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Locksley's EZ Harp Method

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Revised & Updated 12/16/97

LOCKSLEY'S E - Z HARP METHOD


or: Eire and Back Again
by Joe Bethancourt
A Means of Familiarization with the Medieval
Celtic Harp Designed For the Musically Illiterate.

copyright 1976, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997 W.J.Bethancourt III


First published in 1976 by White Tree Publications
Dedicated to Ted Myrick, and to Diana Paxton and my sweet Lady Wife, Cherie Ruadh, With thanks to
Richard Felix, Alexander Platt, and Ed (the Wonder Horse) Hirt.

Counter Activated 01/25/98

REVISED EDITION
1996 CE
All Rights Reserved to the Author:
Post No Bills This Means You!
White Tree Productions PO Box 35190 Phoenix-AZ-85069

TABLE OF CONTENTS
General Introduction
A short history of the Celtic Harp.......................Pg. 1
The parts of the Harp........................................Pg. 2
Types of Irish Harp...........................................Pg. 3
Chords, tuning and other exotic stuff...............Pg. 3
Tuning............................................................Pg. 4
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Sharping levers................................................Pg. 5
Harp tablature.......................................................Pg. 6
Construction of chords.................................Pg. 6
The Modes, and I don't mean ice cream.........Pg. 7
Minor scales..................................................Pg. 8
Faked chords...................................................Pg. 9
Playing where you're not supposed to...............Pg. 9
The sub-tonic..................................................Pg. 10
The mechanics of playing..............................Pg. 10
Playing the silly thing....................................Pg. 11
Shakes, rattles, and rolls.................................Pg. 11
Harmonies and such like..............................Pg. 12
Fancy stuff.............................................................Pg. 12
Period licks and footstompers.............................Pg. 13
Graces..........................................................Pg. 13
Shakes and so forth..........................................Pg. 14
Double tones, chords and such.......................Pg. 15
Harp makers...................................................Pg. 16
Where to buy harp cases....................................Pg. 17
Retail outlets for harps.......................................Pg. 17
Books, records and written music.........................Pg. 18
Good books to have...........................................Pg. 18
Recordings......................................................Pg. 19
A glossary of musical terms................................Pg. 20
Irish gaelic terms for harp music..........................Pg. 21
On Bards, and Bardic circles...............................Pg. 21
On music, and songwriting...................................Pg. 23
On Bardic circles................................................Pg. 23
Suggested College level courses.....................Pg. 23
Ogham...............................................................Pg. 24
Good Links On The Net................................Pg. 25

GENERAL:
This text is meant as an INTRODUCTION to Celtic Harp. It is not meant to teach everything
there is to know about harps, harpers and harping, but simply to get you started in the right
direction with a minimum of fuss and bother.
I strongly suggest that you buy every other book on playing Celtic/Irish harp that you can
find, and use this in conjunction with them. The more information you can get, the better off
you are.
If you already play the Concert Harp, then most of this information will be old stuff. Read it
anyway. The Irish Harp is most emphatically NOT the same instrument as the Concert Harp,
and is approached, and played, quite differently. Most of the texts I have seen on "Irish"
Harp don't approach it from the angle of pre-medieval and medieval period styles and techniques.

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CELTIC HARP


Where, or when, the Celtic harp had its' origins we are not really sure. The concept of "harp" goes all the way
back into pre- history, being an obvious development from the primitive mouth-bow, but when it came to
Ireland, there developed a unique musical instrument that was accorded the kind of reverence usually reserved

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for swords, in pre-medieval and medieval times.


The earliest written mention of the Harp per se is found in the Utrecht Psalter, a Carolingian Ms. written circa
816 CE. There are carvings on stone crosses in Ireland, also, that date from the same period, and we can infer
from this that the Celtic Harp, in its' present form, must date from at least 800 CE, and probably earlier.
The Irish Triads tell us more information about how the Harp was regarded in the Early Medieval period (ca.
920 CE):
Three things that are essential to a Lord:
A Harp, A Cloak and A Chessboard.
Three things necessary for happiness:
A faithful Wife, a well-padded Chair,
and a Harp well-tuned.
The double-strung Welsh Harp was apparently developed in the 14th Century, with an extra row of strings to
give the sharps and flats. This design spread to Italy in the 15th Century, becoming known as the "arpia
doppia," or Double Harp. The Germans called it "Doppelharpf."
The triple-harp, with three rows of strings, was developed in Wales sometime at the end of the 17th Century,
and is thus out-of- period with our concerns.
This author regards the double and triple harps as a interesting concept, but more in the line of a "solution in
search of a problem."
Next, we must define just what a Celtic Harp is.....the true Celtic, or Irish, Harp is a massively constructed harp,
with a soundbox very much wider at the bottom than the top, and strung with wire strings. The top-arm is
connected to the top of the sound-box in the center of the top, thereby angling the treble strings, and requiring
the harp to be held on the LEFT shoulder, the bass being played with the right hand and the treble with the left.
The Neo-Celtic harp is similar, but more lightly constructed with not so trapezoidal a soundbox, sometimes
rounded off in back like a modern concert harp, and uses gut or nylon strings. The top-arm is offset at the
sound-box, and therefore is usually played with the harp on the RIGHT shoulder, the left hand playing the bass
with the right hand playing the treble.....the reverse of the true Celtic Harp. It's OK to play them on the left
shoulder, however...but be ready for sharp looks from modern harpists.
The Neo-Celtic harp is a modern development, dating from about 1900 CE, when, among others, Lyon & Healy
made some real jewels! (If you ever find one of these, GRAB IT!)
The Continental Harp (used during the Middle Ages and Renaissance) has a soundbox that is very thin, with
equal dimensions at the top and bottom, and uses gut or nylon strings. This instrument is played, like a modern
concert harp,"backwards" from the Celtic harp; it is held on the RIGHT shoulder, and the hands are reversed.
These harps tend to have a very thin tone, but are rather delightful in their own right.
Note, however, that if the top-arm of a Continental Harp is centered on the top of the soundbox, then it should
be held on the left shoulder like a true Celtic harp.
The true Irish Harp does not use "sharping levers," while the Neo-Celtic Harps, even though those levers were
developed after the Renaissance, sometimes do. There are occasionally small "hooks" for sharping found on
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some Continental harps, where the string is lifted onto the hook to sharp the tone.
By the way, a player of the Celtic Harp is known as a "Harper," while a player of the Concert Harp is known as
a "Harpist."
Now that we have that out of the way.......
The harp is tuned in a simple scale from "C," i.e. "do-re-mi- fa-sol-la-ti-do." This is called a "diatonic" tuning,
or "Ionian" mode. Notice that there are no sharps or flats in this scale. This means that you may play in the key
of "C"...the white keys on a piano....but not in any others, unless you re-tune.
By the way, if you do not own a harp (oh, poor soul!) then you can mess around with this text using ONLY the
white keys on a piano, to at least familiarize yourself with what's going on.
In order to play in other keys, you must either alter your fingering pattern, known as "cross-harp," or you must
re-tune the harp. This is NOT as hard as it sounds, and will be covered later.
In view of the fact that the ancient harpers didn't particularly bother with written music, this text will seek to
teach the minimum of music and the maximum of how-to-play. After learning the playing techniques, you
should be able to puzzle out notation with the help of a modern book of music theory.
There is, however, quite a lot of music theory that must needs be discussed in order that the Harp be fully
understood. Take your time, take it slowly, and understanding will come.
In the list of books at the end of this exposition you will find a treatise on Ogham listed that makes a good case
for the use of the Ogham alphabet as a form of written music. I refer you to this as an Interesting Thing.

