PREFACE

When approached by Trinity College, London to device a new syllabus for harp and non pedal (lever! blade] harp, one of the first things I asked was whether we could have a new exam at initial grade for very first steps in harp playing. I was thrilled that I was given the go ahead (but then Trinity has always been very go ahead and innovatory in its exam syllybus However when I gtarted to plan the lists I was gtruck by a difficulty in finding material that exactly matched our needs in terms of length, cost, suitibility for all kinds of harp and parity of difficulty level with repertoire for other instruments As a result David Cough and myself have written a new book of pieces which we hope will be useful not only in planning exam music choices and cutting down the amounts hard pressed players have to spend on exam music, but also for elementary teaching material and concert pieces. Most of the pieces are at the initial level where we found most need, but others go up to grades one and two.

Although Trinity exams are intended for a harp of 24 or more strings most of these pieces are playable even on lap harps.

Younger, and older players may find that putting the words of the titles and inventing more words to add to the music either out loud or in one’s head, can help one with learning the musical patterns in pieces such as Buckets and Spades, Up and Down the Stairs, etc.

Metronome markings given are, unlike usual metronome markings on mugic, minimumg for the exam levels and all the pieces will work satisfactorily at these or faster tempi. In an exam, candidates would not be penalised for playing faster as long as they felt confident that rhythm, pulse and tone were even, as well as fingering and technique being secure and that all these could be at the service of musical expression. Equally, players would not be penalised for playing at the minimum metronome speed as long as these criteria are still met. Fingerings and placings given are advisory and are not given throughout, especially where different teachers and players could have widely variant equally valid ideas. For example, in the last bar of Into Space, the hands could be reversed so that the left hand plays the chord, whilst the right hand plays the glissando.

 Harmoniecs are printed at the pitch of the string on which they are played: ie they sound an octave higher than written.

Australia to which examining has taken us twice in the last two years and where we had simply fantastic times, was the inspiration for Kangaroog (obviously!), Deep Sea Diving, and Rain on the Roof. I can’t say that a trip to space somewhere was the inspiration behind the title of the book or the first piece! But who knows where Trinity exams will take any of us! Enjoy practising!

Danielle Perrett 2001

Contents

1. Up and Down the Stairs
2. Buckets and Spades
3. Games in the Playground
4. Chop-Chop!
5. Cosy in Bed
6. Donkey Ride
7. Rain on the Roof
8. Yo-Yo
9. Kangeroos
10. Lazy Cowboy
11. Deep Sea Diving
12. Cuckoo Clock
13. Mozart's Tango
14. Into Space

 

Title	Lift-Off! for Harp
Composers	David Gough & Danielle Perrett
Instrumentation:	Lever Harp (or pedal)
Level	Beginner to Grade 2
Printed Parts:	A4 stapled
Pages of music:	14 (14 works)
Weight:	95g
Our Ref:	SM0101
Publisher:	Beartramka
Edition/Year:	Second Edition 2007 (First 2001)
Origin:	UK