UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL PAULISTA “JÚLIO DE MESQUITA FILHO” 

INSTITUTO DE ARTES                                                                               

PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM MÚSICA 

 

 

 

 

 

MYRIAM HADASSAH  

 

 

WRITING FOR PEDAL HARP: COGNITIVE ASPECTS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SÃO PAULO - SP 

2020 



 
 

UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL PAULISTA “JÚLIO DE MESQUITA FILHO” 

INSTITUTO DE ARTES                                                                               

PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM MÚSICA 

 

MYRIAM HADASSAH 

 

WRITING FOR PEDAL HARP: COGNITIVE ASPECTS 

 

Dissertação apresentada ao Programa de 

Pós-Graduação em Música do Instituto de 

Artes da Universidade Estadual Paulista 

"Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (IA/UNESP) 

como requisito parcial para obtenção do 

título de Mestre em Música. 

Área de concentração:  Música: 

processos, práticas e teorizações em 

diálogos. Linha de pesquisa: Música, 

Epistemologia, Cultura.  

Especialização: Cognição Musical. 

 

Orientador: Prof. PhD. Marcos José Cruz 

Mesquita 

 

 

 

SÃO PAULO – SP 

2020 



 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

MYRIAM HADASSAH 

 

Writing for pedal harp: cognitive aspects 

 

Dissertação apresentada ao Programa de 

Pós-Graduação em Música do Instituto de 

Artes da Universidade Estadual Paulista 

"Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (IA/UNESP) 

como requisito parcial para obtenção do 

título de Mestre em Música. Área de 

concentração:  Música: processos, 

práticas e teorizações em diálogos. Linha 

de pesquisa: Música, Epistemologia, 

Cultura. Especialização: Cognição 

Musical. 

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Marcos José Cruz 

Mesquita 

Data:  

MEMBROS COMPONENTES DA BANCA EXAMINADORA:    

 

__________________________________________________________________ 

Presidente e Orientador: Prof. Dr. Marcos José Cruz Mesquita – I.A. UNESP 

 

___________________________________________________________________ 

Membro Titular: Prof. Dr. Luis Felipe Oliveira – UFMS   

 

__________________________________________________________________  

Membro Titular:   Prof. Dr. Achille Picchi – I.A. UNESP  

 

Local: Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita - Instituto de Artes /SP 



 
 

DEDICATÓRIA 

 

 

Dedico esta pesquisa as minhas sobrinhas Hellen Regina e Amélie Hadassah. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

AGRADECIMENTOS 

 

 

Minha gratidão a Deus pela música. 

  

A minha família, em especial a minha mãe Ester Sforzin, por me apoiar e 
esforçando-se junto a mim, para cumprimento de todas as demandas desta 

pesquisa. 

 

Aos meus professores e funcionários da Escola Municipal de Música do Teatro 
Municipal de São Paulo, principalmente do período de 1993 à 2005, onde obtive a 

base da minha formação musical em Harpa de Pedal e Teoria da Música. 

 

A Fundação VITAE (Principado de Lichtenstein) que por meio de sua bolsa de 
estudos no ano de 2004 adquiri, na época, material técnico sobre a harpa de pedal. 

 

A todos que direta ou indiretamente me auxiliaram nesta pesquisa. 

 

Agradeço a dedicação dos professores, funcionários e equipe de gestão do Instituto 
de Artes da UNESP em suas orientações prestadas para a elaboração deste 

trabalho.  

 

Minha gratidão ao meu prezado e benquisto orientador Prof. PhD Marcos José Cruz 
Mesquita, pelo incentivo, instrução e colaboração para o desenvolvimento e 

ampliação de meus conhecimentos musicais, ideias e pesquisa.  

 

 

 

. 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The perception of the unknown is the most fascinating of the experiences.” 

Albert Einstein 

 

 

 



 
 

ABSTRACT 

 

This work aims to develop research on the neurocognitive process of writing for pedal 

harp. Due to some peculiarities of the instrument, there is a little repertoire for harp, 

prevailing a large number of keyboard transcriptions and not idiomatic works for the 

instrument. Given this assumption, we sought to know the human neurocognitive 

process applied to perception for musical harp composition. In order to contribute to 

data collecting about the process of perception, the research was made with 

bibliographic survey and literature of the researched areas. It approaches the cognitive 

and musical neuroscience, to understand the musical representations of the musical 

notation with reference to orchestral treatises and pedal harp literature. The research 

found similar forms and patterns in three works considered masterpieces for the 

instrument: Pierné (1901), Ravel (1905) and Villa-Lobos (1953). Similar musical 

designs were found in the musical development of the three works, hand structures in 

predetermined forms and an implicit perception (cognitive aspects) for the use of harp 

pedals (explicit aspects - orchestration treatises and pedal harp literature). 

 

 

Keywords 1. Musical Cognition. 2. Pedal Harp. 3. Gabriel Pierné. 4. Maurice Ravel. 5. 