THE PARTS OF THE HARP


:
Aufhoirshnadhaim*: the string pegs.
Com: the belly, or soundboard; the face of the soundbox. (Where the strings attach to the body)
Corr: the top-arm, or harmonic curve; where the tuning pegs are attached.
Crann Gleasta: the tuning key, or hammer
Cruin Cruit: the shoes of the strings.
Goloca: treble strings
Lamhchrann: the forepillar.
Trom-Theda: bass strings
Uinaidhin ceangal*: tuning pins.
note: gaelic name followed by * may be incorrect.

TYPES OF IRISH HARP


:
Ceirnin: a small harp used by priests
Cinnard-Cruit: the high-headed harp
Clairseach: "little flat thing;" the common harp
Crom-Cruit: the "down-bending" harp
Cruit: harp
Telyn: harp (Welsh, Cornish, and Breton)

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CHORDS, TUNING AND OTHER EXOTIC STUFF:


Now we need to talk about chords. A chord is simply two or more tones played at the same time, that harmonize
with each other.
Certain chords, played in certain patterns, at specified rythmical speeds and intervals, enable you to accompany
a melody.
Chords can be classified into GENERIC names:
I II III IV V VI VII denoting MAJOR chords
i ii iii iv v vi vii denoting MINOR chords
Thus, using the generic names, we can construct a chord chart, which will enable the TRANSPOSITION of
chords, i.e. changing keys, with ease:
--------------------------------------------------------I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
--------------------------------------------------------C
D
E
F
G
A
B flat
D
E
F sharp G
A
B
C
E
F sharp
G sharp A
B
C sharp D
F
G
A
B flat C
D
E flat
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
A
B
C sharp D
E
F sharp G
B
C sharp
D sharp E
F sharp
G sharp A
---------------------------------------------------------

Notice the sharps and flats in there. These are caused by the fact that the modern musical scale is
arranged in WHOLE TONES (the Ionian mode) and HALF TONES (sharps and flats). Look at a
piano keyboard. The BLACK keys are the sharps and flats. We put a sharp/flat between every whole
tone EXCEPT between B - C and E - F. Don't ask me why we do it this way....we just do. Everything
comes out even that way. Don't worry about it. And, by the way, a tone may be either sharp, or flat,
depending on how you're looking at it....F sharp is the same as G flat, for our purposes, for example.
More about Tuning
These chords are called:
----------------------------------------------I - "tonic" or key chord
IV - "sub-dominant"
V - "dominant"
vi - "relative minor" of I
-----------------------------------------------

NB: These names have no relationship to what they might do in the privacy of their own birdbath, however.....
In most songs, the chords most often used are the "I - IV - V" progression. In the older, "Child Ballad" sort of
thing, the use of "VII - I" is common. Songs in minor keys tend to use "i - iv - V" a lot. Try to listen for these
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"changes" when you listen to songs. Don't worry about what key it's in, just hear the changes and think of them
by their generic names. This will enable you to play anything, eventually, just by finding the tonic chord and
going from there. This takes practice, and experience. With enough experience, you will be able to "hear ahead"
in the song; you will know what chord is likely to be coming next!

TUNING
:
The Celtic harp, and most harps, for that matter, are tuned to the Ionian mode, that is, the "C" scale. This
enables playing in the key of "C". If you want to play in other keys, however, you must retune one or more tones
of the scale. ---------------------------------------------------------------------C scale: do - re - mi - fa - sol - la - ti - do C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
D scale: re - mi - fa (sharp)- sol - la - ti - do (sharp) - re D - E - F sharp - G - A - B - C sharp - D
E scale: mi -fa (sharp)-sol (sharp)-la-ti-do (sharp)-re (sharp)-mi E -F sharp - G sharp - A -B -C sharp - D sharp E
F scale: fa - sol - la - ti (flat) - do - re - mi - fa F - G - A - B flat - C - D - E - F
G scale: sol - la - ti - do - re - mi - fa (sharp) - sol G - A - B - C - D - E - F sharp - G
A scale: la- ti- do (sharp)- re-mi- fa (sharp)-sol (sharp)- la A - B - C sharp - D - E - F sharp - G sharp - A
B scale: ti-do (sharp)-re (sharp)- mi-fa (sharp)-sol (sharp)-la (sharp)-ti B -C sharp - D sharp - E -F sharp - G
sharp - A sharp - B
B flat scale: ti (flat)-do - re - mi (flat)-fa - sol - la - ti (flat) B flat - C - D - E flat - F - G - A - B flat
Therefore, to change from a "C" scale to a "G" scale, we take the fourth tone of the "C" scale and sharp it
(raise it one-half tone), and take our key-tone from the fifth tone of the "C" scale, "G," rather than the first,
that is, "C."
The above system of listing scales may seem a bit clumsy. I am trying to show (by sharps, mostly, since Celtic
harps tend to retune by sharping the tones) how the various modern scales work....in relation to the modes
below.
If you are playing with a fiddler, he will tend to play in "D" or "A." Guitarists tend to play in "C," "D," and
"G," as a rule.

SHARPING LEVERS:
Some nylon strung harps have little levers that enable you raise the pitch of a given string one-half tone; to
sharp it. These were apparently developed in Germany about the end of the 17th Century....they are NOT used
on the traditional Celtic Harp.
If you have a harp that is set up this way, you must tune it slightly differently than a "normal" harp:
Set the sharping lever UP, or ON, on the 7th string ("B") of each octave, and then tune the harp into "C." You
now may play in "C" with no trouble, and, if you turn your "B" levers OFF, to "B flat," you will wind up

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playing in "F." Doing this enables you to play in the following keys:
F major ( D minor): all "B" levers OFF
C major (A minor): all "B" levers ON
G major (E minor): all "F" and "B" levers ON
D major : all "B," "F," and "C" levers ON
A major : all "B," "F," "C," and "G" levers ON
E major : all "B," "F," "C," "G," and "D" levers ON
B major : all "B," "F," "C," "G," "D," and "A" levers ON
and if you tune your harp to E flat, you can add the keys of B flat and E flat.....don't do that yet, though; wait
until you are familiar with the above.
Why are we talking about all this? Simple: This is basic Music Theory, and will, hopefully, enable you to
understand what comes next.....how to make the chords, on a harp, in ANY key!
Go have a drink.

