❓ Question of the Day ❓ Would you like to see me choosing fingering for a piece LIVE on video? 👇 Let me know down in the comments 👇 Time Stamps for this video: 00:00 Introduction 00:57 Disclaimer 01:24 Rule 1: If there’s one note, use your 2nd finger 01:39 Rule 2: If there are 2 notes, use interval patterns 03:50 Rule 3: If there are 4 notes or less in one direction, the highest note is thumb 04:01 Rule 4: If there are more than 4 notes in one direction, think about where to cross 04:29 Rule 5: Consider the rule of brackets 06:22 Rule 6: When there’s a turnaround, use the thumb on both sides 06:58 Rule 7: On long notes, come off 07:55 Rule 8: Avoid crossing under or over at a skip in the notes 08:14 Rule 9: Consider what the left hand is doing 08:39 Rule 10: Consider if it’s repeated later in the piece 09:15 Applying the rules in the context of a piece - "Sally Gardens"
Yes that would be cool i'm starting to challenge myself on choose fingering these days.... i have a question tho that i'm a bit struggling to think what best option for the memory thing that is my biggest issue... i agree as guideline to choose the same finger for the same passsage but as you said sometimes is nearly same but not exactly same like maybe a slightly diffesrent timing on the same notes and i tried to change slightly fingering in a way that i remember that when i do the first fingering i know i'm in that bit and same with the second... i started to think about this as the pieces i'm learning are getting a bit longer and i'm really getting confused of where i am... what's your thinking? cheers
Great video, Christy! This is something we work with constantly with students. I love your clear explanation of not only WHAT to do but also WHY it's important to do it this way. I'm assigning watching this video as "homework" to all my students!
That's really brilliant! After ten years of playing the harp I usually have no problems with fingering and feel confident with playing pieces that have no fingering remarks or don't even look at them closley when there are some. While listening to your rules I had lots of Aha-Moments: "That's why!" Thank you for helping me get more awareness and understanding of the principles where there was simply intuitiv know-how before! Greetings, Theresa
Lol I am melting for the hideous heat today in Italy and see you with a wool sweater and a plaid on your shoulder makes me faint :D Awesome and useful video as usual ♥
Great video, Christy-Lyn! It would be great to have another video watching how you choose your fingering. (especially if that piece could be one we could purchase/download, and follow along with you, and perhaps learn, too.)
Aw yay!! 😃🙌🏻🎉 I’m so glad you’re doing this, well done for getting started! You might find this video helpful: “A Proven Method for Learning Harp as an Adult” ruclips.net/video/_nB7p3jFG4A/видео.html
I discovered your channel two weeks ago, after ordering my harp but before it arrived, and I've been binge-watching your awesome videos. I finally got my harp on Tuesday and have been practising every day, keeping your helpful hints in mind. Thanks to your channel, I feel like I know what to do. Thank you!
very useful, thank you! I always ask to myself how to fingering on the harp, which are the rules at the base of fingering! this is a good general approach to think at, thank you!
This is really useful to me, including the cheat sheet! I haven't started learning harp, but I just bought a lyre and am starting to learn to play it. The notes are in reverse order from a harp (lowest notes closest to the body), but the rules here would probably apply (just reversing some of the details in places).
Thanks! If you're looking for others who play lyre, or lyre related things, one of the harpists in our community created a Facebook page and website that you could always check out. I think her website is learningthelyreharp.com. Xx Nicole, LTH Team Member
@@LearningtheHarp Thanks, Nicole! It looks like this site has a lot of information about all aspects of the instrument, from playing techniques to care for the instrument.
Your so beautiful and talented and have such a beautiful voice and you play the harp beautifully and are such a nice lady please ignore the haters and any thumbs down they love you also I promise 🙂🤗😴
Love this video, very helpful! I am a pianist who just got into the harp recently and very often with the piano I have had experiences where the fingering I find on sheet music is absolutely wild, like “who the Cinnamon Toast Crunch would use this?” And I use my own....and then realize that the fingering given by the editor actually would have been better and have to change it 😂 though this situation is quite rare. most of the time if I feel intuitively the given fingering is weird it does actually help to change it. Sometimes the editor just has different hand anatomy to me and that’s just how they roll 🤷♂️
Thank you. I have played harp for 1 1/2 yrs, semi-self taught plus you tube. These fingering rules have come natural to me, but I have never been sure about them. There were things I was not sure about, so having this video and the rules helps. I would like a video showing you applying the rules to a piece. That is where my questions come in.
Thank you, Christy-Lyn! I'm a beginner harp player and left-handed. I have a lot of sheet music with fingering notes, and sometimes I get frustrated with WHY the composers marked/bracketed certain fingerings. Your explanations in this video helps me critically view the fingering and help me either follow the sheet music or makes notes with this very common-sense approach.
