in the way the music is written that would make it difficult to play ‘pedal’ music on a lever harp?

[Tacye]

Pedals enable you to change the accidentals without taking your hands off the strings so a lot of it will be impossible to play on a lever harp unless you grow at least one more hand to do lever changes. Also a pedal harp has the equivalent of two levers on each string – so rather than a choice of Eb or E nat I have a choice of Eb, E nat or E sharp – again meaning much music will need extensive editing to play on a lever harp. There is some music which is labelled as pedal harp music but does not use the full capabilities of the pedals and works very well on a lever harp.

This is an example which is fiendish on a pedal harp, but I would say pretty much impossible on levers.

[lyn-boundy]

So really it’s about the difficulty of the piece rather than any differences in notation? That’s useful to know though my playing skills limit me to pretty straightforward stuff at the moment anyway 🙁 Thanks for the answer Tacye, it makes things a lot clearer.

[Angela Biggs]

Lyn, if you have some free time and enjoy puzzles, it can be fun and rewarding to arrange a piece of chromatic pedal harp music for lever harp. It’s also a fabulous exercise for your theory and aural skills. 🙂

[kreig-kitts]

It’s not just about the difficulty of the music. There are simple pieces for pedal harp that would not be playable on a lever harp without modification.

For example, if there is an accidental while both hands are playing and no chance to preset the lever, for example if the same note is natural on one beat and sharp the next, piece would need to be tweaked, perhaps one if them moved to a different octave or played without the accidental, to work on a lever harp.

In addition, glissandos can be very different on a pedal harp because of the ability to play both flats and sharps, and change all the strings at once. In the key of C major, a glissando from C to C on a lever harp will be CDEFGABC, a scale. On a pedal harp, this is possible, but the harpist can also use the pedals to create a different sound very easily. Setting the Bs to sharp and the Fs to flat, a common pedaling in that key, would make the pitches CDEEGACC, which sounds more like a chord and is very resonant, bright, and doesn’t get muddy when played over several octaves over and over.

[lyn-boundy]

God, I love this site! Thank you Angela and Kreig.

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