Have you ever been told not to worry about the harp pedals?
“Danielle, what are you talking about? What are “harp pedals”?”
On the harp, the pedals adjust the chromatic pitch of the strings. Each string has three different potential pitches: flat, natural, and sharp. The pedal is connected to discs which change the pitch of the string.
As you can imagine, navigating the pedals can get complicated very fast!
“So, why not just let the harpist figure it out? You have the experience, right?”
Yes, the pedals are complicated. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to write “unplayable” music that requires impossible pedal changes.
Historically, harpists have told composers not to worry about the pedal changes and let us, the harpist, figure it out.
Here’s why I disagree:
If a composer ignores the pedal requirements, the resulting music can be completely unplayable.
Here’s a few tips:
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The pedal requirements should be part of the composition process, not an after-thought
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Harpists should be patient and teach strategies for working through the pedals
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Have a harpist look through your score ahead of the first rehearsal, to catch any errors 🙂
If you haven’t already, watch my new YouTube video to learn more!