5 Tips on Arranging and Improvising the Left Hand for Harp
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2024
- This video covers suggestions that can help you decide what chord shapes, LH patterns, and rhythms to use AFTER you've already picked your chords.
TUNES:
1:07 and 5:04 Farewell to Talwaithe (traditional Scottish)
1:54 The Banks of Spey (traditional Scottish)
🎼 Print the melody off and write (or improvise!) your own arrangement: thesession.org/tunes/14498
2:18 Wild Mountain Thyme (traditional Scottish)
🎼 Buy the sheet music: harpcolumn.com/music/all-musi...
3:03 The Water is Wide (traditional Scottish)
🎼 Buy the sheet music: www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/...
4:13 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
5:44 Cantiga 384: The Monk Who Wrote Mary's Name in Three Colors (by Alfonso the Wise)
🎼 harpcolumn.com/music/all-musi...
HARP
Musicmakers 33-string Jolie harp
www.harpkit.com
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Your smile and music gave me happiness.
Very timely tips, Steph! You “put a little flesh” on what I just learned in my online harp lessons & these 5 rules of engagement make so much sense now. Thank you! (still wanna be you when I grow up - harpwise) 🤭🥰
So happy you found it helpful!!
Very good information! I just started harp and have been playing by ear so this is great.
Thanks, Stephanie! These are great tips, especially as one progresses toward using more lead sheets. I ESPECIALLY like the tip to change patterns "just before you become bored with it". I also like it that you are NOT suggesting that harp students play the maximum number of notes at all times (less is more). You have great style at the harp and you are an excellent teacher. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge to help others along their own harp journeys.
Thanks Janet! I feel like it's taken me awhile to learn that less can be more on harp - when I look back at my really old arrangements now I often feel like they have too many notes!
Thank you Stephanie. I still wish to eventually take classes from you again but sadly had half my income cut after getting stuck in a nursinghome for a long time. I almost died twice since I last spoke to you. I am finally back home and much healthier. Now I am working on bouncing back financially. I am still playing my harp but not as well as I want to play.
Hi Ruby - I'm so sorry to hear that your health has been poorly, but am thankful you're feeling healthier. I'm glad you are still playing harp!! Thank you for the update.
This is lovely, thank you so much.
Merci Stéphanie you inspire me
De rien! Thanks for watching. 🙂
Thank you, Stephanie, for explaining it so well and making the process of creating a little easier!
Thank you for these tips. I'm always hesitant to try and arrange because I'm fearful that I'm doing it incorrectly. This is a big help!
I know the feeling!! But I've definitely noticed that the more I do it, but easier it becomes (as with so many things.) 😁
So helpful...thank you!!!
You are welcome - thanks for watching!
These are wonderful tips - thank you, Stephanie!!
I'm glad you found them useful!
Excellent video Stephanie. I was trying to build chords just while listening to music which was advised in another video I watched on another channel. I had no fake book. I had to play it through a bit just to figure out what key I was in. Then I listened for patterns or repetition. But omg! It was too fast. I can't slow it down because then that changes the key! I finally gave up. But I am really beginning to love lead sheets! It's great for the beginner. I do tend to get into a habit of playing the same thing and made some rules for myself. Arpeggios for whole or half notes filling a measure, like you were saying, "fill in the space." Then slower chords for the fast pace rhythm s. But I have to work more on this especially if I want to pick up and play and have no music in front of me. It amazes me how good ppl get at that.
So when I have a song that I cannot find for harp or its way over my head I now look for lead sheets. They're not too hard to find.
I think every harpists should learn to play off of lead sheets! Like you said, they're not too hard to find, and with that structure you can have so much fun and freedom.
Thanks Steph! Though not a harpist I find your info very helpful. To your self description adding -Teacher! Thanks again and keep smiling!
Yay - I'm happy these ideas are useful in a broader context as well. And you are totally right that I forgot to include teacher. Next time!
These are nice reminders of how it doesn’t take much to create a beautiful arrangement on the harp.
It's one of the things I love about harp!
❤️
This has been SO helpful. I have been trying to learn how to improvise with lead sheets, but so much of the "how-to" books out there get into the left-hand patterns, but not that much into what to when and why's of what to play. You accomplished so much in just 7 1/2 minutes 😃!
Thanks Mary! So glad you found this helpful.
Your video is so helpful and timely for me, thank you!
I'm so glad you found it useful!!
This video is great! Thank you for not doing a piece for complete beginners, explaining what a triad is, and rather taking it to the next level. Your tips are full of insights.
Any chance you could do a similar video, this time describing a range of left-hand patterns? For example, how they could fit with beats etc? I struggle finding variety in my patterns and keep on hearing "just choose a pattern that is suitable", but apart from triad (1-3-5) and 1-5-8, I've not been able to find many that work. The one you showed at 5:45 was very interesting. How would you add left-hand variety when a chord stays the same for a while?
Thank you!
So glad you found the video helpful, and thanks for the suggestion for another video. I will add it to my list!
Thanks, I'll so glad youtube introduced me to you. I've been asked to accompany someone and I'm struggling to know what to do with my right hand. I don't want to double the melody but writing counter melodies isn't my strength. This video helps with the left hand a lot.
That's a beautiful harp, may I ask what make it is?
I'm so happy you found this video helpful! For the RH, sometimes doubling the melody sounds okay but I'm also a big fan of single notes in the right hand, or just a block chord while the left hand does an arpeggio. The harp is a Musicmakers 33-string Jolie : my favorite!
@@StephanieClaussen Great, thanks for the helpful tips! I think I'd like my next harp to be one of theirs. They aren't well known in Canada but I'm loving the sound I've heard in videos.
@@samanthathompson9812 I can't recommend Musicmakers highly enough - their instruments are high quality and yes, the sound!
@@StephanieClaussen Good to know, I'll start saving! Did you get yours shipped or were you able to travel to them?
@@samanthathompson9812 They are 20 minutes from my house. I'm really blessed!