Oooh thanks again for this video, I've been struggling with "Lullaby for Violet" and just put it down to the fact that I've only been trying to learn for four days, but thanks to your tips on bracketing and fingering I'm really starting to get the hang of it! Changing the bass note to the second finger for the fourth interval made a big difference, I'd been playing all the bass notes with the 3rd and kept getting confused.
yea another one, I love going backwards for the moment. Review all your videos. I really can't believe how much I have learn't from your Patreon just from your videos and sheet music. This is so awesome. Thank you
For someone wanting to learn how to play the harp this is an excellent video to practice correct fingering technique right from the start and not have to unlearn less than ideal habits in the future. Yes, a video on figuring out the best fingering on a piece would be great.
Christy your an interesting teacher, you've got a great personality, I pick up bits and pieces from you. But being a person that learn to play from watching TV as a child. and learning penny whistle in my forties self teaching myself dulcimer by numbers, the harp is a slow learn for me. I've built two harps and play most instruments by ear. You put out a good strong effort and I always leave your videos with a better knowledge of what I trying to do, thanks for sharing your knowledge.🌟💙💯
Million thanks for explaining the why's and wherefor's. I didn't know about the 'rules' of fingering and will be replaying this video whilst attempting the free download, over and over! My lovely tutor would put in the fingering into pieces for me so that we could get on with the piece but, now I know why, also the reasons for changes of fingering which had already been put into pieces by the person who had done the arrangement in the first place. I am a great fan of 'comfort' of placing in my efforts of smooth transitions. Every little piece of info is always most useful - many thanks for sharing. You are a star !! 😃
That's wonderful - it's really good to understand the why! 😊. If you're having trouble getting the free download, just pop us an email on hello@learningtheharp.com and we'll get you sorted 🤗 xx Nicole, LTH Team Member
Oh my gosh this is so helpful! Thank you! I just bought the Sylvia Wood book and my first harp book as well and I’m going to read through all of that. I didn’t understand brackets. And although I have very long fingers I didn’t even think about the logic with muscle memory. I’m not even half way through and just had to thank you.
Thank you. It was great to see all ten rules in one spot and I love the PDF. One thing I am trying to do more of is spending quality time with the sheet music before I actually take it too the harp. I look for patterns and repeats and then pencil in the fingering and brackets. If I do this first I don't get so overwhelmed by the piece.
Thank you for this information. It now makes sense to me why you put the fingering you did in your pieces. I have sometimes changed the fingering of a piece because it seemed to work better for me, but now that I understand the 10 rules of fingering, I am going to go back and scribble out my changes and learn the piece properly😀. I really appreciate how well you explain and demonstrate what you are teaching me. Thank you so much!
Thank you very much for all these tips! I find them really helpful, especially because I usually want to learn pieces that are written for piano or other instruments, so I just look them up and try to adapt them to the harp and simplify it to match my level, so knowing these rules will save me a lot of time of trial and error. I'm always very happy to receive your emails with these kind of lessons, thanks for doing it, you're the best! Greetings from Spain :)
This is great! As a piano teacher, I spend a lot of my lesson time doing exactly this with my students, because I know what a difference consistent, efficient fingering can make. And somehow I didn't know or remember the rule of brackets going the same direction, so this will make a big difference for me. Thanks so much! And yes, please do another one with a piece that we don't already know - that would be so educational.
Wonderful, I’m so glad it helped to hear the fingering rules explained! I’ll do the video (where I work out the fingering live) in a livestream next week Thursday!
This was a really helpful video - thank you! It would be great to have a video as you mentioned, where you explain the development of the fingerings for a piece.
Very helpful and clear! Although, lets remember that these rules have aim to make playing so much easier and never harder! The best tip I was given was to always be free to choose the fingering that feels the most natural. I learned a lot of complicated patterns for finger placing, and although some of them made a lot of sense ( = placing finger 3 instead of 2 can feel clunky but makes placing 2 and 1 more easy) not everything suits everyone. Hand size, string spacement and dexterity all play a role! So sometimes, struggling to learn a piece that feels difficult can be solved by forgetting the proposed fingering and trying out what seems natural. 9 times out of the 10, my first instinct was the one that I kept because it was the smoothest! I especially like your tip reminding that even though I can feel comfortable using fingers 1 and 2 for 5ths intervals on easier pieces, it's better to keep with 1 and 3 to help with automation! Thank you!