Heitor Villa-Lobos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

RESUMO 

 

O presente trabalho busca desenvolver pesquisa sobre o processo neurocognitivo da 

escrita musical para harpa de pedal. Devido a algumas peculiaridades do instrumento, 

constatou-se pouco repertório para harpa, contando com grande número de 

transcrições de peças de teclado e obras não idiomáticas para o instrumento. Diante 

deste pressuposto, procurou-se conhecer o processo neurocognitivo humano aplicado 

a percepção para composição musical na harpa. No intuito de contribuir para a coleta 

de dados sobre o processo de percepção da composição para harpa, a pesquisa foi 

feita com levantamento bibliográfico e literatura das áreas pesquisadas. Aborda a 

neurociência cognitiva e musical, para se compreender as representações musicais 

da notação musical implícitas, com referência a tratados orquestrais e literatura da 

harpa de pedal. A pesquisa encontrou evidências de formas e padrões similares em 

três peças consideradas obras primas para o instrumento: Pierné (1901), Ravel (1905) 

e Villa-Lobos (1953).  Foram encontrados desenhos musicais similares no 

desenvolvimento artístico musical das três obras, estruturas das mãos similares em 

formas pré-determinadas, e uma percepção implícita (aspectos cognitivos) para o uso 

dos pedais da harpa (aspectos explícitos - tratados de orquestração e literatura para 

harpa de pedal). 

 

Palavras-chaves: 1. Cognição Musical. 2. Harpa de Pedal. 3. Gabriel Pierné. 4. 

Maurice Ravel. 5. Heitor Villa-Lobos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

FIGURES 

 

Figure 1. Original cadenza for harp from The Nutcracker (1892) “Waltz of the Flowers”, 

measures16-18. (TCHAIKOVSKY, 1892 apud ADLER, 2002, p.93) ………………p.24 

 

Figure 2. As performance cadenza from The Nutcracker, “Waltz of the Flowers”, 

measures16-17. (TCHAIKOVSKY, 1892 apud ADLER, 2002, p.93) ………………p.24 

 

Figure 3. Musical passage impossible of performance from Symphonie Fantastique. 2 

Satz: Valse, measure 31. (BERLIOZ, 1830 apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, 

p.13) …………………………………………………………………………………….…p.25 

 

Figure 4. Musical excerpt written with notes that do not exist on the pedal harp, e.g., 

bent sharps. Harp part from Die Walküre, 3. Akt, letter J (WAGNER, 2001, p.2) ….p.25 

 

Figure 5. Harp part rewritten enharmonically from Die Walküre, 3. Akt, letter J 

(WAGNER, 1856 apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, p.100) ..………...………p.26 

 

Figure 6. Symphony in Three Movements (2. Satz). a. original harp part, and b. review 

harp part. (STRAVINSKY, 1942 apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, 

p.49)………………………………………………………………………………………..p.26 

 

Figure 7. Harp part 1 and 2 from Concerto for Orchestra, problematic chords circled in 

red (BARTOK, 1946, p.70,71). …………………………………………………………p.27 

 



 
 

Figure 8. Harp part 1 and 2 from Concerto for Orchestra, problematic chords rewritten 

enharmonically circled in green (BARTOK, 1943 apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 

1994, p.10). ……………………………………………………………………………….p.27 

 

Figure 9. Petite Harp range, 40 and 44 strings (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, 

p.10)………………………..…...…………………………………………………………p.32 

 

Figure 10. Concert grand harp or pedal harp range, 47 strings and Semi-grand harp, 

46 strings (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.9)………………………………………..p.32 

 

Figure 11. Pedal Harp. Salvi Minerva 47 string (SALVI HARPS). ……………………p.32 

 

Figure 12. Pedal harp range (ADLER, 2002, p.90)……………………………………p.33 

 

Figure 13.  Range of right hand on the pedal harp (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.5)…….p.34 

 

Figure 14. Range of left hand on pedal harp (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.5)……….……p.35 

 

Figure 15. Musical example: both clefs are used at the same time when the harp is 

played, i.e., both hands are played in the same register (RAVEL, 1925 apud 

KOECHLIN, 1954, p.120). ……………………………...……………………….………p.36 

 

Figure 16. Position of the hands on harp strings: left hand followed by right hand. 

(JORDAN, 2007)………………………………………………………………………….p.38 

 

Figure 17. Chord on the harp (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.49)…….…………..p.39 



 
 

Figure 18. Bisbigliando on the harp (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.34)…………p.40 

 

Figure 19. Trills on the harp (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.33)………………….p.41 

 

Figure 20. Chords written in great arpeggio. Ravel (1905) wrote the division of hands. 

