Compose Harp: Reviewing Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Learn how to compose for the harp with confidence and ease by studying the best written harp excerpts of the past! In this video, we review the two harp parts from Claude Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune) and discuss fingerings, use of enharmonics, and the division between the two parts.
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[@amountainlaurelmelody]

I recently got to perform this piece with an orchestra. I was on violin, and my best friend (the girl who got me into playing harp) was on the harp. It was such a treat to be a part of!

[@daniellekuntz]

This is such a beautiful piece, it's such an amazing experience to perform in an orchestra!

[@kovachito]

Great video..!! A lot of helpful information for composers and harp players also. Thank you Danielle.!!👍🏻

[@daniellekuntz]

Glad to hear it! Thank you for watching!

[@krysztof6917]

Hi Danielle! So with the beginning, I was playing around and I wondered why can't we keep the G# and A#? It would be the same as playing a Bb and Ab and with the pedal configuration you would only need to change D and G pedals for the chord if you were playing a combined part, does this work better?

[@daniellekuntz]

I believe that could work, but you would need to change the D and F pedals for the chord, if you were playing the combined part. That being said, the Bb7 chord in flats would sound marginally better than in sharps.

[@JoelLaviolette]

Thank you for this! I’m a composer studying this piece and your insights were really helpful. I have a question about the notation for pedaling given in the score. At rehearsal 9, why does the last indication say LA#-SIb? Why does it say SI b if SI is already indicated to be #?

[@daniellekuntz]

Good catch! I'm pretty sure that is a typo in the original part.