Thank you Christy-Lyn, even if I already knew almost of these rules, I didn't know the explanation. So now, I will be considering these rules when I practice and not change when I think (wrongly) it's better for me. Very helpul.😊
Hi Viviane! I’m glad you found the explanations helpful 😊 There is definitely room for different fingering working better for different people, but it’s really helpful to learn solid habits first 😊👍🏻
@@LearningtheHarp Yes, thank you again. I have a small hand so it's not always easy to get the good fingering but I understand what you say. I'll try 👍🏻 By the way, I like very much Sally Gardens, I can play it with ease and now I work much slowlier and thoroughly as you said.
Thank you Christy-Lyn! Your channel is amazing, helpful and reassuring. I am a new harpist but a seasoned semi-pro recorder player. Harp is WAY DIFFERENT. I'm still learning how to hold the thing (26-string Harpsickle). I have a small question though- How do you keep from getting cross-eyed and seeing a second phantom row of strings?
Hello. I'm having trouble getting the free fingering cheat-sheet in my email. It's been a couple of days and nothing has arrived in my email yet. Thank you for all your helpful videos. They are wonderful and so helpful.
I have recently composed a 4voices fugue for lever harp. Find the right fingering was a hard thing. But now all works. Lot of 1&2, some 3 and just a little of 4. Play polyphonic music at the harp is my new goal! Soon I will post a video of this piece on my channel, follow me if you are interested
I am watching your videos and getting interested to the instrument, a heavenly music instrument, an instrument played by David. I can’t play an church organ though very much interested once, because my leg, both hands doesn’t coordinate and work at a time. Do you think I can learn harp? Am an entrepreneur, student of Advance Management in a reputed business school at 60😊
Hey - I think it's definitely possible for you! If you're feeling a bit unsure and don't want to commit to purchasing a harp, you could always see if there's a place near you that rents harps out. Then you can get a feel for the instrument and your learning journey ahead 😁😄. Send us an email if you have any questions 🤗 Nicole, LTH Team Member
Thank you for your lesson on fingering. I downloaded the sheet. My question is that when I go to get the sheet music for Sally Gardens, it takes me to the course. How do I get the sheetmusic?
I'm a complete beginner but I tried to make the fingering for a song i'd like to play. There I encountered the following sequence (the number is the length in 8th notes): B A E 3G 5A How would you make the fingering for this? After watching this video i planned on [1 2 [3] 2 1] (imagine [ as opening a bracket and ] as closing one). But the problem with this is, that i place the finger on the A string for the second bracket while it's still the current note because i haven't played the E yet, thus stopping the sound before a new note is played. What do you do in a situation like that? Stop the sound of the A, play the E simultaneously with placing fingers 1 and 2 for the second bracket, change the fingering to [1 2 3] [2 1] or something else entirely?
These are good thoughts you’re having here! There isn’t necessarily one perfect solution, and it would also depend on what is happening in the left hand. I understand what you’re saying about the sound stopping, and your suggestion of separating into two brackets could be a good solution, although it depends on the final speed - you might struggle to place the G on time after the E 8th note especially if the left hand is placing something at the same time. Perhaps also try (12(3)1) 2? Bracketing the 1 on G helps you to get there on time, but you don’t have to place the A yet which is great - it gives a little more time for that note to resound and you’re placing on it when it’s not as audible.
@@LearningtheHarp The [1 2 [3] 1] 2 is a great idea. As I said, I'm a total beginner, but this fingering somehow just feels right to me. And because the G is a relatively long note there is a a lot of time to place that second finger for the final A. Thanks a lot for your help.
I am curious though...it seems like a lot of harp music (outside of very beginner levels) don't include fingering at all. I have a piano background and took to the harp pretty fast, but because I'm looking at intermediate pieces amd composers don't add it at all, I get stuck on the fingering even though I could play it easily note and rhythm-wise. Even some of Kim Robertson's easier pieces (Kala Maya or Maids of Mourne Shore for example) don't include fingering whereas there would be at least a little fingering if it had been written for piano. Is there a reason behind many harp composers not including fingering or a guideline for fingering for many of the intermediate pieces?
I’m not sure... perhaps because there are many different ways of fingering things, and many people would disagree with the fingering written in the music. Perhaps they prefer to just leave it up to personal opinion of the harpist, or for the teacher to choose? The reason I’m so adamant about putting in fingering and even bracketing is because I know many people in my audience are teaching themselves, and I want to show them good fingering to help them learn good habits. I’m very teaching-oriented, whereas many composers are purely sharing their beautiful compositions, and less concerned about helping people to learn good habits. What do you think?
@@LearningtheHarp I agree! A lot of composers are not teachers, so they don't think about the didactic part and just want to share their pieces. I also think that (while I inmensely appreciate it) a lot of advanced players may be annoyed if all the pieces have the fingering written, so the composers would have to make 2 versions available, with and without fingers, which isn't very practical in the long run.
