[Harp-L] RE: harps with horns

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

rosco wrote:
<I think it worked pretty well on this tune - horn chart and saxes by Mr.
<Peloquin himself. My harp is  replacing the trumpet in the mix. Based on
<years playing with horns, I believe Mike is correct- harp is most
<trumpet-like and should usually play the lead. Intonation is the biggest
<challenge.

Straight-up harp certainly lives in the trumpet range.  Harp through a pitch shifter can live almost anywhere.  An octave down puts the harp into tenor sax range; two octaves down puts harp into the tuba range, with a characteristically tuba-like attack.

All by way of saying that the options for harp in horn sections are wider than they used to be.  Intonation is indeed a challenge, but probably no more so than for saxophone, though sax players have the ability to adjust pitch both upwards and downwards while playing, which harp players can't do.   

Thanks, Richard Hunter

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