4 Fun Pieces To Play This Summer
Jun 27, 2023
By Anne Sullivan
Summertime is fun time. The days are long and leisurely. Some days all you want to do is lie in the sun with a big glass of lemonade.
But you know you shouldn’t put your harp playing away for the summer along with your school books. You’ve worked too hard during the rest of the year to let that progress slip away. So what do you play when you don’t feel like practicing? Something fun, of course!
I know you’ve heard YouTube videos that have intrigued you. Maybe you’ve heard pop songs that you are itching to try on the harp. Or possibly music from another culture has inspired you. Summer is a great time to explore and experiment as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in this blog post. But maybe you need some ideas to get you started. If that’s the case, you might enjoy playing one or more of these fun pieces this summer as a break from your regular harp music. I’ve included a link to the sheet music for each so you have no excuse not to get started. I’ve even included one that you can get for free!
Harping Cats and Dogs, by Kathryn Cater
This isn’t just one piece. It’s a collection of eight pieces, some very easy, some more intermediate, that animal lovers will really enjoy. Just like the pets who inspired them, these pieces have personality. Some will make you laugh; all of them will fire your imagination. The pieces were all written for lever harp, but you can play them on the pedal harp too. My favorite is “Grumpy Dreams of Flying.” The video is the best!
Game of Thrones Theme, arranged by Sylvia Woods
The theme from the HBO series “Game of Thrones” has drama and a medieval feel that translates well to the harp. Sylvia Woods’s arrangement is suitable for pedal or lever harps. She also has a version suited to smaller harps. Even if you weren’t a fan of the series, you will enjoy this music. If you loved the show, however, this is a “must have.”
The Downstairs Spider, by Elizabeth Volpé Bligh
Really? A harp piece about a spider? Yep. It’s the story of the composer’s real life encounter with a spider. She tells the story this way: “A spider emerges from its hiding place in a wall of the harp studio. It wanders around the room, distracting the harpist, who then tries to trap it in a tissue, drops it, shrieks, then gets it into the tissue, goes upstairs and puts it outside, where it scuttles off to safety, or to be eaten by a bird. We just don’t know.”
This piece can be played on lever or pedal harp and it’s a little more challenging, although it looks more difficult than it is. There are lots of accidentals on the page, but not quite as many lever or pedal changes as you might expect. It’s fun to play and would even make a great recital piece!
Twisted Tango, by Anne Sullivan
I couldn’t resist including this piece. I wrote it first as a harp duet, but I decided it was too much fun just to limit it to harp ensemble, so I created this solo version. This short solo is for lever or pedal harp. There are no lever changes and just one pedal that needs to be moved a few times. With the musical focus on rhythm and dynamics, this piece is fun to play for an early intermediate or advanced beginner harpist. And it’s fun to listen to, too! Call it spooky or call it quirky, this tango is just a little twisted!
And here’s the best part - you can download it free right now! Just click on the link below and I’ll email you a copy of Twisted Tango because I think you deserve it! If you want to thank me, you can share a video of you playing the piece. I’d love to see it!
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