[Harp-L] Position Perception



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





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