HARP TABLATURE:
I have developed a form of Harp Tablature; a means of writing the tones in a numerical form, that does not
depend on the key signature.
The first tone of each scale, the key-tone, is numbered as "1," the second is "2" and so forth. The LAST tone of
any scale, the tone one octave higher than the key-tone, is numbered "1a," while tones LOWER than the key
tone are numbered "1A" and so forth. Thus, the tones of a 27 string harp might be numbered:
lowest low middle high highest
5B-6B-7B-1A-2A-3A-4A-5A-6A-7A-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1a-2a-3a-4a-5a-6a-7a-1b-2b-3b
Got that? In other words, this particular harp is tuned, in "C":
sol-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa- ect.
It is customary for harpstrings to be marked for quick identification by colouring the "C" string red and the
"F" string black or blue. This makes knowing your place a LOT easier!

CONSTRUCTION OF CHORDS:
Therefore.....in order to build chords in any key, you just use the numbers of the strings in that scale.
Remember: the "1" string/tone is the key-tone of that scale. When "1" is "C," or "do," then you're in the key of
"C." When your "1" string is "G," or "sol," you're in the key of "G."
Thus:
------------------------------------------------I chord: 1-3-5; 1a-3a-5a; 3-5-1a; 5A-1-3; etc.
ii chord: 2-4-6; 4-6-2a; etc.
iii chord: 3-5-7; 5-7-3a; etc.

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IV chord: 4-6-7a; 4a-6a-7b; 6-7a-4a; 7A-4-6; etc


V chord: 5-7-2a; 2-4-5 etc.
vi chord: 6-1a-3a; 1-3-6; etc.
vii dim. chord: 7-2a-4a
Do you see the pattern of the fingering? Look
at the first numbers/tones given for each chord!
This is NOT quite the same as on a piano!
-------------------------------------------------

Remember, the way it works is simple. Let us take a chord from the above table and assume the harp is tuned in
"C." Thus, to play the I chord of that key, you would pluck the "1-3-5" relationship, that is, the first, third and
fifth strings in each octave. This gives you a "C" chord, made up of the tones "do," "mi," and "sol."
Then, if we retune the harp to, say, the key of "F," lowering "ti" to "ti flat," we still finger the first, third and
fifth strings of the octave to get our I chord in that key, but, as the octave in this key begins, not on "do" as it
does in the key of "C," but rather on "fa," the I chord is therefore composed of the tones "fa," "la," and "do,"
which gives us the "F" chord in this key.
I realize that this is probably completely confusing if this is your first attempt at playing a musical instrument.
Keep thinking about it, and remember that "learning by doing" is the best way to learn.
Especially because we now must get into a very strange thing, to modern ears......

THE MODES, AND I DON'T MEAN ICE CREAM:


Now let's talk about period musical styles. Brace yourself! In the Middle Ages, there was no real concept of
sharps and flats. Everything was done in "modes," or "modal" forms. This concept takes any major scale, and
converts it to, essentially, six different "keys"...sort of.
The MODES are: (illustrated in "C" scale)
IONIAN: a simple major scale: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do)
DORIAN: the most commonly used: D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D (re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do-re)
PHRYGIAN: E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E (mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do-re-mi)
LYDIAN: F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F (fa-sol-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa)
MIXOLYDIAN: G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G (sol-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-sol)
AEOLIAN: the "natural minor" scale: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A (la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-sol-la)
The LOCHRIAN, from "B" to "B," was never used in the Middle Ages, so it need not really concern us.

NOTICE that these scales use NO sharps or flats. When a scale uses no sharps or flats, it is a "modal scale."
Remember: in the Middle Ages, the concept of sharps/flats was not well understood, so these modal scales were
used in ALL keys, without worrying about the sharp/flat concept ..... in other words, you can have a tune in "G
Dorian," i.e. the actual tones used would be A - B - C - D - E - F sharp - G - A but it would be conceived as
simply "re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do-re" beginning on "A." This is a difficult concept to grasp, if most of the music you
have heard has been modern popular music. Listen to Steeleye Span's recording of "King Henry" for a good
example of Dorian Mode.

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All of the above modes have "cousin" modes, called "Hypo- (Dorian, Aeolian, Mixolydian &c)" when, rather
than the scale beginning on the lowest tone (as the key-tone) the key-tone is the fourth tone of the scale. These
modes are known as "plagal" modes, and if you wish to know more about them, take a course in Music
Theory....but, FYI:

The PLAGAL MODES are:


HYPOIONIAN: G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G (key-tone is "C")
HYPODORIAN: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A (key-tone is "D")
HYPOPHRYGIAN: B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B (key-tone is "E")
HYPOLYDIAN: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C (key-tone is "F")
HYPOMIXOLYDIAN: D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D (key-tone is "G")
HYPOAEOLIAN: E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E (key-tone is "A")
The HYPOLOCHRIAN ("F" to "F" with "B" as the key-tone) was never used in the Middle Ages, either.

It is also interesting to note that the IONIAN and AEOLIAN modes, and their plagal counterparts, were
formally recognized at a quite late date, that is in 1547 by Glareanus in his treatise "Dodekachordon," while the
others were supposedly established by St. Ambrose, with St. Gregory adding the corresponding plagals...hence,
"Gregorian" chant.
Welsh and Irish music, however, made great use of the Ionian since before recorded history (we assume from
the old songs remaining, like "Men of Harlech" and "Londonderry Air.")
Just in passing, the harmonies that are three tones apart, the "third" harmonies, were considered "lascivious"
by the Church until the 16th century, and thus were frowned upon. The full chord as we now understand it, the
combination of root, third and fifth, was regarded the same way. The Welsh and Irish seem to have used them
merrily anyway, which figures.
There is also another facet of period music that needs to be mentioned, too, and that is the fact that the tones of
the scale used in the Middle Ages and Renaissance were NOT QUITE THE SAME as the ones we use now......
You see, in the mid-1700's CE, it was realized that some tones that should have harmonized actually did not;
they created a dis- harmony known as a "wolf tone;" a rattling, beating, wobbly sort of sound that messed up
the prettiness of the harmonies.
The reason behind this was that the tones of the scale were not "evenly" spaced; they weren't equidistant from
each other in terms of vibrations per second.
To solve this, the whole scale was revised, and we got the modern "tempered" scale, which has evened out the
scale, in order to eliminate the wolf tones.
The original scales did *not* have even spacing between the notes as it was based on the natural harmonic
series. It was people like Bach who wanted to be able to transpose freely on a single instrument that tempered
the scale by *evening* out the distance between the notes so that every half-step was the same as every other
half-step (hence the "Well Tempered Clavier," a pair of books of preludes and fugues in every key, now able to
be played without retuning the clavier between each piece). This is the scale we use today.
In addition, the tone "A" was arbitarily set at 440 vibrations per second, in order that all musicians could tune
to each other with a minimum of difficulty. This is why it is not really vital for you to tune precisely to "Concert
Pitch" ("A - 440") but rather to the right pitch for the individual harp, unless you are playing with someone

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else.
Experiment with the Old Scale, if you wish. It is most interesting! If you are wondering what the Old Scale
sounds like, listen to Highland bagpipes for a good example of Old Scale Mixolydian mode.
At this point, O Reader, you probably need another drink, so go get one.
Here is more information about modal scales

MINOR SCALES:
Let us now pass to the MINOR scales and keys. You can play in the Aeolian mode, the "natural" minor, by
fingering your I chord (if the harp is tuned to the Ionian mode/"C" scale) beginning on the "la" string.
This chord is an "A minor" chord, the relative minor of "C," the key to which the harp is tuned. The IV chord
is fingered with the first tone of the scale being "la," thus making it minor, also. Notice it is three half-tones
down from the major root.
Play around with finding the V chord....I'm not giving away everything!
By tuning to the proper scale, the relative major of the minor key you wish to play in, you can get almost any
minor key with little difficulty. (i.e. as "C" is the relative major of "Am," so "G" is the relative major of "Em,"
and so forth.