(RAVEL, 1905, p.2)………………………………...…………………………….………p.41 

 

Figure 21. Scale and Glissando (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.51)…………….p.42 

 

Figure 22. Suggestion for major scales enharmonic glissando in the harp, the process 

of enharmonization become glissandos of chords. (SCHLOMOVITZ,1978)……….p.43 

 

Figure 23. Suggestion for major scales enharmonic glissando in the harp, the process 

of  enharmonization become glissandos of chords. (SCHLOMOVITZ,1978)……….p.44 

 

Figure 24. Range for harp harmonics (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.12)………………….p.45 

 

Figure 25. Possibility of harmonic sound (ALEXANDER, 2008 p.688)……….……p.45 

 

Figure 26. Pedal harp diagram, and musical pentagram with the C-flat major scale 

corresponding to the pedal diagram in the example………………………………….p.46 

 

Figure 27. Possibilities of pedal harp diagrams (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.19)………p.47 

 

Figure 28. Enharmonic notes. (MOORE,2002, p.4)…..………………………………p.48 

  



 
 

Figure 29. Adapted figure Circle of fifths (KÁROLYI, 2015, p.49)………………….p.49 

 

Figure 30. Adapted figure Circle of fifths - from the key of C flat major. A sequence of 

major scales based on the Circle of Fifth, with changes of just two pedals per key 

(SCHLOMOVITZ, 1978). ……………………………...………………………………...p.49 

 

Figure 31. Adapted figure Circle of fifths - from the key of G flat major. A sequence of 

major scales based on the Circle of Fifth, with changes of just two pedals per key 

(SCHLOMOVITZ, 1978). ……………………………...………………………………...p.50 

 

Figure 32. Enharmonic suggest. (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.36)…………….p.50 

 

Figure 32b. The diagram of the arrangement of the pedals about the figure 24 (“rewrite 

as this”), enharmonic suggest. ……………………………...…………………………p.51 

 

Figure 33. The principle of changes in relative chords, as well as anti-relative. The 

neighboring chords of third, lower or upper, are related to the main functions (in the 

first degree - Tonic, fourth degree - Subdominant and fifth degree Dominant) as relative 

and anti-relative. Accidents in red represent pedal changes. (BRISOLLA, 1979, 

p.66)…..………………...…………………………………………………………………p.51 

 

Figure 34. The figure shows the relationship of the secondary dominant chords in the 

circle of fifths, i.e., the chords of the harmonic structure has its own dominant (fifth 

degree).  Accidents follow the conduction of harmonic functions, being a parameter for 

placing or canceling the pedals (BRISOLLA, 1979, p.72)…………………………….p.52 

  

Figure 35. Consecutive intervals in rapid succession with one hand. (MACDONALD, 

2004, p.71) ………………………...…………………………………………………..…p.56 



 
 

Figure 36. Visual Cortex subdivided by specialized regions. The light enters through 

the eyes through the transduction process, the electrical signals are transmitted to 

Thalamus (in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus, LGN area) and then it is distributed to 

specific regions of the visual cortex. Striate Cortex as the same that V1 (V2, etc..) and 

the term Visual Cortex, i.e. an area of the brain that receives visual impulse. (RHAWN, 

2000). ……………………………...…………………………………………………..….p.58 

 

Figure 37. The visual information becoming neural electrochemical impulse developed 

by the transduction, distributing visual information to the visual cortex (LEWIS et al, 

2007). ……………………………...……………………………………………………...p.59 

 

Figure 38.  The visual information that is captured by the eyes is processed in two 

pathways, one is the dorsal (parallel) stream and the other the ventral (sequential) 

stream (COX, 2018), so called geographically in anatomical terms (BANICH and 

COMPTON, 2018). ……………………………...……………………………………….p.60 

 

Figure 39. The path of the visual information being processed by the visual 

system………………………………...…………………………………………………..p.62 

 

Figure 40. “Activity in V1 can predict orientation of an invisible stimulus. (a) Participants 

viewed an annulus in which the lines were either oriented in only one direction (target) 

or both directions (mask). (b) In some trials, the target was presented for only 17 ms 

and was preceded by the mask. On these trials, the target was not visible to the 

participant. A pattern classifier was used to predict from the fMRI data if the target was 

oriented to the left or right. When the stimulus was visible, the classifier was very 

accurate when using data from V1, V2, or V3. When the stimulus was invisible due to 

the mask, the classifier only achieved above chance performance for the data from 

V1.” (GAZZANIGA et al., 2014, p. 199) ……………………………...…………………p.65 

 



 
 

Figure 41. Visual perceptual cognition: low level, intermediate level, and high level). 

(WAGENMAN, 2019; STERNBERG; STERNBERG, 2012; ELMES et al., 2009; 

GOLDSTEIN, 2011; MATLIN, 2013) ……….……………………...………………….p.66 

 

Figure 42.  The ears receive sound waves, after absorbed in the auditory system, by 

transduction, the neural electrochemical signals is sent to the auditory cortex 

(SHARMA, 2020). ……………………………...……………………………………….. p.67 

 

Figure 43. Green field corresponds to the temporal lobe - auditory cortex. Red field to 

the occipital lobe. Blue field to the frontal lobe. Yellow field to the parietal lobe. The 

auditory cortex will be responsible for the analysis and conscious perception of sound. 

