Pedal or Lever Harp

Harp Fingering Fundamentals by Sylvia Woods

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  • Book
  • $21.99
  • PDF Download
  • $21.99

For lever or pedal harp.

This important and informative book by Sylvia Woods is subtitled How to add finger markings to non-fingered harp music. As far as we know, it is the only book of its kind.

This book teaches you, step-by-step, how to figure out fingerings in harp music when none are provided. It is chock-full of useful advice, information, examples and tips. At the end there are 10 pieces for you to practice your newly acquired fingering skills. You will then compare them to Sylvia's fingerings for the same pieces, and read about why she chose the ones she did. An added bonus is that by going through this book you will gain an enhanced understanding of harp music, which should make you a better player. 60 pages, spiral-bound.

Subjects include: intervals and chords, melodies and runs, phrasing, runs of more than four notes, repeated notes, enharmonics, individual notes, fingering in and out of chords, left hand patterns, hands together, repeated passages, ringing and muffling, and more.

Pages 34 to 44 in this book are pieces for you to figure out and enter the fingerings. If you don't want to write in your book, you can download a PDF of these pages and print them on your computer printer.

We are selling this music in two formats:
  • Book, which we will mail to you
  • PDF files, to be downloaded to your computer.
Please order the version you prefer.

What teachers and students are saying about Harp Fingering Fundamentals:

For years, I have had students who come to me asking for fingerings before they get started on a new piece. This new volume will be helpful for students and teachers alike, offering multiple ideas for many situations. An excellent teaching and reference volume. - Denise Grupp-Verbon, harp instructor

Chock-full of common-sense suggestions on fingering from the simplest to the trickiest passages. A real boon for do-it-yourself harp players, and good ideas even for experienced players on how to make the unplayable playable. - Joyce Rice, harp instructor

This book will be very helpful for students and harpists who are teaching themselves how to play. It gives wonderful basic, logical and practical approaches to all the problems involved. - Linda Wood Rollo, Retired Professor of Harp, Indiana State University, Bloomington

Sylvia Woods has done it again! Harp Fingering Fundamentals is a must for every teacher and student. It clearly and concisely shows how to approach harp fingerings in her accessible and charming style. It will be a staple in my studio and should be in your collection, too. - Felice Pomeranz, Professor of Harp, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA

Having read and played through the entire book, I can say that it made me better at playing the harp. If you play through all the exercises in the book, your playing will improve. The songs at the back of the book were a big help, too. After writing in fingerings for each of the songs, you can see how Sylvia would have done it, and why. Sylvia's style of writing is not only positive and encouraging, but also clear and concise. - Susan Hironaka, harp student

Thanks to Sylvia for sharing her expertise in this easy-to-follow book. I found the exercises improved my playing ability, and I learned how to make pieces personally flow better for me. I feel I can now approach any arrangement with greater confidence and have a better understanding of how to overcome challenging runs. - Joanna Chambreau, harp student

Sylvia's fingering book is going to be her latest classic "must have" book for all harpists. This is the book that I wish I had had when I was learning to play the harp and one that will now be required for all my harp students. - Beth A. Stockdell, professional harpist and editor of The Folk Harp Journal

This book, covering a vast, detailed and difficult topic, is crammed with technical information, yet it's fascinating to read. This is due to Sylvia Woods' emphasis on fingering not only for technical ease but for tone quality and phrasing. Her clear, upbeat writing style makes what can feel like an impossible challenge, instead, an adventure with your harp. - Frances Stroscio, intermediate harpist

Reviews

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Harp Fingering Fundamentals is Fantastic!
By Mary Garvey
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I love this book! I have read it and use it when adding fingerings to music without it. It is easy to understand. Sylvia explains things so well. Thank you Sylvia!


Sylvia's fingering "bible"
By Lyle
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Sylvia Woods has written the harpist's "bible" of fingering! Much harp music fails to provide fingering. Piano music routinely does! Good comfortable fingering makes playing a passage work!


Excellent book
By Nicky
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It helped me to fill the gap between written music and playing the instrument, it is a must-have that everyone should read!


A Must Have Resource
By Cynthia
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Sylvia Woods has again produced a great resource. THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge and experience and memorializing it in your publications. Fingering is so critical and far from an exact science. This publication provides a formula, the rationale for the fingering choices, and alternatives. I also liked the practice exercises, reinforcing what you have learned.


Helpful
By Rebecca
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Helpful tips and considerations for deciding on fingering, for smoother and faster playing. Good for beginners but my also be helpful for more experienced players.


I only wish this book had been available 37 years ago when I started harp!
By Frances Stroscio
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If you are a beginner or are having any difficulty figuring out how to finger a harp piece, or even if you just want to try out a different fingering, this book is designed to help you. In addition to showing various fingering combinations, Sylvia explains the reasoning behind the fingerings. The book covers almost every situation you might encounter. I only wish it had been written many years ago when I began studying harp, as it would have solved a lot of problems for me and saved me a lot of time, energy , and frustration!


A must have for every harpist
By Nicoletta
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Another great book because it covers one of the most important topics about playing the harp. It makes your life easier and it helps you to play better and to gain awareness in your playing. Fingering is something that is supposed to be learned spontaneously exercise after exercise. Unfortunately, it's not like this for everybody. The book is extremely clear and explains everything you need to make your own fingering patterns. And most importantly, the book explains why you should use a certain fingering pattern so it makes you understand what you are doing while you're playing. This book with the other book "Music Theory and Arranging" really makes the difference.


Harp fingering fundamentals
By Barbara Seabolt
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This book really taught me to use the correct fingers, to not develop bad habits. Once developed it becomes easier, that's been my experience.

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