A Walk in the Woods
For lever or pedal harp, levels 2 - 3, all pieces are 2 pages
Inspired by the forest behind my home, these pieces capture the joy, peace and whimsy of wandering in the woods. This book is useful for teaching and recitals as well as audience pleasing gig music.
Barefoot Wanderer: This simple & lighthearted piece should inspire some arranging and improvising.
Range: F3-B5, Level 2+
In the Treetop : We “climb this tree” up to measure 29, and then settle in on the favorite branch, where the breezes blow.
Range: A2-G5, Level 2
Wildflowers : Students may be tempted to play this too fast too soon. The second page is more difficult and requires attention to fingering (you may prefer alternate fingerings to my suggestions).
Range: D2-A5, Level 3
Salamander: The particular way our slow moving salamanders deliberately place each little foot inspired me to write some connected placement passages.
Range: C2-F4, Level 2+
Fox Trail: It’s all about the rhythm. Improvisation is encouraged. This could be very fun as a harp duet. Get creative!
Range: E2-G5, Level 3+
The Fawns: This piece is about one of those surprise encounters with nature, when you try so hard not to move or even breathe, not wanting to end the moment.
Range: F1-G5, Level 3
Tango of the Owls : We have a pair of Great Horned Owls in the woods, and they often glide between the trees in long, sweeping arcs. Think of this motion to help you make the glissandi deliberate and graceful.
Range: A1-D6, Level 3
Lady Buggedy: This Boogie piece has a good natured rocking feel. Tricky syncopation makes it catchy — you’ll hear the title words in the opening rhythm.
Range: D2-B5, Level 3
Secret Agent Super Bunny: I just love this one. I dare you not to smile when you play this piece. You’ll also hear the title in the main melody. Write the rest of the lyrics!
Range: A1-D6, Level 3
From a review by Denise Grupp-Verbon (Visit her blog here)
Greetings from snowy Northwest Ohio. I am writing today to tell you about an exceptional book of compositions which I recently discovered. A Walk in the Woods is a collection of 'colorful solos' by Kathryn Cater. I purchased this book from Eve Stone of Stoney End Harps as I was looking through her music bins at an event.
What a marvelous publication! (Thanks, Eve!) The 9 selections are all descriptive in nature with titles like Barefoot Wanderer, Tango of the Owls and Secret Agent Super Bunny. The selections in this collection are ideal for a program or recital, I like this idea of "Program Music". Features in this unique, early intermediate to intermediate collection include: syncopation (love, love love!), crossing hands, tapping on the sounding board, glisses, harmonics, rolled chords and pres de la table (PDLT).
Cater includes a few thoughts about each of her creations, which is a nice personal touch when giving a recital or program. This collection will go into my gig bag and never come out!
I hesitate to tell you about this book...I would like to keep it just for myself!!! :-)
Enjoy...and Kathryn...keep up the good work! (I also keep her book called Adagios nearby as well!)