FAKED CHORDS:
Many chords can be "faked" by playing only two tones of the usual three. As long as you have the "root" tone,
you're OK. Simply build the chord with a "root - fifth" or "root - third" relationship, and the subsequent sound
will tide you over....this works well when the third tone, or the fifth, of a chord is a sharp/flat that the harp is not
tuned for.
You may also play what are called "passing" chords. These are chords that fill in the gaps between the I - IV - V
chords (or whatever), and fill out the accompaniment of a song. Just play a few tones of the next chord with your
beginning chord, and sort of slide over into each chord that way, rather than jumping suddenly from chord to
chord. Sounds nice.
Here is an example of the use of passing chords:
1-3-5; 1-3-6; 2-4-6; 2-5-7.

PLAYING WHERE YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO:


"Cross" harp is a bizarre thing. In some circumstances that you should learn to avoid, unless you do it
deliberately, you may have to play in another ken than the one you are tuned to....say, you wish to modulate
(change key) to save your dry and cracking voice, and you don't want to stop the song to retune.....well....you can
go to the IV chord and make it into the new I chord, with the old I chord becoming the new V chord, but you'll
wind up faking the new IV chord, because it's not there completely. Good luck; you'll need it....but if you can
pull this off convincingly you are well on your way towards mastering the instrument!
For example: if we are playing in the key of "C" using our I- IV-V arrangement ( the names of these chords are
C - F - G ) and we wish to modulate into the key of "F," our I-IV-V relationship then becomes, in actual chords,
F - B flat - C.

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But there's no way on this green Earth that we can play all three tones of that "B flat" chord without re-tuning,
so..........we play the "F" chord as our I chord, but: WE FINGER IT AS IF WE WERE PLAYING IN THE KEY
OF "C." The fingering pattern does NOT change, as the harp is still tuned in "C."
Cross harp "F": 4 - 6 - 1a
In the same manner, we play the V chord, "C."
Cross harp "C": 1 - 3 - 5
But the "B flat" becomes a faked chord, thusly:
Cross harp "B flat": 4 - 2 - 4a
This works in a similar manner with the other keys/tunings, and is quite fascinating to play around with.
Experiment!

THE SUB-TONIC
:
Much of Irish/Scots music uses a chord relationship called the "sub-tonic." This is common in modal music as a
chordal accompaniment pattern, and is fun to mess with.
It is the relationship between the V chord and the IV chord, and is quite an eerie sound indeed. The
aforementioned "King Henry" song uses this.
The sub-tonic of "G" is "F," the sub-tonic of "D" is "C," and so forth. In order to play a sub-tonic relationship,
we must utilize cross-harp techniques....to play in "G" with the sub-tonic "F" we must tune the harp in "C,"
and play "G" and "F" in normal IV and V patterns. Tuning to other keys gives you other sub-tonic possibilities,
such as tuning to "G" for the "C" and "D" relationship.
Try to create harmonies that are four and/or five tones apart. These are called "fourths" and "fifths," and are
the basis for Gregorian Chant... and work VERY well with a sub-tonic relationship, in a modal scale.
By the way: the sub-tonic occurs naturally in the Dorian, Mixolydian and Aeolian modes as a major chord, and
in the Phrygian as a minor chord.
*

Copyright 1976, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997 W. J. Bethancourt III


All Rights Reserved

You may link to this article without asking my permission.


Just let me know you did it.

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This site is mirrored at WWW.MALASPINA.COM

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PART TWO: THE MECHANICS OF PLAYING


First of all, I must talk about something that is VITAL to playing any
musical instrument: PRACTICE.
We all practice: novice, gifted amateur, professional, all of us.
The reason we do is very seldom explained....but here's why: in playing a
musical instrument we are using sets of muscles to do specialized motions. These motions, in order to be
effective, must be unconcious...like the muscles, and skills, used in walking, or riding a bicycle, or breathing...
and these muscles are controlled by our hind-brain, the cerebellum. This is a very stupid brain. It CANNOT
learn by reading, nor by listening. It can ONLY learn by doing; by repetition of the physical moves until it
finally has them "hard- wired" in place. We must conciously repeat these moves until they become
unconcious...until we can, literally, do them while asleep.
This is why you must practice. Practice while reading a book. Practice while eating. Practice as much as you can,
when you can, where you can! Practice ALL of these patterns and movements everyday until your HANDS have
learned them. Then practice them some more, to keep them smooth.
If you become frustrated, STOP! Put the harp down, relax a while, and then go back to it. Don't give up!
A Harp is Magic. It's gentle, sweet sound will give you more joy than I can express in words here.........don't fight
it, go INTO the music, and let your hands go of themselves.
Take it gently. Take it smoothly. Take it in peacefulness. But..... TAKE IT! DO IT! LEARN IT!
When you DREAM that you are playing the harp, and you KNOW that your fingers are moving correctly; when
you can move your fingers in a pattern and HEAR the tones that pattern will play, with NO harp in your hand
at all, then you are beginning to be a Harper.
But don't get complacent. You MUST keep in practice! Your body will never forget these moves, but, without
practice they will become rough, and slow, over time.
Does your harp have a name? Listen to the harp, and it may tell you! Some harps have a great, loud voice and
ego, and are easily heard. Others take a while, and need to "get to know you." Take your time, and listen for
your Harp's Name.

PLAYING THE SILLY THING


:
The standard playing position for the Irish Harp is sitting down on a stool, or in a chair, placing the harp on the
inside of your LEFT leg, with the RIGHT leg acting as a support, or, if it is a lap- harp, placing it on the LEFT
thigh, with the RIGHT thigh acting as extra support, and resting the harp on your LEFT shoulder. If you must
sit on the ground or the floor, place the box where it's comfortable, but always rest it on your left shoulder. The
Harp is constructed to be held this way, as opposed to modern harps, which are held on the right shoulder.
Keep the harp in place with your forearms..lightly, so your hands can reach all the strings by sliding your arm
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down the body of the harp. Keep your elbows down. This is different than modern harp technique.
With the Harp on your left shoulder, the right hand plays the bass tones, and the left hand plays the
treble....usually. Sometimes your hands will need to cross over, for certain runs and effects. Feel free to do this.
The only fingers you will need to play the harp are the thumb, first and third fingers of each hand. Other fingers
may be used for special effects, as you find needful and comfortable. Remember that the advanced techniques
will use more fingers than this, though.
NB: Try to keep the idea in circulation that you can't play a harp and fondle the nearest wench (or that cute
young man, Ladies...) at the same time; not strictly true, of course, and it makes the fondling that much easier....
Keep your fingers at something close to a right angle to the strings. You will be playing with your fingertips.
This is also different than modern harp technique. PLUCK nylon firmly; CARESS wire strings gently.
PRACTICE simply holding your harp, and placing your fingers at the correct angle to the strings. Slide your
arms down and back up the body without letting the harp fall over, and without squeezing it too hard.
Remember: the harp is not to be held strongly, but rather firmly, with gentleness; hold it as you would hold
your lover.
Do not try to achieve the staggering amount of music that the modern Concert Harpist puts out. It can be done,
by an expert, but to be sparing, keeping the music plain and simple, but rippling like the waves of the Ocean
that touches Tir an n'Og, is more in keeping with the style of the Celtic instrument.