First, I want to thank you for your lovely response. It is much appreciated. I can understand that. I wonder, too, if some of it may have to do with publishing companies, in that they may put their own fingering in (depending on the company) when in the process of publishing a piece? That could be a reason as well since sometimes, with piano music, I'll see fingering with one edition that another edition of a piece may not have. It was just something curious about and I have never found much of a response to that question until now.
@@nai.naisha I can understand that! Though I don't really see why an advanced harpist would be annoyed. But I suppose most beginners tend to also need to start at the very basic level of learning notes and such and they learn the fingering and bracketing as they learn the basics of music. Whereas I'm probably one of those in the minority of learning more intermediate music because I already read music and it's a matter of just figuring out the fingering on the music. I don't think every note should be numbered with fingering of course, but just an occasional note being numbered would certainly help!
It says "free sheet music" in the description and she says "free sheet music", but when I click on the link it's $40. This needs to be fixed. If it costs money now, so be it. But at least say it's no longer free in the description. I want a membership when my harp arrives, but it's not right to list it as free when it isn't.
Hi there! Thanks for letting me know that the details need to be updated. You can still get the Sally Gardens course free if you get it with the free trial. We decided to change it so that you can choose any course to get free for your first try! The sheet music is now sold separately, but you can learn the song with the course without using sheet music if you like 😊
Hi Sharon! Go to www.learningtheharp.com/harp-fingering You might have to wait for a few seconds for the form to load, then you put in your email address and the PDF will be emailed to you :)
Having the rules written out is incredibly helpful, but understanding the why behind them is priceless. Thank you so much for this video! :-)
Thanks Helen!
❓ Question of the Day ❓
Would you like to see me choosing fingering for a piece LIVE on video?
👇 Let me know down in the comments 👇
Time Stamps for this video:
00:00 Introduction
00:57 Disclaimer
01:24 Rule 1: If there’s one note, use your 2nd finger
01:39 Rule 2: If there are 2 notes, use interval patterns
03:50 Rule 3: If there are 4 notes or less in one direction, the highest note is thumb
04:01 Rule 4: If there are more than 4 notes in one direction, think about where to cross
04:29 Rule 5: Consider the rule of brackets
06:22 Rule 6: When there’s a turnaround, use the thumb on both sides
06:58 Rule 7: On long notes, come off
07:55 Rule 8: Avoid crossing under or over at a skip in the notes
08:14 Rule 9: Consider what the left hand is doing
08:39 Rule 10: Consider if it’s repeated later in the piece
09:15 Applying the rules in the context of a piece - "Sally Gardens"
Yes, this would be so great.
Yes, absolutely.😁I am particularly interested in pieces where there are several 2 finger chords going up or down one after the other.
Yes, Please!!
Yes that would be cool i'm starting to challenge myself on choose fingering these days.... i have a question tho that i'm a bit struggling to think what best option for the memory thing that is my biggest issue... i agree as guideline to choose the same finger for the same passsage but as you said sometimes is nearly same but not exactly same like maybe a slightly diffesrent timing on the same notes and i tried to change slightly fingering in a way that i remember that when i do the first fingering i know i'm in that bit and same with the second... i started to think about this as the pieces i'm learning are getting a bit longer and i'm really getting confused of where i am... what's your thinking? cheers
That would be great!
Great video, Christy! This is something we work with constantly with students. I love your clear explanation of not only WHAT to do but also WHY it's important to do it this way. I'm assigning watching this video as "homework" to all my students!
Oh I’m so glad you like it Carol!! It was seriously difficult to make clear “rules” that make sense, so I’m really pleased to hear that you agree 😅❤️
That's really brilliant! After ten years of playing the harp I usually have no problems with fingering and feel confident with playing pieces that have no fingering remarks or don't even look at them closley when there are some. While listening to your rules I had lots of Aha-Moments: "That's why!" Thank you for helping me get more awareness and understanding of the principles where there was simply intuitiv know-how before!
Greetings, Theresa
I know that feeling, it’s so great to have things confirmed 😅👌🏻
Lol I am melting for the hideous heat today in Italy and see you with a wool sweater and a plaid on your shoulder makes me faint :D
Awesome and useful video as usual ♥
Me too!!!
You sounds like a happy angel all the time! Cheer me up When i listening you speak.
That's very helpful! I'd love to see you "live" choosing fingering.
Great video, Christy-Lyn! It would be great to have another video watching how you choose your fingering. (especially if that piece could be one we could purchase/download, and follow along with you, and perhaps learn, too.)
Great idea! Will do ❤️
The information in this video is priceless! I would like to see a video of you doing this with a piece.
Excellent teaching and so helpful!
Yes! That would be very helpful. I enjoy your videos so much. Your enthusiasm is very infectious. Keep up the good work.
