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MULTIPHONICS ON THE HARP: INITIAL OBSERVATIONS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

Gunnhildur Einarsdóttir
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Abstract

Earlier this year I was contacted by Ellen Fallowfield who asked me to look into multiphonics on the harp. I was curious but also rather sceptical: although I could immediately find multiphonics in several places on the string, I worried that their use would be impractical. This article takes a practical look at multiphonics on the harp from a performer's point of view. I share my initial observations about their production, sound and predictability as well as their relationship to other harmonics on the harp. It is my hope that the article will lead to further investigation of this fascinating topic.

Type
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Information
Tempo , Volume 74 , Issue 291 , January 2020 , pp. 71 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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References

1 See for example: Heinz Holliger, Sequenzen über Johannes I:32 (1962), for solo harp.

2 This harmonic is often referred to amongst harpists as the 5th harmonic, because its pitch is one octave and a fifth above the plucked string. Indeed, I used this naming system for extended harmonics on my web site. See http://sites.siba.fi/web/harpnotation/manual/plucked-sounds/harmonics. In this article, however, I will use the more general numbering system for harmonics.

3 See www.cellomap.com/index/the-string/multiphonics-and-other-multiple-sounds/fingeringcharts.html.

4 Josel, Seth and Tsao, Ming, The Techniques of Guitar Playing (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2014), p. 121Google Scholar. The Audio Files for this article can be found at https://soundcloud.com/musikforschungbasel/sets/audio-examples-tempo-string-multiphonics-gunnhildur-einarsdottir.

5 Walter, Caspar Johannes, ‘Mehrklänge auf dem Klavier: vom Phänomen zur mikrotonalen Theorie und Praxis’, in Mikrotonalität – Praxis und Utopie, ed. Pätzold, Cordula and Walter, Caspar Johannes (Mainz: Schott 2014), pp. 13–40Google Scholar.

6 See gut/wire string division here: http://sites.siba.fi/web/harpnotation/harp/strings.

7 Further information can be found at http://sites.siba.fi/web/harpnotation/manual/prepared-harp/hair-clips.