The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #17070   Message #163133
Posted By: emily rain
14-Jan-00 - 11:00 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Lyrics with harp accompaniment
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lyrics with harp accompaniment
when you check out Sylvia Woods' stuff, don't miss her book on arranging music for the harp. it's not hard to arrange for the harp; the fullness of the tone and the extra long resonance makes it so you don't have to play as many notes as the piano. in fact, really complex arrangements can get muddy. less is more.

when i first started singing with my harp, i picked simple folk songs (both fast and slow) from my Joan Baez records and just fiddled with the chords. mix up blocked chords with "figured" chords (where you play the notes individually instead of simultaneously), leave out the third sometimes to make "open" chords, and you'll have something very passable. easy as pie.