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My only large ensemble has been the symphonic band in which I’ve been playing harp for just approaching three years, so I’m getting my large repertoire exposure as it comes in our concert programming, though I might make a point of learning some of the standard parts in my lessons in the coming year, so I can play the more confidently once the time comes to play them “for real”, and if I ever add “community orchestra” to “community band” on my résumé.
That said, in band the situation is probably multiplied by the fact that symphonic bands are much louder. Our band is quite large, 75-80 people in most concerts, which includes 15-20 soprano clarinets, probably 7-8 saxophones from alto to baritone, about 8-9 trumpets, and usually 6 French horns. So the harp can get buried easily. There are some other threads out here on when the harp can’t be heard, and I’ll try to dig up a couple I enjoyed most and post them in here. To sum them up:Some harpists amplify, especially in pickup gigs such as church pageants etc., where there might be amplified singers and musicians, players and conductors of varying awareness, and less than ideal acoustics or seating arrangements. Many also amplify with large wind ensemble. My teacher, an orchestral harpist, once mentioned she thought it was fairly normal to amplify in a large band. I might experiment with it preparing for our upcoming concert. It’s very pops, and I have a feeling people will get excited as they play and push the decibels up.
It was rather frustrating for me one piece last fall where I was completely steamrolled, but even there, the xylophonist whom I doubled said that he could tell where I played. Sometimes the harp contributes to the texture, especially on attacks without being conspicuously heard as a harp. That’s the big part of what I like about large ensemble playing, sometimes you’re front and center, sometimes you contribute a unique little bit, and sometimes you should contribute to the fabric as you disappear into it.
For when the harp isn’t heard at all, sometimes it’s the others playing too loud or a conductor who doesn’t care. For composers, there are some throwaway parts. Maybe they wanted to give the harpist something to do whole everybody else was blaring away. There are some parts, however, where the composer didn’t seem to have a realistic idea of how the harp could be heard. I think it’s good to have a sense of humor sometimes, and remember that if my worst problem at the moment is that my harp playing can’t be heard above the trombones, life isn’t too bad.
Jerusha, I should get my music tomorrow (knock wood). It is on the Internet Sheet Music Project, originally for two harps, so we’ll see what the symphonic band transcription has. From the IMSLP, Mars barely has anything, just that “bum-bum-bum bum bum-bum bum” part everybody knows where nobody will hear a note of the harp anyway. Some of the movements are quite hard and have two distinct parts, but Jupiter, the only other movement we’re playing, isn’t too bad, except for a burst of activity in the last few measures.
Clare Grundman, Nocturne for Harp and Wind Ensemble. I should be getting a bunch of John Williams space movie music for a theme concert in late March, plus Jupiter and Mars from The Planets.
I got to try a CRV down the street tonight. No go for the CG, mostly due to the seat bottom making the wall. I don’t remember if the 2013 did that, but it was a big fail on tonight’s harp test.
It was all with the cover only since I wanted to see several dealers for a first impression and my neighbor’s car won’t fit a harp and nothing I can get via ZipCar would allow both my harp and a passenger (his interpersonal skills surpass mine plus I hate highway driving). I required a couple extra inches beyond the cover’s length for the base. The Outback was the second largest space of those I looked at (the pilot is huge). The 2013 is a completely different body style from the wagon that’s so recognizable, and I didn’t believe it was an Outback even after seeing the bumper label. It looked more like a TriBeCa. The salesman said this is how they’re all built now. Of course I’d try with my harp before purchasing to make sure, but I can’t imagine a way it would not fit my harp easily.
Like Katie said that looks more like the technique of using a flat hand to muffle while playing, which can help give an effect more like a string bass. Slap bass is used a lot in electronic basses for a funkier sound that is very percussive, the “Seinfeld” theme being a well-known example. It’s from the left hand slapping the fingerboard, to give the off-beat “chak” after the playing plucks the “boom”. Lori Andrews mentions doing something similar with her left hand in a Harp Spectrum article. I saw one video of her playing where it looks like she’s slapping the bass strings on her offbeats with a forceful, loose-handed muffle-style motion designed to make noise.
Flute can give some inspiration for a few spots where the harp would enhance a (usually lyrical) passage, but much of it won’t work, and community bands generally have a massive surplus of upper woodwinds anyway. If the goal for that piece is mostly to give yourself something to do, a string bass, tuba, or trombone part might be another way to go. You’ll have a good idea of where you can add a chord, and doubling the bass line of the piece usually won’t hurt since it’s hard to have too much of the lower voices. For something more substantial, borrowing a score for a couple days or downloading one from ISMLP if it’s public domain would give the best overview, but if maybe borrowing parts from a few voices, say flute, trumpet, and tuba, would give enough of an idea, along with listening to a recording.
