March 2000: Building An Unfamiliar New Piece:

Unit 3: Correct Ledger Line Notes

Last month we addressed notes on the lines or spaces of the staff itself. But that only accounts for 18 notes (9 on the treble, 9 on the bass). As pitches move above or below a staff we use ledger lines to extend the staff. The first note above the top line of each staff simply sits upon the staff (treble clef G, or bass clef B). The first note below each staff simply hangs from it (treble clef D, or bass clef F). Thereafter, the notes progress by ledger lines and ledger spaces further above or below the staves.

Despite the fact that ledger line notes form a perfectly reasonable sequence of notation, they are a royal pain in the neck to read. For instruments that deal with only one staff, this is less of a problem. But when we harpists have to sort out whether we are above or below the staff and keep track of what clef we are reading, the perception pitfalls multiply.

To avoid the use of too many ledger line notes, harp music often changes clefs on one staff, to accomodate very high or very low notes. Traditional notation has always attempted to place notes played by the right hand on the upper staff and those played by the left hand and the lower staff. Since the range of notes available to a harpist is so wide, clef changes are very common. Clef changes are always clearly marked but oh so commonly missed! Watch out for them, they are a nasty little problem especially if you are not familiar with the sound you want to hear. Just as a side note - in recent years there has been a great deal of adjustment regarding harp notation because of the necessity for specifiying cross hand usage thus clef changes have become less common but that is a study for another time.
If you have purchased flash cards this is the time to start working with the ledger line notes. If you are making your own, create cards for the notes on the above charts and proceed as you did in Unit One. Again, I cannot emphasize enough the use of the 5 steps in naming the notes. It really does help to avoid errors.

So - how do you know the sound is right? Unless you are dealing with a somewhat contemporary piece, your ear will respond to notes that do not seem to "fit". When that occurs, check carefully to be sure you have not misread a note name or clef. It is really surprising how often even the most experienced players can misread notes. It is merely a pitfall of visual perception, and the smaller the print of the music, the more apt it is to happen. Listen, listen, listen. Your ear is your best friend.

See you next month.

Stephanie

*January, February, and March lessons were posted at the same time... find the January and February lessons in the Archive...Webmaster

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