The conscious perception of sound still requires research to be precisely defined by 

neuroscience (COX, 2018). ……………………………...…………………………….p.68 

 

Figure 44. At first, in the primary cortex of the auditory system, information received by 

the thalamus is decoded in frequency, time, intensity, type and location. In the 

secondary cortex specialized information is decoded, such as phonemes (COX, 

2018)….…………………………...………………………………………………………p.69 

 

Figure 45. “Lateral view of the human brain, with the auditory cortex exposed. The 

primary auditory cortex contains a topographic map of the cochlear frequency 

spectrum (shown in kilohertz).” (CHITTKA and BROCKMANN, 2009)…………….p.69 

 

Figure 46. Stages approach bottom-up in music perception. White arrow for the 

organization of music for adapted. (LOVEDAY, 2016, p. 308)………………………..p.71 

 

Figure 47. Auditory and visual system (WARD, 2015, p.237)……………………..…p.75 

 



 
 

Figure 48. Hypotheses of multisensory studies in the human cerebral cortex. All 

presented hypotheses are considered by scientific researches. VC – Visual Cortex, 

MS – Multisensory Sense, AC – Auditory Cortex, TC – Tactile Cortex, PP – Posterior 

Parietal Cortex, STS – Superior Temporal Sulcus. (GAZZANIGA et al., 2014, 

p.212)………………………………...……………………………………………………p.76 

 

Figure 49. Regions of multisensory neurons (GAZZANIGA et al., 2014, p.210)……p.78  

    

Figure 50. Principle of the figure-ground effect. (STEINBERG and SETEINBERG, 

2012, p.114) ………………………...……………………………………………………p.83 

 

Figure 51. The Gestalt Laws. (STEINBERG and SETEINBERG, 2012, p.113)……p.83 

 

Figure 52. Principles of Gestalt Theory found through Wertheimer's (1923)                         

(SZAMEITAT, 2017, p.29) ……………………………...………………………………p.85 

 

Figure 53. Hands in relation to the notes in the musical pentagram. (BOCHSA, 1840b, 

p.6). …………...………………...…………………………………………………….…..p.90 

 

Figure 54. First image all musical elements. Second image Rhythmic and interval 

perception (attenuation of musical elements cognitively). Third image Gestalt 

groupings, which can be observed in tonal perspective (vertical) or temporal 

perspective (horizontal). (PIERNÈ, 1901, p.8)………………………………….……..p.91 

 

Figure 55. Hands in relation to the notes in the musical pentagram. The perception of 

musical notation in visual Gestalt in correspondence to motor Gestalt and 

consequently sound Gestalts (BOCHSA, 1840b, p.6)…….…………………..………p.92 

 



 
 

Figure 56. Both hands in sequential downward motion, in upward linear larger plane. 

Four notes for each hand. We ca see the three Gestalt laws: proximity, similarity and 

continuity. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p. 15). ……………………………...………………………p.93 

 

Figure 57. Use of tenths in both hands rehearsal number 24. Maximum extension in 

consecutive parallel movements provides the interpreter's mechanical/motor agility 

(PIERNÉ, 1901, p.11). ……………………………...…………………………………..p.94 

 

Figure 58. Three Gestalt contrasts in the same measure: (i) first and second beats, (ii) 

at the downbeat of the third beat, and (iii) fusion figure followed by eight notes 

(PIERNÉ, 1901, p.6). ……………………………...……………………………………p.94 

 

Figure 59. Gestalt contrast, with interval expansion arranged in three and four fingers 

(PIERNÉ, 1901, p.12) ……………………………...……………………………………p.95 

 

Figure 60. Chords that exceeds the tenth extension, but slow tempo favors the 

arpeggiated performance (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.7)………..…………………………..…p.95 

 

Figure 61. Using three to four notes per hand, interval spacing extended to a maximum 

of one tenth. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.8) …………………………...…………………………p.96 

 

Figure 62. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.8 ; 9) …………….………….…...…….…………………p.97 

 

Figure 63. (VILLA-LOBOS, 1953, p. 4; 60-61) …………………………….....……….p.97 

 

Figure 64. (RAVEL, 1905, p.7) ……………………………...……………………….….p.98 

 

Figure 65. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.2) ……………………………...…………………………p.98 

 



 
 

Figure 66. (RAVEL, 1905, p.12) ……………………………...…………………………p.98 

 

Figure 67. (VILLA-LOBOS, 1953, p.4; 33; 25) ……………………………...…………p.99 

 

Figure 68. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.13) ……………………………...……………………..p.100 

 

Figure 69. (RAVEL, 1905, p. 2) ……….…………………...…………………………p.101 

 

Figure 70. (VILLA LOBOS, 1953, p.9) …….…..…………………...……….……….p.102 

 

