Re: [Harp-L] harmonizing (what would Duane and Dickey do?)

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

James Sterett wrote:
>I was just wondering if I'm trying to harmonize on the third
> or the fifth, would playing the harp in the key of that 3rd or 5th work.

To which Zack replied:
>It'd probably work well...

Actually, it wouldn't work very well at all, at least not in terms of what most people think of as "harmony."  A harp tuned a 3rd or 5th higher than another harp contains a lot of notes that are NOT in the scale of the lower-keyed harp.  Those notes will be very obviously in the wrong key when played against a piece of music in the lower key.

Diatonic harmony generally requires that notes be harmonized with other notes from the same scale. (There are exceptions, of course, but let's keep it simple for now.)  So if you're harmonizing in 3rds, 5ths, 6ths, etc. you need to pick notes from the same scale (i.e. the same diatonic harp) to make the harmonies.  

Harmony is a big big subject, and it wouldn't hurt to get a book or video and learn a little bit about chords.  A chord by definition is harmonized.

regards, Richard Hunter  

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