#218: What Makes Any Piece a “Harp Piece”?

Here’s our question for today: what makes a piece of music a “harp piece”? 

Does it have to have been originally written for harp? Or composed by a harpist? Or could any piece of music, no matter what instrument or instruments it was written for, be a harp piece if you play it on the harp?

I happen to think that the third answer is the correct one. Mostly. Let me explain.

If you play a piece on the harp, it has absolutely become a harp piece whether it started out that way or not. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it should have become a harp piece. Some pieces just don’t work on the harp. Take the “1812 Overture,” for example. This piece was written by Tchaikovsky to commemorate Russia’s victory over Napoleon. It’s 15 minutes long, It requires a full symphony orchestra (minus a harp), an additional brass band, a bell carillon and a battery of cannons - yes, cannons. How could a single harp play a meaningful rendition of this monster work? You could play some of the themes from the piece. You could shout “BOOM” when the cannons are supposed to fire. No matter how hard we try, though, it will never really sound like the original.

Okay, that’s an extreme example. However, we harpists are known for borrowing music liberally from the piano repertoire. While that’s a good idea in general - after all, the harp and piano have a lot in common - some piano pieces never make good harp pieces, even when the piece translates easily from piano to harp. Sometimes, something gets lost in the translation.

So what makes a piece of music a harp piece? What are the essential qualities and the specific characteristics that identify a piece as being written for harp, or that, on the flip side, mark it as definitely not a harp piece? Today, we will talk about those characteristics and how you can use them to spot pieces that might, or might not, be good ones to transpose or arrange for harp. This information will also be very useful when you’re playing someone else’s arrangement, and I’ll tell you why in just a minute.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 

• Check out our brand new courses in the Harp Mastery® app! 
• We’re halfway through our Super Summertime Challenge. Are you in?
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
 

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