sound of music

[Judiann]

@penelope-dixon You wrote “…the lowest string is G so middle C is quite high.” The term “middle C” refers to the C near the middle of a piano keyboard, not your harp. On a 22-string Backyard Music harp, “middle C” would be the lowest red string. As @titia.stultitia explained, you would be starting on the B string below your lowest C string. Give that a try, and let us know if that sounds closer to Christy-Lyn’s video.

[Penelope Dixon]

yes, it is a 22 string harp. thank you, i am trying your suggestion but when i get to the right hand A G E it doesn’t work with 1 2 3 fingers so i have to go up to the next A. would that be correct?

[Christy-Lyn]

Hi Penelope! Sorry you’ve been having trouble learning this piece. Sounds frustrating!! 😭Have you made any progress since you last posted? Glad some people were trying to help in the comments here. There shouldn’t be any problem playing this piece on your harp since you do have enough strings. The only 3 problems I can think of, is that maybe your harp is out of tune (make sure you tune it every time you play), if you have levers maybe the levers are engaged when they shouldn’t be, or if you don’t have levers maybe your harp strings are tuned to the wrong notes in the lower octave. Here’s a video where I show you how to tune your harp to the key of C: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iG5W6R70G8&t=6s Let me know if that helps!

[Rebecca]

Penelope, if your harp has levers, they may have tuned it in the key of E flat. To get it into the key of C major, you would need to put all the A, B, and E levers up (that is, the levers on the two strings right before the red C strings and the string right before the blue F strings. Once you do that, your harp would be in the key of C.

How many G’s strings are below middle C? If there is only one G below middle C, then you should have no problem playing that version of Danny Boy, as you would have the G below middle C and two G’s above, with your last note being a G. If that is so, I am a bit confused by your comment that middle C is quite high. However, if you have two G strings below middle C and only one above, you will not have the range required for Christy-Lyn’s version of Danny Boy. However, you could make up for the strings you do not have by playing the same note an octave below what Christy-Lyn has you play. In that case, it will not sound the same, but it will be the best you can do.

If you continue to have difficulties, feel free to call the company that made the harp. They may have an idea of what the issue may be.

I hope this helps. Good luck, Penelope.

[Penelope Dixon]

thank you all for your suggestions, to rebecca, there is one G below the lowest, or “middle” C; that is the first, lowest string on this harp. i think i so need an in person teacher but none are available any of the places i live.