(Tip no. 75 from 100 MORE Orchestration Tips, to be released March 2020) No matter how much a composer might wish otherwise, harpists simply cannot play bisbigliando loudly. Most of the tips in this book and in the original 100 Orchestration Tips are about things you won’t find in orchestration manuals; or about things that…
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(Tip no. 68 from “100 Orchestration Tips,” Part 4: Harp) Left hand multiple harmonics are only practical up to around middle C. Higher than that, the hand position prevents them from speaking with ease. This is a tip that I’ve not seen in ANY orchestration manual anywhere, period. Most manuals tell you that the right…
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(Tip no. 70 from “100 Orchestration Tips,” Part 4: Harp) (and if you tl:dr this tip, it’s on your own head) (*ahem*) The harp is NOT a piano! Do not assume what works on a piano will work on harp – much of the time, it won’t! This is the biggest error I see in…
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(Tip no. 67 from “100 Orchestration Tips,” Part 4: Harp) The range of the hands is not unlimited: the right hand cannot reach far below C in the bass staff, nor is it practical for the left hand to play complex lines around the very highest strings (due to visibility issues). This is also something…
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(Tip no. 65 from “100 Orchestration Tips,” Part 4: Harp) Some harps do not possess a high Gb string, and both bottom strings of Cb and Db may need to be tuned by hand. The double-action of the modern harp has limitations, as each pedal will essentially create tension on 6-7 strings of varying lengths…
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(Tip no. 66 from “100 Orchestration Tips,” Part 4: Harp) The most resonant sound from the harp occurs when the tuning is set to flat keys. This is because of the double-action harp tuning mechanism. The most relaxed, longest tuning of each string is when the harp tuning pedal is in the up or flat…
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Rapidly repeated notes on harp will result in a buzzing sound as fingers touch already vibrating strings. Some harpists call this “stomping.” This is a simple, incredibly important fact which is not in any orchestration manual I own, and it’s especially true with the lower, more widely vibrating strings. The orchestrator may score a harp…
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