Are you annoyed by all the “rules” that harpists will tell you?
I remember one composer (in a Facebook group) talking about how they were so irritated that harpists refuse to play with their pinky fingers. “Why won’t they even try?”
The reason I tell this story is because it misses the whole point. If you view guidelines as arbitrary rules, of course you’ll be frustrated!
But if you start with the foundation and learn the “why” behind the guidelines, it starts to make sense.
So harpists don’t play with our pinky fingers.
With the sideways hand position at the harp, the pinky finger is too short to reach the strings. If we adjust the hand position to fit the pinky finger on the strings, we lose the strength in the hand to play the other fingers. For that reason, using the pinky finger for traditional playing techniques is a non-option. (Other solutions are always better!)
If you understand the foundational hand position at the harp, it makes sense why the pinky finger is not used. And now, you don’t have to memorize that “rule” because now you can think like a harpist!
What other “rules” have harpists told you? Or, as a harpist, what “rules” do you tell composers? Let me know and I will share the explanations in future posts!
P.S. I share more detailed harp writing tips for my composer email list. If this is helpful for you, come join me over there! daniellekuntz.com/subscribe