one of the things i love most about playing the harp is using my bare hands to pluck the strings, without any sort of mechanism or tool (like a bow or keyboard) between me and the strings themselves. as you watch the harpist below, take note of her hand movements, which fingers she uses, and how she uses the pedals. how do you think she produces the bell-like sounds (harmonics)? what do you think the pedals are for? why do you think some of the strings are red or black? click here to learn more about the harp.
“Tarantula” from Spiders, composed by Paul Patterson:
Click here to see my favorite solo harp piece of all time, Hindemith’s Sonata. (Don’t be alarmed by the strange non-English screen when it first pops up; the video will play after a few seconds.)