I'm so glad i've found you! I've just started teaching myself a small harp and it's so good to know I'll be learning it right!
Aw yay!! 😃🙌🏻🎉 I’m so glad you’re doing this, well done for getting started! You might find this video helpful: “A Proven Method for Learning Harp as an Adult”
ruclips.net/video/_nB7p3jFG4A/видео.html
@@LearningtheHarp thanks! Will deffo take a look!
I discovered your channel two weeks ago, after ordering my harp but before it arrived, and I've been binge-watching your awesome videos. I finally got my harp on Tuesday and have been practising every day, keeping your helpful hints in mind. Thanks to your channel, I feel like I know what to do. Thank you!
Oh this is so good to hear! Keep it up, and stay positive! 💕
very useful, thank you! I always ask to myself how to fingering on the harp, which are the rules at the base of fingering! this is a good general approach to think at, thank you!
Hi ! Yes please show us how we can turn a normal piece of sheet music without fingering to be able to use for harp music . With appreciation!
This is really useful to me, including the cheat sheet! I haven't started learning harp, but I just bought a lyre and am starting to learn to play it. The notes are in reverse order from a harp (lowest notes closest to the body), but the rules here would probably apply (just reversing some of the details in places).
Thanks! If you're looking for others who play lyre, or lyre related things, one of the harpists in our community created a Facebook page and website that you could always check out. I think her website is learningthelyreharp.com.
Xx Nicole, LTH Team Member
George!!!! (Christy-Lyn here). LONG TIME NO SEE!! So nice to see your name pop up here 😃😃 Hope you have fun with the lyre, so cool!!
@@LearningtheHarp Thanks, Nicole! It looks like this site has a lot of information about all aspects of the instrument, from playing techniques to care for the instrument.
I plan to get a harp later in the year and even though I don’t have one yet this is a fantastic overview
Your so beautiful and talented and have such a beautiful voice and you play the harp beautifully and are such a nice lady please ignore the haters and any thumbs down they love you also I promise 🙂🤗😴
Love this video, very helpful! I am a pianist who just got into the harp recently and very often with the piano I have had experiences where the fingering I find on sheet music is absolutely wild, like “who the Cinnamon Toast Crunch would use this?” And I use my own....and then realize that the fingering given by the editor actually would have been better and have to change it 😂 though this situation is quite rare. most of the time if I feel intuitively the given fingering is weird it does actually help to change it. Sometimes the editor just has different hand anatomy to me and that’s just how they roll 🤷♂️
Thank you. I have played harp for 1 1/2 yrs, semi-self taught plus you tube. These fingering rules have come natural to me, but I have never been sure about them. There were things I was not sure about, so having this video and the rules helps. I would like a video showing you applying the rules to a piece. That is where my questions come in.
Wonderful! I’m glad this confirmed things for you 👍🏻👍🏻 Yes I think I’m going to have to make that video 😃
Thank you, Christy-Lyn! I'm a beginner harp player and left-handed. I have a lot of sheet music with fingering notes, and sometimes I get frustrated with WHY the composers marked/bracketed certain fingerings. Your explanations in this video helps me critically view the fingering and help me either follow the sheet music or makes notes with this very common-sense approach.
These are all incredibly helpful tips Christy, thank you so much for putting this together!!!
Oooh thanks again for this video, I've been struggling with "Lullaby for Violet" and just put it down to the fact that I've only been trying to learn for four days, but thanks to your tips on bracketing and fingering I'm really starting to get the hang of it! Changing the bass note to the second finger for the fourth interval made a big difference, I'd been playing all the bass notes with the 3rd and kept getting confused.
yea another one, I love going backwards for the moment. Review all your videos. I really can't believe how much I have learn't from your Patreon just from your videos and sheet music. This is so awesome. Thank you
Thank you 😊❤️ sharing this ❤️ wonderful information on the harp..
For someone wanting to learn how to play the harp this is an excellent video to practice correct fingering technique right from the start and not have to unlearn less than ideal habits in the future. Yes, a video on figuring out the best fingering on a piece would be great.
Wonderful! I will do. Glad you liked the video! 😃
yes that would be awesome! i want to learn how to do fingering on my own. please do that. thanks so much Christy-Lyn!
Yay!!
Christy your an interesting teacher, you've got a great personality, I pick up bits and pieces from you. But being a person that learn to play from watching TV as a child. and learning penny whistle in my forties self teaching myself dulcimer by numbers, the harp is a slow learn for me. I've built two harps and play most instruments by ear. You put out a good strong effort and I always leave your videos with a better knowledge of what I trying to do, thanks for sharing your knowledge.🌟💙💯
Extremely helpful! I particularly liked 8-9-10. The explanations will really help remembering how it all works.