SHAKES, RATTLES AND ROLLS:


The basic right-hand motion is the "roll," whether backwards or forwards. With the harp in "C," place the
third finger of your right hand on the 5th string of the octave, the index finger on the 3rd string of the octave,
and the thumb on the 1st, or key-tone.
Now, pluck, gently, the strings in the order: 5-3-1; third finger first, then index, then thumb. (3-i-t) If you do this
fairly slowly, you play an arpeggio. Quickly, and it's a single chord, of the style termed a "shake" by the old
harpers. (Simultaneously is OK too.)

arpeggio:

3-i-t
1-3-5

chord:

(3-i-t)
(1-3-5)

This is the backwards Roll. If you reverse this, and start the roll with your thumb, it is a forward Roll. Most of
the old harpers, to the best of our current knowledge, used the forward Roll in preference over the backward.
These are the BASIC moves that almost all advanced technique is built on.
PRACTICE BOTH THESE MOVES, BOTH WITH THE HARP, AND WITHOUT IT.
Notice that this is a different technique than the 3-finger and thumb used by modern harpists....we are not
playing Concert Harp, but, rather, Celtic Harp. The techniques are most emphatically NOT the same! We will
be using 3-finger-and-thumb in some advanced styles (where do you think the Concert Harpists got it?) but
these are basic techniques for simple harping.
These rolls and shakes give you the chordal accompaniment, and also may be used for rhythmic emphasis.

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When you have this move nice and smooth, try picking out a melody on single strings with your left thumb, on
the higher octaves.
Now make your right hand play one string, the lowest tone in the chord, with your third finger, on the first
count of the measure, and "pinch" the two remaining strings (the middle and highest of the chord) on the
second count, with your thumb and second or index finger(s) (in 2/4 or 4/4 time) or pinch on the second and
third count of the measure in 3/4 time.
t (i-3)
5 (1-3)

(4/4 time)

or

t (i-3) (i-3)
5 (1-3) (1-3)

(3/4 time)

You may do the same with the middle tone of the triad played first, and the lowest and highest played together.
i (t-3)
3 (1-5)

(4/4 time)

or

i (t-3) (t-3)
3 (1-5) (1-5)

(3/4 time)

These last give a STRONG rhythm background.


Practice all this until your fingers bleed. Don't bleed on the harp.

HARMONIES AND SUCH LIKE:


The left hand may play harmonies by plucking, in the technique called pinching, both the melody tone AND
another, harmony, tone. This harmony tone may be the third tone higher/lower than the melody tone, in major
scales, or, in modes, you may harmonize with the fifth or fourth higher/lower. Experiment! Use your thumb, and
whatever finger is nearest the needed tone.
i-t
i-t
(1-3) (2-5)

4-t
4-t
(1-4) (2-6)

3-t
3-t
(1-5) (2-7)

PRACTICE THIS LEFT HAND PINCH, BOTH WITH AND WITHOUT THE HARP!
If you are using a wire-strung harp, play with your fingernails as much as possible, and pick gently! If you are
using gut or nylon, grab the strings with your fingertips (JUST the tips!) and pluck them with some force. (If
you use force on brass harp strings, you will either knock them out of tune, or break them.) If you don't have
nails, and you have a wire-strung harp, go ahead and use your fingertips, but, like the Maid said to the Cavalier:
"Be gentle!"

FANCY STUFF:
Try playing the chord with your right hand, someplace in the middle octave of strings,
playing a harmony with your left hand in the higher octaves, and then reaching to the
bass, the lowest octaves, with your LEFT hand, on the off/on beats....kind of like patting
your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time, but, once learned, this is a
magnificent effect on the larger harps.
If you barely touch the string, with your left hand, exactly one-half way down it, and
pluck it with your right hand, and immediately withdraw your left hand finger, you will
get a clear, ringing one octave higher than the tone the string is tuned to. This is called
an "harmonic." It sounds much like bells ringing, and is quite beautiful for special effects.

PERIOD LICKS AND FOOTSTOMPERS:


The following are, as best we know, period Irish harp techniques. They are noted for a harp in "C," except for

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the Lanchrobh. Irish Gaelic names are attached. These were written down in the Eighteenth century, but are
very likely to be of earlier origin.
Each set of symbols represents one measure in 4/4 time.

Key to symbols used:

t:
i:
2:
3:

thumb plays this tone


index finger plays this tone
middle finger plays this tone
third finger plays this tone

Capital letters denote tones.


Hyphenated tones are played in sucession.
Chords are indicated: (C-E-G) when tones
are played simultaneously.

GRACES:

Brisidh (a break): played alternating thumb and index finger on


successive strings like so:
t i t i t i t i t i
C-B B-A F-E E-D B-A
(the string played by the thumb is immediately
damped, or stopped.)
Bulladh Suas No Suaserigh: (a sucession of triplets):
3 2 i 3 2 i 3 2 i 3 2 i
D-E-F F-G-A
A-B-C C-D-E etc
another kind of roll that uses only the
fingers, i-2-3, to produce the three-tone
sound in a different manner.
Leagadh Anuas (a falling): i t i t i t i t i t
A-B C-D F-G C-D F-G (all in same octave)
is the same as Brisidh, but reversed;
the string played by the index finger
is stopped by the thumb and the thumb
string is left sounding.
Leath Leaguidh (a half-falling):

2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3
E-D A-G C-B D-C
the string played by the second is
stopped by the first, and the string
played by the third is stopped by the
second.

Sruith-Mor (a great stream ascending): an upwards arpeggio over all


strings. Usually done by
dragging the index finger

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upwards over the strings.

Sruith-Mor (a great stream descending): a downwards arpeggio over all


strings. Usually done by
dragging the thumb downwards
over the strings.
Sruith-Beg (a little stream): t i 2 3
C-B-A-G

t i 2 3 t i 2 3
D-C-B-A
E-D-C-B

etc.

SHAKES, AND SO FORTH:

2 i 3 i 2 i 3 i
Barluith (activity of the fingers): F-G-F-G F-G-F-G
Barluith-beal-an-airdhe (activity of the finger-ends):
2 i 3 i 2 i 3 i 2 i 3 i
D-E-D-E B-C-B-C A-B-A-B
(the string struck by the 3rd finger is damped by
the second finger, 1st string still sounding)
Barluith Fosgalta (activity of finger-tops):
2 i 3 2 i 3 2 i 3 2 i 3
E-G-E F-A-F B-D-B A-C-A
(second finger string damped by first,
first finger string still sounding)
Casluith (returning actively):
3 i 2 3 i 2 3 i 2 3 i 2
F-A-G B-D-C G-B-A A-C-B
(strings instantly damped)
Crothachan mhear (shaking): a rapid tremelo on one string by the
first finger.
Cul-aithris (half shake): i t i i t i i t i
F-G-F G-A-G D-E-D
Tribuilleach (Creathadh Coimhmhear) (triple shake):
2 i 3 i 2 i 3 i 2 i 3 i
F-G-F-G F-G-F-G F-G-F-G

DOUBLE TONES, CHORDS AND SUCH:

For The Left Hand:


Bulsgan (swelling out): third harmonies played on two strings.