Figure 71. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.14) ……………………………...……………….…….p.103 

 

Figure 72. (RAVEL, 1905, p.11) ……………………………...………………………p.103 

 

Figure 73. (VILLA-LOBOS, 1953, p. 56) ……………………………...……………...p.104 

 

Figure 74. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.5) …………………………...…………………………p.105 

 

Figure 75. (RAVEL, 1905, p.5) ……………………………...………….…….….…..p.105 

 

Figure 76. (VILLA-LOBOS, 1953, p.32) …………………………...…………..….....p.106 

 

Figure 77. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.4; 6) ………………..………………...…………………p.107 

 



 
 

Figure 78. (RAVEL, 1905, p.7; 6; 11) ……………….……………...……..………….p.107 

 

Figure 79. (VILLA-LOBOS, 1953, p.1; 5) ……….……….…………...……………...p.108 

 

Figure 80. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.15) ………….…………………...…………………….p.109 

 

Figure 81. (RAVEL, 1905, p. 7; 6; 11) …………………………………...……………p.111 

 

Figure 82. (VILLA-LOBOS, 1953, p.14) ……………………………...………………p.111 

 

Figure 83. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.3) …………………………...………………………….p.112 

 

Figure 84. (PIERNÉ, 1901, p.5) …………………….………...………………………p.112 

 

Figure 85. (RAVEL, 1905, p.6) …………….…………………...…………….……….p.113 

 

Figure 86. (VILLA-LOBOS, 1953, p.59) ………………………..……….…..……….p.113 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

TABLE 

 

Table 1. Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception. The Gestalt principles of Prägnanz, 

proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and symmetry aid in our perception of forms. 

(STERNBERG; STERNBERG, 2012, p. 113 - 115) ……………………………...…..p.82 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

SUMMARY 

 

1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..…22 

 

2. TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF PEDAL HARP……………………………….…….30 

2.1 The Pedal Harp…………………………………………………………….…..30 

2.2 Strings………………………………………………………………………..….33 

2.3 The Hands on the Harp (As Groups of Notes).……………………………..34 

2.4 Fingers – As Groups of Notes……………………………………………......36 

2.5 Intervals between the Fingers..………..…..……………….………..…........37 

2.6 Chords and Variations……………………………………….……………......39 

2.7 Scale…………………………………………………………………………….41 

2.8 Harmonics……………………………..………………………………………..45 

2.9 Pedals……………………………..…………………………………………… 46 

2.10 Aspects of Harp Sound to written in the Sheet Music……...…………..53 

2.10.1 The Sound of Harp…………..………………………………………...53 

2.10.2 Muffled Notes…………………………………………………………..54 

2.10.3 Harmonic Voices…………………………...………………………….55 

2.11 Closing Considerations…………………………….………………………56 

 

3. FROM SENSATION TO VISUAL AND AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL 

ORGANIZATION - COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE APPROACH…………….58 

3.1 Visual System…………………………………………………………………..58 

3.1.1 Psychophysical Aspects………………………………………………..58 

3.1.2 From Visual-Sensory System to Perception…….……………………63 

3.2 Auditory System……………………………………………………………......67 

      3.2.1 Psychophysics Aspects…………………………………………………67 

      3.2.2 Psychophysical Aspects of Music……………………………………..70 

      3.2.3 Perceptive Process Aspects of Music…………………………………73 

     3.3 Visual and Auditory Perception……………………………………………….74 

     3.4 Perceptual Organization of Objects and Form – Gestalt Theory………….80      

            3.4.1 Principle of Perceptual Organization to Visual System……….........81 

            3.4.2 Principle of Perceptual Organization in Music…………………........85 

     3.5 Considerations……………………………..……………………………….…..87 

 

4. PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN SELECTED REPERTOIRE…………………..88 

4.1 Musical Works……...…………………..………………………………………88 

4.2 The Hands on the Harp………………………………………………………..89 

4.3 Chords and Variations…………………………………………………….…...96 

4.4 Grand Arpeggio…………………………………………………………….......99 

4.5 Bisbigliando and Trills (or Tremolo)…..…………………………………….102 

4.6 Scales………………………………………………………………………….104 

4.7 Glissandos…………………………………………………………………….106 



 
 

4.8 Harmonics……………………………………………………………………..108 

4.9 Variation……………………………………………………………………….112 

4.10 Considerations………………………………………………………………114 

 

5. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS..………………………………………………..…...116 

 

      REFERENCES….………….………………………………………………………...117 

       

 

 



22 
 

1 INTRODUCTION 

 

This research has its basis in the studies of cognitive neuroscience of music and 

investigates the cognitive interweavement of visual and motor aspects of pedal harp 

technique and score reading. 

The harp is an ancient instrument and its sound possibilities have always been 

limited to the technical features in each historic period. Since especially the second 

half of the nineteenth century, orchestration treatises present the main characteristics 

of pedal harp to students and composers. 

