Harpists think in “blocks”

Harpists think in "blocks"

Harpists like blocks. I’m not talking about toys, it’s a practice technique.

When we have passages with arpeggios and patterns, instead of practicing the individual notes, we often practice playing the chunks as chords. The reason behind this based in the actual mechanics of playing the harp.

If we were to play an arpeggio (ex. C-E-G-C), we first place (or anchor) our fingers on all four notes, and then play the sequence. If we were to place the notes individually, the speed (as well as accuracy) would be drastically limited.

The blocking concept has huge ramifications for harp writing. Groups of notes that can be placed together are far easier to execute than notes that require jumping or directional change.

I’ll be delving into this in more detail in my new harp writing course launching in Summer 2022. Stay tuned for details!

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