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Glass (joining): fourth harmonies played on two strings.

For The Right Hand:


Cennanchruich (extremity of the hand):

i 2 3 i 2 3 i 2 3 i 2 3
G-E-D (G-E-D) C-A-E (C-A-E)

Glass (joining): octaves played by thumb and third finger.


Glasluith (quick locking): t i 3 t i 3
E-C-E (E-C-E)
Laghar (spread hand): octaves played by the first and third fingers.
Lagharlair (middle of the hand): third harmonies played with first and
second fingers.
Lanchrobh (full hand): t i 2 3 t i 2 3 t
i 2 3 t
i 2 3
G-E-B-E (G-E-B-E) D sharp-B-F-C (D sharp-B-F-C)
Malart Phonoch (reverse the hand): to cross the hands, the right
playing the left hand's part, and
the left playing the right hand's
part.
Taobhcrobh (side hand): t 3 2 t 3 2 t 3 2 t 3 2
F-B-E (F-B-E) E-G-C (E-G-C)

Variations of all of these should give you enough of a repetoire of movements to amaze anybody. PRACTICE
THEM UNTIL YOU HURT, because you must have them learned smoothly enough to do them in your sleep.
*
Well, this should, at least, get you started. I cannot pretend to be able to teach all the tricks, but what I have set
down here should serve you as a nice reference, and as a beginning Celtic harp manual.
Good Luck!
Joe Bethancourt
White Tree Productions
PO Box 35190
Phoenix AZ 85069

Copyright 1976, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997 W. J. Bethancourt III


All Rights Reserved

You may link to this article without asking my permission.


Just let me know you did it.
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THE INEVITABLE KILLER APPENDIX OF


GENERAL INFORMATION:
Last Update: 01/25/98

When this manual was originally published, in 1976, there were two makers listed, and no retail outlets known.
Boy, how times have gotten better!
*
WHERE TO BUY HARPS: Instrument Makers:
Tucson Folk Shop
Leo Folk Harps
415 N 4th Ave
Tucson, AZ

Ogham Harps
Ballygriffin, Kenmare
Co. Kerry, Eire

Boulder Early Music Shop


2010 Fourteenth St
Boulder. CO
80302

Walton's Galleries
2,3,4 & 5 N Fredrick St
Dublin 1, Eire

Caswell Harps
Box 1339
Forestville, CA
95436

Triplett Harps
2220 Suburban Rd Suite B
San Luis Obispo, CA
93401

Witcher Harps
Box 1033
Houlton, ME
04730

Dragonwhispers
Box 211
Mt. Laguna, CA
92048

Dusty Strings
3406 Fremont Ave No.
Seattle, WA
98103

John Yule
Camethy Cottage
Silverburn, Penicuik
Midlothian EH26 9LQ
Scotland

Antique Sound Workshop Ltd


1080 Beacon St
Brookline, MA
02146

Aoyama Harp
282 Stepstone Hill
Guilford, CT
06437

Salvi Daphne
168 N Ogden Ave
Chicago, IL
60607

Hallelujah Harps
1473 Acequia Barrada W.
Santa Fe, New Mex.
87501

Heartland Strings
2692 Boston Rd
Woodville, WI
54028

Hummingbird Instruments
212 Wayne NW
Albuquerque. NM
87114

Nial Imbusch
13 Woodlawn Dr
Dooradoyle

Magical Strings
Box 4086
Seattle, WA

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Limerick, Eire

98104

Markwood
1250 NE 5th St
Bend, OR
97701

Clive Morley
Goodfellows Farm
Filkins Nr Lechlade
Gloucestershire GR7 3JG
England

James Rydecki
Box 1093
Meadow Vista. CA
95722

Sandpiper Folk Harps


Box 29218
San Diego, CA
92129

Two Sisters
Box 5703
Athens, OH
45701

Woodsong
1840 Acacia Dr
Box 3955
Estes Park, CO
80517

Wold Song
Box AD
Panorama City. CA
91412-1030
WHERE TO BUY HARP CASES:
Many of the listed manufacturers and retail oulets offer cases.
The best cases available, however, are padded "gig-bag" affairs
of nylon Cordura from:
Colorado Cases - soft cases and case covers for any musical instrument
406 Garfield St., Fort Collins, CO 80524 USA
(800) 340-0809 or (970) 221-5714
ColoCase@pobox.com
http://www.ColoradoCase.com
WHERE TO BUY HARPS: Retail outlets:
Lark In The Morning
PO Box 1176
Mendocino, CA
95460

Folkcraft
Box 807
Winstead. CT
06098

Folk Mote Music


1034 Santa Barbara St
Santa Barbara, CA
93101

Grenadier Music
Box 1128
Seneca. SC
29678

Harp And Dragon


25 Madison St
Cortland, NY
13045

In The Tradition
Box 223
Deer Isle, ME
04627

Loveland Harps
Box 1101
Loveland, CO
80539

Lyon & Healey


168 N Ogden Ave
Chicago, IL
60607

Pantile Press
2525 Eastside Ln
Houston, TX
77019

Robinson's Harp Shop


Box 161
Mt Laguna. CA
92048

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Paradise Music
556 Paradise Ln
Edmunds. WA
98020

Sue Richards
612 E Linfield Dr
Rockville. MD
20852

Sylvia Woods Harp Center


Box 29521
Los Angeles. CA
90029

The better Irish and Scots


import shops sometimes
have harps available.

SOURCES ON THE NET


Allen Tefft, Celtic Harpmaker and Psalteries
Blevins Harps
Boulder Early Music Shop
Celestial Wind
Clive Morley Harps Ltd
Denwar Harps
Fellowship of Makers & Repairers of Historical Instruments
Gary Stone Harps
Hanneke Harps
Harrari Harps - Home Page
Harpland Music
Heartland Harps
Hidden Valley Harps
Karen Rokos Harp Services
Lark in the Morning
Lionwood Harps
Lyon & Healy
MusicMakers Kits Inc. Home Page
Philippe S.R.L. Clement Harps
Sylvia Woods Harp Center
Triplett Harps
Vanderbilt Music Company, Inc.
W & W Musical Inst. Co.
Harp Mailing List FAQ (with listing of makers!)
More Harp History
WHERE TO BUY BOOKS, RECORDS AND WRITTEN MUSIC:
Elderly Instruments
(free catalogs)
1100 W Washington
PO Box 14210
E Lansing, MI 48901
(517) 372-7890

Lark In The Morning


(see: Where To Buy Harps)
Boulder Early Music Shop
(see: Where To Buy Harps)

If your city has an Irish or Scottish imports shop, check there!