The pedal harp acquired resources from the eighteenth century on to 

accompany the development, for instance, of tempered tuning and of harmonic 

chromaticism. The pedal mechanism of the harp was also adapted until reaching a 

technical consensus for performance. However, the amount of musical works for the 

instrument does not correspond to its development and technical possibilities. Koechlin 

(1954) states that: 

 

The harp is a very agile instrument (see, for example, Hasselmans' Les Feux 
Follets) only restricted to good writing: but most composers remain shy, 
because they are very ignorant of the subject.1 (KOECHLIN, 1954, p.119) 

 

 

 Such severe statement demonstrates a recurrent situation about doubts 

regarding the technical possibilities of the instrument, which resulted in a shortage of 

orchestral works with harp, or, much worse, idiomatically mistaken works. For 

example, it is said that the harp cadenza from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet (figure 

1) was idiomatically rewritten by a harpist and by convention it is still played as in figure 

2. Although it had Tchaikovsky's approval at the time, the composer did not change its 

original score (ADLER, 2002). 

 
1 All translations from author. 



23 
 

Figure 1. Original cadenza for harp from The Nutcracker (1892) “Waltz of the Flowers”, measures16-
18. (TCHAIKOVSKY, 1892, apud ADLER, 2002, p.93) 

 

 

 

Figure 2. Cadenza, as usually performed, from The Nutcracker, “Waltz of the Flowers”, measures 
16-17. (TCHAIKOVSKY, 1892, apud ADLER, 2002, p.93) 

 

 

 We can observe some other examples in works written with idiomatic 

inadequacies, and sometimes passages had to be rewritten or, if not, omitted during 

the performance. Usually, such problems are present more frequently in symphonic 

works. 

In the example below (figure 3), Berlioz (1830 apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 

1994), even being recognized as an orchestration expert, writes a mistaken passage 

in the Symphonie Fantastique. Konhauser and Storck (1994) state that: “It is advisable 

to share this passage between two harps as it is almost impossible to play at the 

original tempo.” (KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, p.13). Therefore, the harpist usually 

plays only the upper staff, alternating his hands in the sequence suggested by the 

tuplets. 

 



24 
 

 

Figure 3. Impossible musical passage from Symphonie Fantastique, 2nd movement, Valse, measure 
31. (BERLIOZ, 1830, apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, p.13) 

 

In this other passage (figure 4), Wagner (2001) writes notes in the last measure 

that do not exist in harp notation, i.e., double-sharp notes. Konhauser and Storck 

(1994) rewrote the entire passage solving this problem by changing enharmonically 

the key, resulting in a richer sound (figure 5): the pedal harp, as we will see later, has 

a better resonance in flat keys because its natural tuning is flat. 

 

 

Figure 4. Musical excerpt written with notes that do not exist on the pedal harp, e.g., bent 
sharps. Harp part from Die Walküre, 3rd act, letter J (WAGNER, 2001, p.2). 

 



25 
 

 

Figure 5. Harp part rewritten enharmonically from Die Walküre, 3rd act, letter J (WAGNER, 
1856, apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, p.100). 

 

 

In the following passage (figure 6a), Stravinsky (1942, apud KONHAUSER & 

STORCK, 1994) writes chords in a very large range for the left hand. Konhauser & 

Storck (1994) solved this idiomatic inadequacy, adapting the passage with enharmonic 

notes, i.e., the notes Cb and Bb rewritten respectively as natural B and A# (figure 6b). 

 

             a.                                                               b. 

 

Figure 6. Symphony in Three Movements, 2nd movement. a. original harp part, and 
b. reviewed harp part. (STRAVINSKY, 1942, apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, p.49) 

 

 

 

Bartok (1946) requests the use of pedals in a non-idiomatic way, i.e., he mixes 

sharps and flats, something that make more difficult the activation of pedals (figure 7). 



26 
 

In such cases, the harmonic configuration is not clearly written, and there is a conflict 

between hand and feet actions. Konhauser & Storck (1994) solves the problem by 

enharmonizing specific chord notes (figure 8). 

 

 

Figure 7. Harp part 1 and 2 from Concerto for Orchestra, problematic chords circled in red (BARTOK, 

1946, p.70, 71). 

 

 

Figure 8. Harps 1 and 2 from Concerto for Orchestra, problematic chords rewritten enharmonically 
circled in green (BARTOK, 1943 apud KONHAUSER & STORCK, 1994, p.10). 

