La Partida - played on Paraguayan harp

Some say it's called "Quiero ser tu sombra" (wanna be your shadow), apparently by Hector Quattromanos and Zulema Alcayaga but this tune has been claimed by many people. Thanks to a fellow YouTube user who did some research, we now know that the tune I play is in fact traditional. It's such a great piece - I love the slinkiness of it (if that's not a word, it is now). The Paraguayan harp is amazing - the sound on this recording is just noise-reduced, no other audio treatment - you can hear the sparkly treble and deep bass. The harp has guitar-type tuners (machine heads) which can be a bit fiddly near the middle of the harp, where it curves inwards. You hardly have to touch the strings to make it work - and when you play loud, the strings have the characteristic "twang" which you can use for special effects. I bought it at the Stamford Harp Festival and there's a rolled-up banknote in the end of the harp at the top - I can't get it out so who knows what it's worth! Apparently people would put banknotes in between the strings or into the top, as a tip. If you're a harpist, you might spot that the strings don't follow the conventional colours because Paraguayan harps have the C string in blue, and the F string in red, the reverse of other harps.

I'm playing it in my annex, which was a bakery serving the local houses, built around 1790 - that's the bread oven in the stone wall behind me. This is another of my late-night recordings, and it's the first complete take - so there's the odd rough bit.

The arrangement and video is my copyright. You are welcome to learn and play the arrangement if you like it - but please credit me if you play it in public. If you like it, I'll post more music.

The video was recorded using a 3-CCD camera direct to hard disk, and I used Cool Edit Pro to noise reduce the audio and Adobe Premiere Pro for picture correction. If you want a higher-quality file to download and put on your computer, leave me a message and I'll send you the link.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Partida
• Venezuela
• Venezuelan
• Paraguayan
• Harp
• Music

[moscowguitarman]

Very nice. A beautiful tune, beautifully played

[MarkHarmer]

@moscowguitarman Thank you! Yes, it's a wonderful tune, and I leaned it from listening to a YouTube video (can't remember who now).

[tobigforyou]

which harp model is this?

[MarkHarmer]

@tobigforyou Don't know - it's one I bought secondhand.

[moanrock]

it's like turkish country music.. charming!

[MarkHarmer]

Thanks for that - I'm going to listen to some - you've got me intrigued!

[Zadekiel77]

So beatiful...

one of the most gorgeous thing I've heard all my life.

[PinkFloydHasselbaink]

what a beautiful sound, i cant believe..

excellent magnificent

[Bioshockgamer334]

im lucky to be from paraguay! :D I went to paraguay on vacation this year. I had to listen to this all dayyyyyyyy!

[ichimelgarejo]

Que orgullo a ver los comentarios elogiando a la música paraguaya, Esto es Paraguay señores!, música que sale del alma!

[LaurentziuRo]

So beautiful !

Greetings from Romania !

[moscowguitarman]

@MarkHarmer Mark, I have been speaking to a lady from Morley Harps because my 7 year old daughter is interested in learning to play. By coincidence, a couple of days after I posted my comment on your video she gave me your name as someone in the Cheltenham area who might teach. Do you teach in this area? We are looking at arranging lessons...not immediately but in the near future.

[musicmaker1701]

Beautiful! I grew up in Paraguay, and my sister learned to play the Paraguayan harp while we lived there (13 years). My brother and I learned to play guitar. The three of us loved playing Paraguayan music together.

[MattysMello]

You make me wish I knew how to play, I love this.