GOOD BOOKS TO HAVE:


About Harps:

FOLK HARPS
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Gildas Jaffrennou; Model and Allied Publications Ltd.


1973
(how to build them yourself!)
THE IRISH AND HIGHLAND HARPS
R. B. Armstrong; Edinburgh, 1904
Facsimile edition: Praeger 1969
LCCCN: 74-96769
(sell your first-born child for this book!)
"How To Buy A Harp"
FRETS (period.) June 1989 (Vol. 11 No. 6)
20085 Stevens Creek
Cupertino, CA 95014
ANNALS OF THE IRISH HARPERS
C. Fox; Dutton
AN HISTORICAL ENQUIRY - HARP IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND
Gunn; Constable
HISTORY OF THE HARP
J. Thomas; Hutchings & Rosner
THE WELSH HARPER
J. Parry; D'Almaie & Co.
About Songs:

THE ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH POPULAR BALLADS


Francis James Child; (five volumes) Dover, 1965
(the basic text for song lyrics)
THE SINGING TRADITION OF CHILD'S POPULAR BALLADS
Bertrand Harris Bronson; Princeton University Press 1976
(contains an excellent discussion of modes!)
ISFHC
4718 Maychelle Dr
Anaheim, CA 92807-3040
(714) 998-5717
General Reference and Reading:

THE WHITE GODDESS


Robert Graves; Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1966
LCCCN: 48-8257
OGHAM: THE POET'S SECRET
Sean O Boyle; Gilbert Dalton, Dublin, 1980
These are only BASIC references....there are LOTS more available, these days.

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GOOD RECORDINGS TO HAVE:


Everything by the Chieftains (General Irish music, done RIGHT!)
Everything by Derek Bell (Mostly Neo-Celtic)
Everything by Alan Stivell (Neo-Celtic and Celtic)
Anything by Platero (South American harp styles. VERY good!)
Everything by Silvia Wood (Neo-Celtic)
Any recording of the music of Turlough O'Carolan
Anything by Andreas Vollenweider (Eclectic stylist; VERY good!)
Everything by Robin Williamson (GOOD stuff!)
Anything by Ann Heymann (Celtic Harp)
Anything by Patrick Ball (Celtic Harp)
Anything by Mary O'Hara (modern harpist)
There has been quite a proliferation of harp recordings since the first edition of this manual! Look around, and
enjoy their availability! What are listed above are only my own personal favourites.......there are, undoubtedly,
very many more.
A good place to find harp recordings is at Renaissance Faires, and at events of the SCA. (Society for Creative
Anachronism, Inc.)
RELATED RECORDINGS: sources for material:

Anything by Steeleye Span


Anything by Silly Wizard
Anything by Ewan MacColl
especially: "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads"
(nine record set)
Washington WLP 715 thru WLP 723
Elena Polonska & La Camerata
"Harp Music From the Middle Ages"
Candide QCE 31083
And, if you haven't bought my own related album yet: "Celtic Circle Dance"

A SHORT GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS TO HELP EVEN THE MOST MENTALLY


INCOMPETENT NORSEMAN FIND HIS WAY IN THIS SO-CALLED E-Z METHOD BOOK,
EVEN WITHOUT A CAVALIER TO READ IT TO HIM:
sharp: one-half tone higher
flat: one-half tone lower
bass: the low tones
chord: a harmonious arrangement of two or more tones played at the same time. Three tones is the
average.
dominant: the chord that is built from the 5th tone of the scale; the V chord.
generic: general; common; class name.
note: see "tone"
scale: the word means "ladder," and in music it expresses the idea of a sequence of tones contained in one
octave arranged stepwise, and shown by an alphabetical arrangement of letters denoting the tones used.
soundbox: that part of the harp which is hollow from which the strings emerge.
soundboard: the top of the soundbox; the harp's resonating surface.
sub-dominant: the chord that is built from the 4th tone of the scale; the IV chord.
table: see "soundboard."
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tone: a "note" is written on paper to signify a sound called a "tone."


tonic: the chord that is built from the first tone of the scale; the I chord.
treble: the high tones.
IRISH GAELIC TERMS FOR HARP MUSIC:
TIME:

Crudhchlesach: "bold, heroic" (4/4 time)


Cuigrath: "dirge" (lamentations with words)
Cumhadth: "lamentation" (lamentation without words)
Phurt: "lessons"
Na Phurt: introductory passage; tuning prelude.
Phonck: reversing the hands: right hand plays treble and left hand the bass.
Trebuhuinneach: "triply rapid" (jig time)
MOOD:

Alhbhan-Trirech: the three moods of music.


Genanttraidheacht: Love, graceful and expressive music.
Gollttraidheacht: Sorrow, melancholy music.
Luinneach: Joy, happy music.
Suanttraideacht: Sleep, soothing music.
KEYS:

Fuigheall-Beg: "lesser sound;" the key of "C"


Fuigheall-Mor: "greater sound;" the key of "C sharp"
Leath Glass: "half note;" the key of "G"
Uan Fuigheall: "single sound;" the key of "G"

ON BARDS, AND BARDIC CIRCLES:


In the SCA, in written Fantasy, in too many instances the word "bard" seems to be bandied about in a rather
loose manner, being applied indiscriminately to true Bards, trouveres, troubadors, jongleurs, poets, playwrights,
actors...in short, anyone who entertains.
I hope to clear up this misconception, though to hope that the usage of the word will be corrected may be a
forlorn hope....
Bards are found in Celtic cultures (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Manx and
Brittany) and a rough equivalent can be found in Norse culture, too, where
they were known as "scops" or "scalds."
There are also several other cultures that had an equivalent of the Bard, tho
space forbids us from going into that.
In Ireland, the use of the word "Bard" apparently fell into some disrepute, as
the records we have show that the Bard was simply a minor poet, while the
"filidh" (seer) or the "ollave" (master poet) occupied the former status and
functions of the Bard.