Yay! 💕
Million thanks for explaining the why's and wherefor's. I didn't know about the 'rules' of fingering and will be replaying this video whilst attempting the free download, over and over! My lovely tutor would put in the fingering into pieces for me so that we could get on with the piece but, now I know why, also the reasons for changes of fingering which had already been put into pieces by the person who had done the arrangement in the first place. I am a great fan of 'comfort' of placing in my efforts of smooth transitions. Every little piece of info is always most useful - many thanks for sharing. You are a star !! 😃
That's wonderful - it's really good to understand the why! 😊. If you're having trouble getting the free download, just pop us an email on hello@learningtheharp.com and we'll get you sorted 🤗 xx Nicole, LTH Team Member
Such a good video of information.
Thanks you so much for this video . Explaining clearly the rules . You always make it so simple to understand . 🥰
Oh my gosh this is so helpful! Thank you! I just bought the Sylvia Wood book and my first harp book as well and I’m going to read through all of that. I didn’t understand brackets. And although I have very long fingers I didn’t even think about the logic with muscle memory. I’m not even half way through and just had to thank you.
Thank you. It was great to see all ten rules in one spot and I love the PDF. One thing I am trying to do more of is spending quality time with the sheet music before I actually take it too the harp. I look for patterns and repeats and then pencil in the fingering and brackets. If I do this first I don't get so overwhelmed by the piece.
Really grateful! thank you so much!
Yes please create a video explaining bracketing notation as you go. Thank you!
This is one of the most helpful yet, Christy-Lyn! Thank you so much!!
The advice is useful, clearly and cheerfully presented, I love this channel :3
yes -- I'd love to see you "figure out the fingering" live!
Yay! I’m going to do it in a livestream next Week Thursday 😁👌🏻
Great video thank you. Really helped me realise the benefit of ‘rules’ to help in speed of placing note patterns thanks.
Thank you for this information. It now makes sense to me why you put the fingering you did in your pieces. I have sometimes changed the fingering of a piece because it seemed to work better for me, but now that I understand the 10 rules of fingering, I am going to go back and scribble out my changes and learn the piece properly😀. I really appreciate how well you explain and demonstrate what you are teaching me. Thank you so much!
Hehe that’s very cool. Well done for being willing to learn to do things in a different way!
Thank you very much for all these tips! I find them really helpful, especially because I usually want to learn pieces that are written for piano or other instruments, so I just look them up and try to adapt them to the harp and simplify it to match my level, so knowing these rules will save me a lot of time of trial and error. I'm always very happy to receive your emails with these kind of lessons, thanks for doing it, you're the best! Greetings from Spain :)
This is great! As a piano teacher, I spend a lot of my lesson time doing exactly this with my students, because I know what a difference consistent, efficient fingering can make. And somehow I didn't know or remember the rule of brackets going the same direction, so this will make a big difference for me. Thanks so much! And yes, please do another one with a piece that we don't already know - that would be so educational.
Wonderful, I’m so glad it helped to hear the fingering rules explained! I’ll do the video (where I work out the fingering live) in a livestream next week Thursday!
Awesome. Your tutorial vids are making my dream come true! Thanks
This was a really helpful video - thank you! It would be great to have a video as you mentioned, where you explain the development of the fingerings for a piece.
Awesome! Will do 😃
This is really great, Christy-Lyn! I wish I'd seen a video like this back in 2018 when I first got my start!
Yes please, to making a video about applying fingering to a piece without it 🙋♀️💜
I’m going to do it, yay!!
Look out for it next week Thursday, I’ll do a livestream 😁
Very helpful and clear! Although, lets remember that these rules have aim to make playing so much easier and never harder!
The best tip I was given was to always be free to choose the fingering that feels the most natural. I learned a lot of complicated patterns for finger placing, and although some of them made a lot of sense ( = placing finger 3 instead of 2 can feel clunky but makes placing 2 and 1 more easy) not everything suits everyone. Hand size, string spacement and dexterity all play a role!
So sometimes, struggling to learn a piece that feels difficult can be solved by forgetting the proposed fingering and trying out what seems natural. 9 times out of the 10, my first instinct was the one that I kept because it was the smoothest!
I especially like your tip reminding that even though I can feel comfortable using fingers 1 and 2 for 5ths intervals on easier pieces, it's better to keep with 1 and 3 to help with automation! Thank you!
Yes! I would like to see to the Question of the Day!
Super cool advice
Thank you so much!
