Harp composing help
So I’ve got most of this basics of writing harp music, such as appropriate glissandos and stem direction to indicate which hand should play the notes. But one thing I don’t understand at all is why there are random notes written above the harp staff sometimes. An example is the first bar of Neptune by Gustav Holst. There’s a sequence of notes above the harp in the first measure, and others will appear along the way. Please someone help me understand the purpose of doing that.
Here’s the link to Neptune so you can see what I’m referring to:
http://ia800501.us.archive.org/2/items/Cantorion_sheet_music_collection…
Comments
The notes written above the harp staff are a courtesy to tell the harpist which foot pedals to adjust so the written notes will playable.
If you don't know, a harp has several octaves of 7 strings with each string tuned by default to Ab, Bb, Cb...Gb. These flats can be changed by adjusting the foot pedal for that particular note to the natural or sharp position. Every A is affected by the same foot pedal, every B by another and so forth. Since, for example, Bb and A# are enharmonic there are two possible strings the note can be played on. The notes written above staves help the harpist to make the decision. If less than 7 notes are written, it of course tells the harpist to change only the specified pedals to the new notes.
In Neptune, the notes at the beginning are in a more logical order for the pedals than in ABC order due to the location of the pedals.
In reply to The notes written above the… by mike320
Thanks. It makes a lot more sense now. I studied the Neptune score a little to apply what you said and it makes perfect sense. What about the placement of the notes written above the staff? I noticed sometimes it will appear one beat before a pedal change or a few measures before. Is there a significance to placement of the written notes in relation to when the pedal change occurs in the music? Or can it be placed anywhere before it happens?
In reply to Thanks. It makes a lot more… by Planet Bonezone
Placement of these are totally an editorial decision. It looks like the editor of your version of Neptune put them in the first spot after the last note played where possible. This is a very logical choice to me.