doug wrote:It wouldn't sound perfect the way it would in Pianoteq, but you can do something like that now. I use Logic and would build it in the 'environment' but I assume that most DAWs have some sort of MIDI manipulation available.
You'd need to build a little program that shifted MIDI pitches depending on pedal position. I don't know how harp pedals work and interact with each other so I'll us x and y. Basically
if ped1
add X to pitches tuv
add Y to pitches mno
if ped2 etc.
The way a chromatic harp works is as follows:
A chromatic harp's strings are nominally tuned to a diatonic (Ionian) scale, i.e, do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti and then back to do sounding an octave higher than the initial do. That is to say, the harp's strings essentially reflect the seven "white notes" on a piano's keyboard. Notice there are seven unique strings, and seven pedals, corresponding to the octave pitches of each white note letter. No matter how the pedals are set, the pedal harp still has only seven unique strings per octave.
As an aside, two of the harp strings are color-coded to help the harpist find his or her way around the strings. All of the "C" pitches have red strings; all of the "F" pitches have dark blue strings. The remaining strings are either colored "clear" or sometimes appear as "white" -- either way, they are without the red color for C's and without the blue color for F's.
The pedal harp (usually referred to as a concert harp) uses the mechanical action of seven pedals to change the pitches of the seven uniquely named diatonic strings. Each pedal is attached to a rod or cable within the column of the harp, which then links to a series of moving rods within the neck. When a pedal is moved with the foot, the column rod is moved, which then moves the linkages and turns either or both of two small discs at the top of strings. The discs are studded with two pins that press against the string as they turn, shortening and/or lengthening the vibrating length of the string.
Each of the seven pedals has three positions. In the top position, no pins are in contact with the string and all notes are flat by a semitone; thus the harp's native tuning is to the scale of C-flat major. In the middle pedal position the top disc presses its pins against the string, resulting in a natural, giving the scale of C major if all pedals are set in the middle position. In the bottom position the second, lower disc is turned, shortening the string again to create a semitone sharp, giving the scale of C-sharp major if all pedals are set in the bottom position.
In each position the pedal can be secured in a notch so that the foot does not have to keep holding it in the correct position, unlike piano pedals that spring upward when released by the foot.
The order of the pedals is directly influenced by the order of sharps and flats in the key signature. Often the harpist needs to temporarily change a given pedal, to compensate for an accidental sharp or flat in the musical score. Many other scales, both diatonic and synthetic, can be obtained by adjusting the pedals differently from each other; also, many chords in traditional harmony can be obtained by adjusting pedals so that some notes are enharmonic equivalents of others, and this is central to pedal harp technique.
* * * *
Although I am not a harpist, I can understand the desire for a diatonic harp that has seven adjustable pedals. At the same time, we keyboardists may not require the need/utility of a diatonic harp plus pedals, because the normal piano-type keyboard allows one to play harp literature, and an accomplished harpist can essentially play the existing piano literature.
The point of my submittal to this thread is informational -- that is to say, to point out how a concert harp works; it is not my intent to take sides whether to simulate the seven pedals, or to abandon the seven pedals and use the regular piano-type keyboard.
Cheers,
Joe
Last edited by jcfelice88keys (28-12-2011 06:43)