Thank you Christy-Lyn, even if I already knew almost of these rules, I didn't know the explanation. So now, I will be considering these rules when I practice and not change when I think (wrongly) it's better for me. Very helpul.😊
Hi Viviane! I’m glad you found the explanations helpful 😊 There is definitely room for different fingering working better for different people, but it’s really helpful to learn solid habits first 😊👍🏻
@@LearningtheHarp Yes, thank you again. I have a small hand so it's not always easy to get the good fingering but I understand what you say. I'll try 👍🏻 By the way, I like very much Sally Gardens, I can play it with ease and now I work much slowlier and thoroughly as you said.
Super helpful!
Great topic 🎶🙂
Thanks a lot. Very useful.
Very cool Christy, thanks. BTW I don't know if you know, Kelly of Michigan Harp Center passed a couple of years ago.
Yes I heard about that, very sad! I met her in 2019 💕
Great lesson - as always. Would consider recommending brackets on Jean Paul Egide Martini’s “Plaisir d’amour” - played in C-dur?
Sooooooo helpful!
Thank you Christy-Lyn! Your channel is amazing, helpful and reassuring. I am a new harpist but a seasoned semi-pro recorder player. Harp is WAY DIFFERENT. I'm still learning how to hold the thing (26-string Harpsickle). I have a small question though- How do you keep from getting cross-eyed and seeing a second phantom row of strings?
EXTREMELY helpful! Thank you!
Yes this is what I searched for
Thank you Christie-Lyn, love this so helpful. 😊
It’s a pleasure! ❤️
This has been so helpful thank you so much
Christy, thank you for the great instruction!😊❤️
Such a pleasure! Hope it helps 😃💕
Great lesson. Thank you
Wonderful video BUT the "Sally Gardens" sheet music isn't free anymore. Please correct this in the description.
Hello. I'm having trouble getting the free fingering cheat-sheet in my email. It's been a couple of days and nothing has arrived in my email yet. Thank you for all your helpful videos. They are wonderful and so helpful.
Hi Denise! Sorry about that, not sure why it hasn’t come yet! Can you pls email hello@learningtheharp.com and Glenda will make sure you get it!
This is really helpful! Thanks.
Thanks christy mam love u from india
this is so helpful thank you.
Really helpful. A lot of this is comonsense but when learning your logical brain doesn't always take over!😂
So true! 😅 Especially when you’re feeling a bit stressed about it. It’s helpful to have someone explain these things logically 👍🏻👍🏻
Yes please
Yes! ,make that video!,
Yes,yes,Yes!
Great understanding!
Thanks Lloyd!
yes please
Yes..make a video!!
Yay! I think I will 😃
@@LearningtheHarp thank you so.much! I save all your videos so I can go back to watch again...
Yes Please, enjoyed the lesson.
Hey Connie 👋🏻 Thanks, I think I will!
I have recently composed a 4voices fugue for lever harp. Find the right fingering was a hard thing. But now all works. Lot of 1&2, some 3 and just a little of 4. Play polyphonic music at the harp is my new goal! Soon I will post a video of this piece on my channel, follow me if you are interested
Can someone explain rule 8. To me please lt reads Avoid crossing when there’s a skip in the notes or strings. Does this mean that you have to place?
Regarding Rule 2 : if the interval is 0, the same note played twice like at the end of a phrase, is it still thumb+index?
Is there a video you mentioned in the end of this one?
I am watching your videos and getting interested to the instrument, a heavenly music instrument, an instrument played by David. I can’t play an church organ though very much interested once, because my leg, both hands doesn’t coordinate and work at a time. Do you think I can learn harp? Am an entrepreneur, student of Advance Management in a reputed business school at 60😊
Hey - I think it's definitely possible for you! If you're feeling a bit unsure and don't want to commit to purchasing a harp, you could always see if there's a place near you that rents harps out. Then you can get a feel for the instrument and your learning journey ahead 😁😄. Send us an email if you have any questions 🤗 Nicole, LTH Team Member
Thank you for your lesson on fingering. I downloaded the sheet. My question is that when I go to get the sheet music for Sally Gardens, it takes me to the course. How do I get the sheetmusic?
Hi Connie! You can go to learningtheharp.com/shop and then search for the song 😊💕
@@LearningtheHarp I put it in my cart. Christy Lynn said that it was free sheet music, but my cart says $5.
I. cannot find the pdf. Where can I download it from?
Hi I can’t see how to get free sheet
I can't get the free PDF
I'm a complete beginner but I tried to make the fingering for a song i'd like to play. There I encountered the following sequence (the number is the length in 8th notes):
B A E 3G 5A
How would you make the fingering for this? After watching this video i planned on [1 2 [3] 2 1] (imagine [ as opening a bracket and ] as closing one). But the problem with this is, that i place the finger on the A string for the second bracket while it's still the current note because i haven't played the E yet, thus stopping the sound before a new note is played. What do you do in a situation like that? Stop the sound of the A, play the E simultaneously with placing fingers 1 and 2 for the second bracket, change the fingering to [1 2 3] [2 1] or something else entirely?
