From the author: As I recalled my distant youth, strumming a guitar in the “Hootenanny” era, I got the idea of a confined grouping of chord inversions for easy use on the harp.  On the guitar, no matter what key I was playing in, G major had a definite shape to it under my fingers.  And so did E minor -- no matter what the key.  And C Major and A minor and D7 and on and on…  Why not try to indicate something like this for the utility of harpists?

I devised a notation that I call “enhanced lead sheets.” The right hand plays a solo melody line in a traditional notation with fingerings given within brackets.  The left hand plays chords of half or whole note duration.  The top pitch of the left hand chord inversion is given in a reduced size note with its stem pointing down.  This is the pitch on which the left thumb is placed.  The other two pitches of the chord inversion, played by the second and third fingers, easily placed beneath the thumb.

The range of the chord inversions that are used throughout the collection encompasses only ten strings on the harp -- from the C one octave below middle C to the E that is two strings above middle C.  Within this confined range, there are enough chord inversions available for a variety of textures -- no matter what the key signature!

“Anthology” is a collection of fifty themes and melodies in this format.  The repertoire is drawn from many areas:  Folk songs, Children’s songs, Celtic songs, Christian hymns, Spirituals, Jewish melodies, Christmas carols, Opera themes and Classical themes and reductions.  It also includes five pages of harmonic explanation and performance examples.

The indicated range of melodies and chords is perfect for harps that have  one octave of strings below middle C.  This includes harps of 23 to 26 strings, and of course any larger instruments as well. All arrangements are in C or G Major or their relative minors of A and E.  Only four of the selections require limited lever movements.  They are clearly indicated.

The repertoire is perfect for those who wish to play a broad range of tunes.  It is of particular benefit for those who play in the hospital / nursing home / hospice environment. 

From us here at Melody's:

This book was a BIG seller at “Beginning in the Middle.” It is in an “enhanced lead sheet” format that includes fully fingered melody lines, and in- depth liner notes unlike traditional fake books. The book is conveniently indexed according to topic (folk, Celtic, children, hymns, spirituals, plainsong, Jewish, Christmas, opera, and classical), alphabet, and level so that no matter what, the harpist may always find his/ her music. It includes four pages of basic chord progressions, and helpful performance notes. Perfect for the harpist of any type or level! Includes: Air (“Water Music”), All Through the Night, Amazing Grace, Angels We Have Heard on High, Aura Lee, Away in a Manger, Barcarolle, Blest Be the Tie That Binds, Candle Blessing, Chanuka Chag Ya’fe, Cockles and Mussels, Creator of the Stars of Night, Down By the Salley Gardens, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, Erev Shel Shoshanim, Fairest Lord Jesus, Hinnei Mah Tov, Humbly I Adore Thee, I Gave My Love a Cherry, I Know Where I’m Goin’, I’m a Little Teapot, Intermezzo, Jacob’s Ladder, Kum Ba Yah, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Let Us Break Bread Together, Loch Lomond, London Bridge, Lord, I Want To Be a Christian, Lullaby (Brahms), Morning, Musetta’s Song, O! mio babbino caro, Old Hundredth, Polovetzian Dance #1, Rondo in C (Clementi), Shalom Chaverim, Sheep May Safely Graze, Shenandoah, Silent Night, Sonata in C (Haydn), Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, The Farmer in the Dell, The Harp That Once, The King of Love, This Old Man, To a Wild Rose, Traumerei, Un bel di vedremo.

Below, the accompanying music is from the Anthlogy book.