I originally played flute in my community band, but when taking up Poet and Peasant Overture, they heard I played harp so I played it on that piece. Pines of Rome went into the next concert and we’ve played a couple more with harp parts that were fairly substantial. Now I’m thinking of making a full switch to harp in band, and also adding a couple filler parts to keep me busy during the other pieces. Some other harpists who play in community band for enjoyment do so. And a concerning bell parts: We have several good percussionists who have to spread their parts thinly, and I’ve been threatened with serious bodily harm if I ever try to play a mallet part. You have been warned!
PS- Sousa’s Nobles of the Mystic Shrine has a pretty cute little harp part that’s reasonably exposed to boot.
The glissando comes to mind. The piano can only play one kind of glissando, while the harp can play a variety of them.
Since the piano works by striking the strings through keys, however, most things can be played much more quickly on the piano, and rapidly repeated notes and trills are far easier on the piano.
Besides the lack of little finger usage, fingering patterns can be a bit different on piano. On the piano, you usually must work around the black keys so that the thumb avoids them, meaning fingering usually vary according to the key signature. On the harp this isn’t an issue, so any note can be a flat or sharp, and the pattern stays the same across keys. In addition, because the right hand on the harp is on the other side of the strings, the two hands play patterns such as scales and arpeggios identically. On the piano, because they’re both on the same side, the left and right hand must play patterns differently. For example, a b-flat major scale on a piano is different in the right or left hand, while on a harp it can be played the same way.
If you’re currently playing clubs, festivals, and other musical venues rock musicians often play in, you might try to market yourself in more commercial settings to clients who prefer the music you play over more traditional harp music. Your gorgeous ebony harp, plus your music, voice, and look, would appeal to some clients quite a lot, once you find a way to find them. Edgier fashion shows, receptions and parties hosted by people who want a different ambience, etc.
If you want to increase traditional gigs as a way to subsidize your other music as it finds its audience, you might think of a second web site for that music. There are plenty of serious authors out there who cranked out trashy romances under fake names to pay for their serious writing in their early years. As a plus, a lot of classical musicians play across genres. Since the harp is one of the best partners for chamber music, particularly if you want that chamber music to pay, you’ll keep your musical network open, and next time Tom Monger breaks his hand opening a pickle jar and Florence needs a sub for a leg of a tour, you get the idea.
Afterthought: I once dated a guy partly because he owned an SUV. There are worse reasons to fall in love…
That reminds me: a couple of times I’ve seen a Ford Flex taxi around town. I haven’t recognized the company name and don’t know if it’s a DC, Maryland, or Virginia provider (only DC cabs can do DC pickups for DC destinations). The next time I see him at a red light or pulled over I’ll try to get a card from him. Maybe it’s a small company. The major taxi companies have such terrible service scheduling pickups I couldn’t imagine requesting a wagon and hoping to get anyplace on time.
I’ve emailed Uber about their larger vehicles and unfortunately only one of their three SUV models has folding rear seats. The others are only removable.
I finally got the music last night. Not hard at all. A prior user of my rental part wrote some incorrect notes above ledger lines but nothing I can’t ignore. My flute DNA makes reading 7 or 8 ledgers no biggie. One page of solo arpeggios followed by three pages of fff glissandos? Best. Part. Ever. The part has printed pick instructions on all glisses after the first page, so the composer must have been at least a big familiar with harp issues in wind ensemble.
I drool when I see a Ford Flex, but in my neighborhood they’d be a nightmare to park on the street due to the size, and even if I rented a space in the garage would be similarly difficult to move around the tight spaces and pillars. As I’m playing the pedal harp in public more and ZipCar has removed potential harpmobiles from my neighborhood, I’m thinking about purchasing a car again in a couple of years. My current preference is either a used Outback, or if I buy new, a Prius V for the mileage (and they’re really fun to drive).
FYI, Ashley, your Bacon Number is 3 at most (Quentin Tarantino, Matt Damon, and Jamie Foxx all have 2). Pretty good!
When I mentioned this to a friend (by the way, Ashley, do you know if this gives you a Bacon factor of 6 or less?), he said “It will probably be smashed to pieces or used as a torture device.” I guess his instincts weren’t off.
When borrowing from piano parts, especially for informal playing, I don’t have any problems with adapting the part in ways that make it easier to play or sound better on the harp. Here are a few things I might try if I had it:
The way you describe it, it sounds like you’re playing a B or B-flat triad, with the 1st note alternating with the 3rd and 5th. You might break it up further, b-f-d-f or b-f-b-d so you’re not repeating the individual notes as often.
Or you could try playing the pattern on the left hand, then repeating it an octave higher in the right.
Or you might play the entire chord in one hand on the quarter note and not worry about the 8ths. That might sound better anyway, since the harp likes to ring a bit. A pianist can use the sustain pedal while repeating, but a harp can sound choppy.
I recently played a similar pattern in church with short prepation time. Fortunately the notes descended each beat so the top note never repeated. However, I found that fingering the upper two notes with 2 and 3 instead of 1 and 2, and 2 in the left hand, made it easier for me to play cleanly.