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The same, apparently, applied to Scotland, where the Harp was eventually superseded by the fiddle.
In Wales, the Bard was not so lucky. There, the traditions ossified, and the Bards, after the advent of
Christianity, became Court Poets, known as "Gogynfeirdd," or "Prydydd," limited in subject matter and form,
and with rigidly structured rules.
The word that corresponds with the irish "filidh," in Welsh, would be "derwydd," (oak-seer) the word from
which "druid" is derived.
The "hedge-Bards" were the ones that carried on the real traditions of the Bard. These are the people that gave
us the "Cad Goddeu" and the "Hanes Taliesin," and who may have passed the "Matter of Britain" on to the
French troubadors and trouveres, thus giving us Arthur and Camelot.
The word "Bard," in Wales, denoted a master-poet. In Ireland it meant a poet who was not an Ollave, one who
had not taken all the formal training. Apparently even the lower-status Irish Bard was on a level with the Welsh
Bard in knowledge and poetic education, however, and these were what I have termed "hedge-bards," above.
In the Celtic cultures, the Bard/Filidh/Ollave was inviolate. He could travel anywhere, say anything, and
perform when and where he pleased. The reason for this was, of course, that he was the bearer of news and the
carrier of messages, and, if he was harmed, then nobody found out what was happening over the next hill. In
addition, he carried the Custom of the country as memorized verses...he could be consulted in cases of
Customary (Common) Law. He was, therefore, quite a valuble repository of cultural information, news, and
entertainment.
A true Bard must know the following: music (and the playing of a period instrument, preferably Harp), poetry
(original, and other people's), song (original and other people's), the History, Law and Custom of his/her
religion, as much knowledge of modern and medieval history, Law, and custom as they can possibly learn, and
at least a very basic knowledge of linguistics and alphabet/cyphers. Some training in Folklore, and in the art of
Sociology would help, too. See the list of suggested College courses at the end of this book.
They must also have other, more esoteric knowledge, and capabilities, relating to what is talked about in Robert
Graves' book, "The White Goddess." If you wish to explore further in this matter, read the above named book,
and then contact me thru the address given. Remember that this book is written more as poetic metaphor than
as "hard" scholarship, however, but if you see thru the Lapwing, you will understand.
The Bard should investigate the "Matter of Britain" very thoroughly, paying special attention to Sir Gawain,
and to Arthur's Queen. Do a little reading in the Robin Hood cycle, too, with special attention to the village
festivals in Britain that mention him.
Some Bards are "titled," that is, someone, be it another Bard, or whoever, or sometimes (very seldom) the Bard
himself, has given them a bardic "name" or "title," that serves to identify them. Thusly, I am known as "y
bardd Gwyn," "Baird Ban," or "the Whyte Bard." Another was known as "Derwydd Prydain," while even
another has no title at all, and does not want one. Be wary of taking such a title yourself. Allow the giving of
such to happen on its' own, and do NOT take it from a King of any kind!
Each individual Bard will have certain perogatives that they have developed over the years. I, myself, tend to
interrupt a Coronation court (in the SCA) at any time with a poem, or a song, relating to the event. Other Bards
will have other perogatives. Don't try to set yourself up with these; let them happen naturally.

ON MUSIC AND SONGWRITING:


Every so often, one hears a self-important "scholar" say something along the lines of: "Well, you have only
written new words, or parodied the words, to a common tune....this is NOT real songwriting, but simply
"filk" (as termed in the Science Fiction sub- culture) songs."
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Tell them to sit on it. This is, and was, an accepted thing to do, is quite legitimate, and very authentic.
Just try to keep the general "sound" as Medieval/Renaissance as possible...admittedly a bit difficult when you
are stealing ** ah ** adapting a rock and roll melody, but it CAN be done....and please encourage others to do
the same.

ON BARDIC CIRCLES:
A Bardic Circle is, simply, a setting for the listeners to entertain each other. This can be with poetry, song, and
stories. All should participate, though it is not necessary for all to contribute to make it a fun thing to do. What
IS necessary is that the number of things done by each person at any one time be limited, to keep the inevitable
"stage-hog" from monopolizing the evening, and to keep the "Awful No-Talent Stage Hog" from running
everyone off.
I recommend that each person be limited to TWO songs, poems or whatever at a time, and then pass on to the
next singer. This keeps it varigated, and interesting, and gives EVERYONE a chance to contribute.
Try to keep discussion to a minimum, but, should it be interesting, let it go on for a while, as a break in the
music. In any event, try to do something different about every hour or so, to allow your listeners to stretch, use
the bathroom, get refreshments, and gossip for a while. This will keep them there longer, and add more fun to
the occasion.

SUGGESTED COLLEGE LEVEL COURSES:


Basic and Advanced Folklore of the Appalachian and Ozark mountains of the USA
Basic and Advanced Folklore of the British Isles
Music History (100 and 200 levels)
Anything else in the Music curriculum that relates to Medieval music
Comparative Religions
Basic Sociology (100 and 200 levels at least) (watch out here! This is an "art," not a "science!")
Linguistics
Medieval History (100 thru Graduate levels)
Medieval Law (100 thru 400 levels)
English Writing
The Literature of England (Ireland, Wales, Britanny, Scotland etc.)
Poetry
Fencing or other formal Martial Art
Theater
And ANYTHING else that might possibly relate and/or help.

I also suggest that you learn how to work two excellent rhythm instruments: the Bodhran, or Irish hand-drum,
and the Bones. There are some songs that are just not suitable for the delicacy of the Harp, and these two
instruments will fill that gap.
The other instrument that is useful is the Octave Mandolin (also known as Irish Bouzouki or Irish Cittern.)
These are fun, and quite easily played.
OGHAM
* Irish inscriptory writing *
____________________________
I II III IIII IIIII

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B

Page 9 of 10
F

___I__II__III__IIII__IIIII__
H
D
T
C
QU
___/__//___///___////____/////______________\/_______
/ //
///
////
/////
/\
M G
NG
ST
R
P

_________.__..__...___....____.....______
A
O
U
E
I

stone or wood vowels

____I__II___III___IIII___IIIII___________
I II
III
IIII
IIIII
A
O
U
E
I

manuscript vowels

____\__\\___\\\___\\\\___\\\\\___________
\ \\
\\\
\\\\
\\\\\
K
V
W
Y
Z

extra letters for


English usage

The central line denotes, in manuscript, a drawn line, and in


stone or wood, the line formed by a corner or edge.
Sample: literally spelled "Locksley:"
II

.. IIII \

IIII \\\\
\ IIII II IIII \\\\

phonetically spelled (better way) "Locksley:"


II

.. \

\\\\
\ IIII II \\\\

in actual period usage, Ogham was written and read


from right to left, much like Arabic, thus, a more
"period-correct" would be:
\\\\
\ ..
\\\\ II IIII \
II
*

Every Ogham Thing on the Web!

GOOD LINKS ON THE NET


Bard
What is a Bard?
Notes from a Bard and Bender
Rowanhold Bardic Circle
Bardic Page (SCA)
Musick, Bardcraft, Misunderstood Aphorisms

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HARPS

Harp Listserver Address HARP-L sub listserv@wkuvx1


The Sadness in the Music of the Harp
H.M. - Harp & Clarsach
Harp related storys
Gayle's Harp Home Page
Harp Home Page
Celtic Music Home Page
Harp FAQ
Historical Harp Society Home Page
Harp Home Page of the Harpers Hall & Culinary Society
Beginner's Guide to Amplifying Harps
Harp Therapy Journal
European Harp Page
Lesley Henneberger's Turlough Carolan Page
Turlough O'Carolan: Irish Harper
Trad@HarpSite for Traditional Harp, Ireland
American Harp Page
Celtic Cultures
Folk Mote Music
Harper's Escape
Sibelius Academy
West African Harps
The Historical Method of the Celtic Harp & the Celtic Harp at Stonehenge
Starfish Home Page (celtic harps and electric bowed instruments)
Deborah Henson-Conant Page
Loreena McKennitt Home Page (by Aaron McMahon)
Alan Stivel Page
Andreas Vollenweider Home Page
Bud Wertheim
Celtic Music Mail Order List (Ceolas)
Celtic Marketplace
Celtic Music on the Internet
Ceolas The largest collection of celtic music information available on the Internet
Clannad lyrics
Festival of Lorient

A final note: Don't use your harp for slicing cheese. It makes the strings soggy.

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11/30/2003

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