 

 



27 
 

Such examples show us common mistakes about the pedal harp notation in 

important musical works: idiomatic inadequacies of the harp fingerings that are many 

times related to problems of idiomatic inadequacies in the use of pedals. Also Magnani 

(1989) considers that musical works for solo harp are limited, he states that: 

 

The expressive limitations of the harp made its repertoire always very scarce: 
Mozart’s Concerto for harp and flute and Boieldieu’s Concerto are the highlights 
of orchestral literature. [...] But almost all of the recital literature is represented 
by transcriptions of pieces [...] (MAGNANI, 1989, p.25) 

 

 

However, despite the constant idiomatic inadequacy in the musical notation of 

the harp, we can infer that the modern technique of the pedal harp is objectively and 

clearly described in orchestration treatises (ADLER, 2002; ALEXANDER, 2008; 

BERLIOZ, 1855; KOECHLIN, 1954; MACDONALD, 2004; MILLER, 2015; PISTON, 

1969). Some authors advise, however, to contact a harpist for a complementary 

explanation (ADLER, 2002; KOECHLIN, 1954). We can conclude that there are 

limitations on the part of composers that generate idiomatic inadequacies about pedal 

harp writing. 

Today, with the progress of cognitive neuroscience, we can review some 

perception difficulties that are not yet referred in the existing material, aiming an 

improvement of harp writing. In such perspective, this research seeks to answer 

following question: what human cognitive aspects could be involved to improve the 

perception of pedal harp writing? The answer to such question can elucidate the 

implicit cognitive processes in the visual perception of the pedal harp notation, so that 

the composer does not necessarily have to find a harpist to solve gaps in observational 

perception. Such strategy can contribute to the cognitive accessibility of the 

composition, and to the expansion and development of the pedal harp repertoire. 

The research was developed mainly bibliographically. Therefore, we will 

observe first the most discussed idiomatic topics in the literature and orchestral 

repertoire for the pedal harp. The description of harp features includes strings 

characteristics, sound possibilities, hands and fingers positions and movements, 

pedals uses, and musical notation. 



28 
 

Then, we used cognitive neuroscience studies to discover a possible perceptual 

sensory gap applicable to the research problem. It will be observed that the human 

cognitive processing system is complex, but extremely organized. We limited the 

discussion to how information is processed by the sensory system and is decoded and 

understood in brain. We will observe the path of the stimuli from the reception in the 

sensory systems (visual, auditory, and senses-integrated) until the organizational 

perception in the cortex, i.e., how the stimuli are organized as mental percept for 

understanding. Then, we will approach the Gestalt Theory (theory of form), the one 

that perhaps better explains the moment of mental percept, i.e., the perceptual 

processing of sensory inputs before the “higher” semantic recognition of an object or 

form. 

The Gestalt Theory, first based on psychophysical aspects of visual perception, 

was developed by Wertheimer (1912; 1923), Koffka (1936), and Köhler (1947) It also 

contributes as an analytical tool for psychophysical and cognitive musical perception 

(BREGMAN, 1994; DEUSTCH, 1982; MESQUITA, 2016; SHEPARD, 1999), and, in 

other musical cognitive approaches, for studies in musical expectation and emotion 

(MEYER, 1956). The German word Gestalt has a conceptual meaning associated with 

configuration or form. Gestalt Theory suggests that human perception interprets the 

whole, the form. Each observed part is a forming element of a whole, and perception 

is a global response to mental, corporal, or behavioral stimuli. Gestalt perception would 

be the mental organization of such stimuli. (BOCK; FURTADO; TEIXEIRA, 2002). 

After finding the cognitive moment of a mental percept formation (Gestalt), we 

also seek to investigate the processing of psychophysical stimuli in the cortex and to 

consider how the observation of musical notation (visual stimuli) would accurately 

correspond to musical production (auditory recognition and motor actions) in the brain. 

We did not investigate directly the sensorimotor cognitive aspects of harp playing, but 

discuss such topic with the help of orchestral treatises and a selected instrumental 

literature. 

Following the previous premises, we can try to give an answer to the main 

question of the research: if a musical work is written with the help of sound concepts 

and correspondent motor behaviors that are established through convention in musical 

notation, its mental percept should be a set of visual idiomatic “drawings” (Gestalts) 



29 
 

that are intrinsically bound to such sound concepts and motor behaviors. Therefore, 

such drawings (Gestalts) can be graphically found in standard works for the instrument. 

Three pieces of the harp repertoire were selected in order to support the 

analysis and data collection: Concertstück for harp, Op.39, by Gabriel Pierné (1901), 

Introduction and Allegro by Maurice Ravel (1905) and Concerto para harpa by Heitor 

Villa-Lobos (1953). In the early twentieth century, the pedal harp reached an apex of 

its musical development and the three mentioned works represent exemplary such 

apex. 

The analysis of selected musical excerpts started from the premise that visual 

perception is considered implicitly equivalent to resulting auditory perception and motor 

behavior (the last in the case of a performer), i.e., sound perception and motor behavior 

are symbolically represented in visual patterns of the musical score. The musical 

excerpts were selected in order to present the most characteristic technical possibilities 

of pedal harp, as exposed in instrumentation/orchestration treatises. Then, the 

selected excerpts were analyzed with the help of structural musical analysis and their 

structural characteristics were compared with the principles of Gestalt Theory. Finally, 

we propose a classification that synthesizes such data. 

