Publications by Karen Peterson
Enjoy the Modes instruction book
Learn how to identify and use the modes in your music. This book is for everyone who has heard of modes and doesn’t know what to do next. Take advantage of how harpers use the same hand position for major and minor chords: change your levers or pedals to hear the differences between Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, and Phrygian on the same strings. 161 pages. Get Enjoy the Modes in hard copy or PDF.
Enjoy the Dorian Mode collection
Play 26 arrangements in D Dorian (no sharps or flats). Explore what makes Dorian different using lead sheets that transform each song to D Aeolian (B♭) and D Mixolydian (F♯) for comparison. Sea shanties, Gregorian chants, troubadour songs, folk tunes, and more, spanning over 800 years of music and 11 nations. Lyrics, chord symbols, and historical context. 137 pages. Get Enjoy the Dorian Mode in hard copy or PDF.
Sheet music for double-strung harp
Harp sheet music should be easy to read and easy to alter. What’s written on the page is just the start. Play it exactly as written, or take the music somewhere else by putting your own spin on it. I support your continued creativity by always including chord symbols and adjustable finger placements.
Each page below has a video of me playing the arrangement, so you can hear what it sounds like and see what kind of finger positions are used before you buy. Songs that are in the public domain are available for sale directly from me, but songs under copyright will link you off to SheetMusicPlus to purchase.
Double-strung harp sheet music: 20th century
Journey’s intense rock anthem is surprisingly beautiful on harp. My arrangement respectfully leaves its integrity intact. View “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Made famous by Patsy Cline, my version of Willie Nelson’s Countrypolitan ballad has the left hand plucking accidentals in the melody to eliminate lever flips…until you get a chance to try one on the right(!) at the end. View “Crazy”
The right side of the double-strung croons this jazzy lullaby over a simple accompaniment made bittersweet with accidentals set on the left side. View “Summertime”
Double-strung harp sheet music: Pre-1900s
This is a slow Scottish lament arranged in the Dorian mode. Harken back to a deep sadness expressed by someone who was ancient at the time of the American Revolution. View “Rorie Dall’s Sister’s Lament”