Glissando/Talk

all the chromatic tones Maybe this is true on a piano, but on a harp it isn't always. When a harpist slides her finger down the strings, she plays the tones the strings are set to: not all the chromatic tones (theoretically she could but that would mean a ton of quick pedal movements). She plays all the "diatonic" tones to the "key" the harp is in. The tones are not always diatonic in the usual sense because the pedals allow the creation of "keys" with any number of sharps and flats. One commonly used gliss has a B# and an E#: not a real key, but it sounds pretty :) dreamyshade

• Good that you brought this up - it's something I thought about when I wrote the text but later forgot. It's true: neither pianists or harpists play all the chromatic tones. Have to think of a way of reformulating it. Any ideas? --tbackstr

I had a go and ended up completely rewriting it - hope that's OK. I kept all of the good points hopefully, apologies if I over edited anything. - MB

• Yes, it's definitely better this way, thanks. --tbackstr

I agree it's a lot better, but what's a "melodic note"?

A note that constitutes part of the melody, as opposed to an "incidental note"... we probably need a link to an article on melody here. - MB

I thought of one more thing: a very limited true glissando can be played on the harp. It is a pedal slide, and is sometimes used in jazz music, and accidentally other times :). If you play one of the lower strings and immediately move its corresponding pedal, you can sort of get a slide from the original tone up or down a half-step. I know it's a stretch, and doesn't need to be in the article, but it's an interesting thought. dreamyshade

How about what guitar players call a "slide"? The finger holding the string to the fretboard slides up or down the neck, shifting so rapidly to the different tones as to resemble a true glissando. Ed Poor

Quoted from the article - "On a harp, the player slide his finger up or down the strings, quickly playing the separate notes. Wind, brass and fretted stringed instrument players can effect an extremely rapid chromatic scale, giving the same effect." - MMGB