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Notation Preferences Comparison 1
I am doing a study on harpist notation preferences for certain types of figures and would like to gather as many opinions as I can. Would you rather read this figure as notated in the first bar, or in the second bar:
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23 Replies
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As a beginner, I certainly prefer the 1st bar notation. I do not have to stop and work it out.
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Thank you very much! Now that I see your concerns I’m posting two more solutions:
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My preference would be bar 1 above. Visually looks right to me. Stems up and down for each hand is good. In my experience not everyone uses this rule. An ‘LH’ would also clarify.
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Thank you for the input, Sarah. This comparison has been very valuable to me.
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Thank you, BJ-T. And if you have the chance, let me know what you think of the solutions I added later.
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And a third solution…
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The last one would be my personal favourite!
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Thank you very much for the reply! Do you mean the one with the heading of:
“And a third solution…”
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Yes, sorry. I think the third solution makes it clear that the middle bit is supposed to be played with the left hand, while it is also apparent at a glance that all 9 notes are a unit (rhythmically), and the fact that all the notes are written in the same clef in the same line makes it easier to read.
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Much appreciated. So far it looks like the third solution is the winner.
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Hello William, that’s an interesting subject, as I’m collaborating with a friend who writes some arrangements and he’s new to the harp. I also prefer the third solution! If you want to mention for the harpist that the 3 middle notes have to be played with the left hand, you could just note “L.H.” as text below this group of notes. I hope that’s clear and helpful!
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Thank you, Clair. The more input I get on these questions the better.
Do you think the lefthand designation would be necessary only for a professional harpist’s part?
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On the contrary, I think a professional harpist will know what to do, but the hand notation would surely help a beginner 😉
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Okay. Thanks a lot, Claire.
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I meant to type “Claire”. Sorry for the misspelling.
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Progressing down to your third sample I can clearly see what is required of hand placement so I would prefer this method best.
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Thanks. That seems to be the most popular.
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I would prefer the third notation as well.
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Thanks for the input, Hana Fe. I think I prefer the third one as well, and I’m not even a harp player, but a composer.
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I prefer the first sample of the second set. Having two bar lines in the same space could confuse the timing. Three triplets are the same as 9, eh?
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Thank you, Annette. I’m adding your comment to my vote tally. Much appreciated.
–William
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As a late beginner I find reading the first measure (bar) is easier and faster for finger placement.
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Thank you so much. I’ll add that my results.
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