These are good thoughts you’re having here! There isn’t necessarily one perfect solution, and it would also depend on what is happening in the left hand. I understand what you’re saying about the sound stopping, and your suggestion of separating into two brackets could be a good solution, although it depends on the final speed - you might struggle to place the G on time after the E 8th note especially if the left hand is placing something at the same time. Perhaps also try (12(3)1) 2? Bracketing the 1 on G helps you to get there on time, but you don’t have to place the A yet which is great - it gives a little more time for that note to resound and you’re placing on it when it’s not as audible.
@@LearningtheHarp The [1 2 [3] 1] 2 is a great idea. As I said, I'm a total beginner, but this fingering somehow just feels right to me. And because the G is a relatively long note there is a a lot of time to place that second finger for the final A. Thanks a lot for your help.
Wonderful, I’m so glad that’s working for you! 👍🏻👍🏻
Oh how I wish I had this years ago. I want to back through all my music and check. 🙄🙄🙄
Oh dear 😆 Sorry I took so long! 💕
I am totally new to the harp and the whole fingering thing is overwhelming me.
again, Sally Gardens isnt free anymore?
I have a hard time picking one string at a time
My brain hurts but i wILL LEARN
I've never touched an harp but I know I can do it.
Yes you can!! 😃🙌🏻🎉
I am curious though...it seems like a lot of harp music (outside of very beginner levels) don't include fingering at all. I have a piano background and took to the harp pretty fast, but because I'm looking at intermediate pieces amd composers don't add it at all, I get stuck on the fingering even though I could play it easily note and rhythm-wise. Even some of Kim Robertson's easier pieces (Kala Maya or Maids of Mourne Shore for example) don't include fingering whereas there would be at least a little fingering if it had been written for piano. Is there a reason behind many harp composers not including fingering or a guideline for fingering for many of the intermediate pieces?
I’m not sure... perhaps because there are many different ways of fingering things, and many people would disagree with the fingering written in the music. Perhaps they prefer to just leave it up to personal opinion of the harpist, or for the teacher to choose? The reason I’m so adamant about putting in fingering and even bracketing is because I know many people in my audience are teaching themselves, and I want to show them good fingering to help them learn good habits. I’m very teaching-oriented, whereas many composers are purely sharing their beautiful compositions, and less concerned about helping people to learn good habits. What do you think?
@@LearningtheHarp I agree! A lot of composers are not teachers, so they don't think about the didactic part and just want to share their pieces. I also think that (while I inmensely appreciate it) a lot of advanced players may be annoyed if all the pieces have the fingering written, so the composers would have to make 2 versions available, with and without fingers, which isn't very practical in the long run.
First, I want to thank you for your lovely response. It is much appreciated.
I can understand that. I wonder, too, if some of it may have to do with publishing companies, in that they may put their own fingering in (depending on the company) when in the process of publishing a piece? That could be a reason as well since sometimes, with piano music, I'll see fingering with one edition that another edition of a piece may not have.
It was just something curious about and I have never found much of a response to that question until now.
@@nai.naisha I can understand that! Though I don't really see why an advanced harpist would be annoyed. But I suppose most beginners tend to also need to start at the very basic level of learning notes and such and they learn the fingering and bracketing as they learn the basics of music. Whereas I'm probably one of those in the minority of learning more intermediate music because I already read music and it's a matter of just figuring out the fingering on the music. I don't think every note should be numbered with fingering of course, but just an occasional note being numbered would certainly help!
Looks like I'm way too immature to watch this intro with a straight face 😹
It says "free sheet music" in the description and she says "free sheet music", but when I click on the link it's $40. This needs to be fixed. If it costs money now, so be it. But at least say it's no longer free in the description. I want a membership when my harp arrives, but it's not right to list it as free when it isn't.
Hi there! Thanks for letting me know that the details need to be updated. You can still get the Sally Gardens course free if you get it with the free trial. We decided to change it so that you can choose any course to get free for your first try! The sheet music is now sold separately, but you can learn the song with the course without using sheet music if you like 😊
Hi I can't find the free
fingering chart on your web page, where is it please?
Hi Sharon! Go to www.learningtheharp.com/harp-fingering
You might have to wait for a few seconds for the form to load, then you put in your email address and the PDF will be emailed to you :)
@@LearningtheHarp Great thank you :-)
Sharon if you’ve already downloaded the chart, there’s a mistake in it! Please download it again at the same link I posted. It should be fixed now 😊
@@LearningtheHarp Thank you 😊
Great lesson, thank you.
Thanks Jojo! Glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Yes please