Composing for harp in orchestral music

Recently I am composing pieces for an orchestra and found a problem that i couldn't figure out - composing for a harp. For other instruments, i would look up a music dictionary for range, capabilities etc. But for harp, it is a frustrating item...

So, are there any webpages introducing the harp to composers? thx!

My english's not good as yours, so... yea.

I'm 14 years old & living in HK, see.see my compositions(also sign my guestbook plz~)

I tend to see harp as a piano or something, but with a special tune. I like it thought, only problem is that almsot only pro's or big orchestras has a harp, my orchestra don't:( so if I write for harp I have to copy that into the glockenspiel or something so my orchestra can play it- that's rather annoying.

The harp is a very challenging instrument to write for idiomatically, and I couldn't give you a very comprehensive overview. What I know of the harp is that because of the pedal mechanism that allows it to play a full chromatic scale (it's tuned in only the "white" notes on the piano, so the pedals help it play the "black" notes by altering the pitch of certain strings), it plays better in flat keys than in sharp keys. This is what harpists have told me...I don't know exactly why. I've only written a couple of pieces for harp, and I've generally approached it somewhat as I would a piano, but in chords don't put too many notes for each hand to play in chords. This worked for me, and the harpists I worked with told me the parts were fine.

One of the most effective things that harps do are glissandos on certain scales. I still have not mastered the notation system for these - there is a special way to do it. Have to study up on that.

We have a new member that I hope will stay with us who is a harpist...maybe that person can help us out.

J. lee doesn't know the answer? We are all doomed!!!! lol just kidding.

My fathers mom's plays the harp professionaly, i'll see if i can pull anything out of her...

note: I tried to use the

bbcode tag, but it somehow didn't work :D

Heh, since I seem to be that person, I might as well answer :D

Well.. I'll explain about the orchestral harp (on which this applies) how it works and what you can and can't do on any harp in general.

First, the pedal (or orchestral) harp has very large range (I don't know exactly, it has about 5 less 'keys' than the piano). The instrument itself is actually quite like a piano, but there are also some very large differences.

The pedal harp has 7 pedals which can be put into 3 positions. The pedals each represent one note over the whole range of the harp. For example, when you move the A pedal in its upper position all A's on the harp will turn sharp. This is how you change key and play accidentals.

Harpists use 8 vingers to play (the pinky's just too short :D). You use both hands, the right hand plays higher (usually the treble cleff), and the left hand plays lower (usually the bass cleff) (because the harp's 'neck' rests on your right shoulder, your left hand can more easily reach the lower strings). This though sometimes changes when for example playing chords over the whole of the harp (this is actually much like a piano).

All this means that you can play 8 notes simultaniously.

Now some strange things about harps; there is no real difference between playing normal and legato, and playing staccato can only be done under certain conditions. (this is because you have to return the vingers or hand to the strings to dampen them, this just takes too long in a lot of situations). Also, rests are usually ignored by harp players unless otherwise noted (the dampening symbol, or in some conditions, a staccato). Another thing is that it's very hard to 'hammer' fast on the same string. This makes things like the tremolo almost impossible.

I hope that was enough information to get you started, but if you have more questions feel free to ask me. Oh, J. Lee Graham, the thing with 'playing better in flat keys' could be because of the mechanism, the sharp and natural keys put more tension on the strings. I don't know exactely what kind of effect this has actually, I could ask my teacher next wednesday... I also could, if someone wants, scan a score for harp which has some clear examples of what could be done, if I can find one :) .

I also could, if someone wants, scan a score for harp which has some clear examples of what could be done, if I can find one

Another thing to be careful of when writing for harp is that it only has 7 notes(strings) per octave. This is why the pedals exist to sharp or flat notes. It also means that a harpist cannot play an A# and an Ab at the same time. If you want such a sound, you will have to notate it as either G# and A# or Bb and Ab (or G# and Bb). A harpist can also not change more than two pedals at once, furthermore they can't change two pedals at once if the pedals are both on one side of the instrument. Here's a diagram of how the pedals are set up:

(D)

I know this doesn't add too much, because the basics are all here, but from my experiance, unless you are using thin orchestration to highlight the harp, a harp's parts will primarily focus on the attack of the note--particularly in the treble. The bass notes will reverberate, and the harpist can silence them by putting his/her hands on the strings at the end of the note value. However, the higher the pitch, the shorter the string and thereby the shorter the audible ringing will work.

The attacks of the notes is really what comes across to the listener most in a louder moment. I had a piece read recently with an accompaniment-like harp part during a fair volume level moment with several instruments...the attacks come across, but its not much more than a nuance.

Now to get some more info from the bible...i mean Berlioz... :D

Keep your lower harp parts open, especially below G2, though I'd contemplate stopping at C3. Low range chords on harp are very muddy.

Berlioz brings up another interesting point I had forgotten: (harp is not my favorite instrument to write for) Keep the hands at least a sixth, preferably an octave apart. Arpeggios in thirds will therefore, due to the overlap, have no sonority due to the rearticulation of the strings.

Fairly fast octaves should be written for two hands, rather than one, solely because the thumb can't be expected to move as fast as the other fingers in succession.

If you would like a note to be re-articulated quickly, use the pedals to your advantage to allow vibration. So rather than just a B flat marked for thumb and index finger, use A sharp and B flat. Or, if you would like a repeated chord, use two harp parts and have them switch voices every other note.

Berlioz offers a lot of information. If you are really intrested in the harp, drop me an IM sometime or a message, and I'll try to scan some pages for you. It's worth the read! :mellow:

http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/~ahugill/manual/

This is extremely handy. I had forgotten about the page but found it back in my bookmarks yesterday. I don't know if anyone knows it but it has quicktime videos with players in the philharmonia orchestra explaining about their instrument. It also has a harpist explaining how to use the harp.

I was about to start a thread along almost exactly the same lines as this one...

Thank you for the information everyone has provided for the OP... I found it highly useful also :happy:

*Note: the reason why harps sound better in the flat keys is because the pedals are down, and the strings thus longer and more resonant.

A few other points:

- Harps can play LOUD, especially in the upper register where the strings are so short. Do not expect a pianissimo in the highest octave. One harp can easily balance the entire string section.

- If you want the passage undamped, don't write the same pitch too close in succession unless the harpist has time to subtly damp it in between.

- A quiet unmeasured roll effect known as bisbligando can be achieved by tuning two adjacent strings to the same pitch (except for D, G and A naturals).

-If possible, chords are best written with a wider spaced interval between notes at the top than the bottom. This is because the thumb is further away from the other fingers.

- Harpists will naturally add a slight roll to chords unless you use a bracket to indicate a simultaneous attack.

- A mnemonic to remember the order of the pedals is Did Columbus Bring Enough Food Going (to) America?