Practicing and Technique
Looking for some ideas for practicing or building technique? To start with, you'll find a playlist of Practicing Tips from my YouTube channel below. These are all short videos, just a couple of minutes long. Each focuses on a single quick tip for practicing. You can scroll through the list and watch any video that interests you.
For those interested in building technique, further down on this page you'll find several videos about different technical skills, such as harmonics, scales, and trills. These are longer videos, generally 15 - 20 minutes, and they cover each topic in depth, starting at the beginning and moving into more complex versions of the skill. Explanations and demonstrations are included throughout each video. You might notice that quite a few of the videos are about the pedals of the harp, an area of interest for me.
Some of the videos here relate to exercises I've published. If you're interested in these, you can find more information about my pedagogical publications on the Exercises page.
Practicing Tips
Practicing Tips
Jumping to Chords, Practicing Tip #1
Even Rolled Chords, Practicing Tip #2
Playing Even Notes, Practicing Tip #3
Idiomatic Harp Techniques
Both glisses and harmonics are beautiful techniques on the harp.
The below videos are detailed overviews of both:
Glissandi on the Harp
A gliss is a classic technique on the harp. They can seem easy at times, but there are all kinds of interesting ways you can put them together and build complexity.
Harmonics on the Harp
Harmonics are a beautiful effect on the harp, but can be difficult to play well. This video starts with what a harmonic is, demonstrates how to play one with each hand, and moves on to more complex scenarios involving harmonics.
Challenging Techniques
Both scales in canon and two-handed trills are demanding technical skills.
Here are videos explaining and demonstrating both:
Scales in Canon
Playing scales in canon on the harp is a classic exercise or warm-up. This video begins with the first steps towards playing scales in canon and slowly builds up, step by step, to the complete exercise.
Learn to Play Two-Handed Trills
Trills are a highly specific skill on the harp that many people find intimidating. In this video, trills are taken apart and put back together step by step, with various practice approaches discussed.
Pedals
Here are two videos about the pedals of the harp for students who are getting started with pedals:
Introduction to Pedals
This video, intended for students who are brand new to the pedal harp, explains basics about the pedals and moving them, going over the fundamentals step by step.
More on Changing Pedals
A continuation of Introduction to Pedals, this video covers more complex pedal situations and movements, working through a variety of scenarios.
Marking Pedals
All you've ever wanted to know about how to mark pedals in your music! This mini-series of three videos covers a host of different scenarios for marking pedals clearly and helpfully in sheet music.
Marking Harp Pedal Charts
This video covers pedal charts in depth, going over how to draw one, when to use them in music, and how to determine what the correct pedal chart should be.
Marking Harp Pedal Changes
This video covers pedal changes in depth, going over how to write them in both English and solfège, as well as how to understand convoluted notation surrounding pedal changes. All of this uses various examples from existing music.
More on Marking Harp Pedal Changes
This video, a continuation of Marking Harp Pedal Changes, discusses marking pedals in unusual changes. This includes repeats, the left foot on E, multiple pedal changes at once, and using enharmonic equivalents.