Description for Irish Harp Tutor, Level 2
These tutor books are Janet Harbison’s Traditional Irish Harp Method
Today, Irish harp players have the choice of becoming traditional players that interpret, arrange and accompany, spontaneously and creatively as traditional harpers have done for over a millennium - or to play already arranged ('finished') pieces of traditional Irish harp music. From ancient times, our tradition has been ‘oral’ meaning ‘given by mouth’ - or ‘aural’ meaning ‘learned by ear’ (both descriptions are correct!). And it is an improvisatory art that is ultimately flexible, constantly creative, masterfully technical and expressive by the addition of ornamentation and variation.
This is distinctive from the ‘classical’ style of learning and performance - but, like jazz and other improvisatory styles, can also exist in the classical repertoire in ‘fixed’ arrangement. Janet Harbison’s Method is designed to teach traditional players, and is the method that has produced and shaped many of Ireland's most celebrated traditional harp players today.
This is the TUTOR BOOK for Harbison’s Harp Method LEVEL 2 in which you will learn:
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Some important historical harp pieces – such as Give Me Your Hand and Si Beg Si Mor
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Lots more well-known tunes that everyone likes to hear – and your friends will love to play with you
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More great dance music including first jigs and hornpipes
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How to work out your Chord Plans for a tune – and what Play Patterns to use
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How to develop your arrangements with 3 easy steps
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More on improvising to help you get creative!
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More to do with chord-based accompaniments – so you can join any session and do a good job of accompanying any kind of dance music
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Start playing ‘octave bases’ taking it from a simple starting point…
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About what makes the music of Carolan really special…
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About the most important historical harp events – such as the Belfast Harpers’ Assembly of 1792
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About the ‘Harmonic Scale’ which explains why we humans love the sound of music
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About ‘Major’ and ‘Minor’ modes and the chord plans that go with them
Tunes featured in this coursework are: Give Me Your Hand, The Rock of Cashel, Shoe the Donkey, Lucy Farr’s Barndance, O Donnell’s March, Roddy McCorley (or ‘Sean South’), The Cliffs of Dooneen, Down by the Sally Gardens, Sonny Brogan’s Mazurka, The Ballydesmond Polka, The Murroe Polka, Lannigan’s Ball, The Road to Lisdoonvarna, Carolan's George Brabazon, Miss Murphy, Miss Goulding, Captain O Kane and Shebeg Shemore; The Mountains of Mourne, The Keel Row, Three Little Drummers, The Coolea Slide, The Butterfly, The Good Natured Man, The Rights of Man, Mo Ghile Mear, She Moved Through the Fair, Carolan’s Lament for Charles MacCabe
