[Harp-L] Position Perception

[Ansel Barnum <barnum@xxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings,


I was wondering how people think about the position they're playing in. 
It seems like there are two possible approaches: 1) Consider each 
position as an independent entity with its own sequence of notes or 2) 
consider each position as a mode whose sequence of notes is that of 
first position. On a piano, option 2) is the easy one: If you know the 
notes of a major scale, then it's trivial to play the scale in any mode 
(just change the starting note). This is because playing the piano is a 
visual act, so you can see where your fingers are relative to the keys 
on the keyboard. But you can't see where your lips are on the harp, nor 
can you see the distance between holes (half step, whole step, no step, 
etc.) or where a bend needs to be inserted as called for by the Ionian 
scale. Consequently, I find myself using approach 1), tackling each 
position as a new sequence to learn on its own. But it seems like if 
someone could become so intimate with the notes on the harp, then they 
could visualize them like the keys on a piano and seamlessly transition 
from one position to another with ease. Is this what happens when one 
reaches the mountain top and achieves harp enlightenment?


Far from the summit,


Ansel