The text is articulated in five chapters, the first being this introduction. In the 

second chapter, we describe the idiomatic and technical aspects of the pedal harp. In 

the third chapter, we describe aspects of the visual and auditory perceptual sensory 

systems; we observe and compare the interaction of the visual and auditory perceptual 

sensory system, which induce a mental percept in cortex. We will approach such 

perceptual moment using principles of the Gestalt Theory. In the fourth chapter we 

analyze the perceptual organization suggested by Gestalt Theory, considering musical 

notation (visual stimuli) in accurate equivalence to auditory cognitive perception, in 

following musical works: Concertstück for harp, Op.39, by Gabriel Piernè (1901), 

Introduction and Allegro, by Maurice Ravel (1905) and Concerto para harpa, by Heitor 

Villa-Lobos (1953). Chapter five is dedicated to final considerations. 

 

 

 

 



30 
 

2 TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF PEDAL HARP 

 

2.1 The Pedal Harp 

 

              The harp is an ancient instrument. We find its first and oldest historical register 

in the beginning of the Holy Bible, in the Genesis book (circa 1446 B.C.): "Jubal: he 

was the father of all such as handle the harp (…)" (HOLY BIBLE, 1611, p. 4). Due to 

its existence in many cultures with different names, the term harp was instituted as a 

kind of historical consensus. The first mention of the term is given by bishop Venantius 

Fortunatus, around 600 AD (BLOM, 1954). Therefore, the term “harp” was instituted 

for all instruments with similar physical characteristics in biblical translation and in all 

Western cultures. 

              The contemporary pedal harp has a mechanism that is operated by pedals. 

In the pedals, there are springs that drive cables through the column of the harp, 

triggering the mechanism in the neck by turning discs with forks, this way tightening or 

releasing the strings in half tone. There are two movements for each pedal: flat bass 

(first movement for natural) and natural bass (second movement for sharp). Hence the 

concert harp is also called the double-action pedal harp. This mechanism is used in 

order to take in account the Western tonal system, i.e., the tempered system.   

               The tonal system prevailed when the pedal harp was patented in 1810 by 

Sébastien Erard in France (ZINGEL,1992). The harp had already been excluded from 

the great musical production because it was not completely adapted to the tonal 

system, especially to the use of chromaticism. Sebastién Erard (1810) brought the harp 

back to the social scene of the world of music, when the harp was limited to court music 

in Europe. Beginning discretely in 1810, the new pedal harp reached its apex in late 

Romanticism and early French Impressionism, enriching with its timbre the expression 

of musical compositions. 

           The contemporary pedal harp has the same structure since Erard (1810) and 

today has three sizes: 

• Petite Harp (40 strings to 44 strings): played in small environments; 



31 
 

• Semi-grand harp (46 strings): used in orchestra and chamber ensembles; 

• Concert grand harp (47 strings): harp commonly used by all harpists in 

orchestras, concert halls, music schools and universities. 

The differences between the 40-44, 46 and 47 strings pedal harps are the size, 

weight and sound power, besides the amount of strings. In this research we will focus 

on the 47 string pedal harp, or concert grand harp. It is worth noting that the same 

technique explained can be applied on 40, 44 and 46 string pedal harps, observing the 

amount of strings of the respective instruments. 

 

 

Figure 9. Petite Harp range, 40 and 44 strings (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.10). 

 

 

 

 

Figure 10. Concert grand harp or pedal harp range, 47 strings and Semi-grand harp, 46 strings 
(REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.9). 



32 
 

 

Figure 11. Pedal Harp. Salvi Minerva 47 string (SALVI HARPS). 



33 
 

2.2 Strings  

 

              The 47 strings of the pedal harp are divided into 6 octaves of C major (C12 

through C7) and a seventh incomplete octave from note C7 to note G7. For historical 

reasons of inheritance from the predecessor instruments, harp strings have another 

code and are counted in octaves of F. Due to the large number of parallel strings, a 

color-code is used to identify the octaves and notes. All C strings are red and F strings 

are black or dark blue. In this way, the harpist visualizes patterns or grouping, i.e., 

portions of strings of his/her instrument as a reference for playing. 

 

Figure 12. Pedal harp range (ADLER, 2002, p.90). 

 

             The pedal harp has different types of strings with different sound qualities: 

• Lamb gut string: produces wide, high-quality sound. Much used in the central 

range of pedal harps. 

• Nylon string: has no as sound power and amplitude as the gut strings. It has 

an opaque sound, but because it is more resistant, it is widely used in places 

with little thermal stability. Much used in the highest two octaves of pedal harps. 

• Wire string: used in the two lowest octaves of pedal harps (C1-G2). Due to the 

tension caused by the strings in that region, there are no other suitable types of 

material. 

 
2 C4 = middlle C / C4 = 262Hz 



34 
 

2.3 The Hands on the Harp (As Groups of Notes) 

 

        The technical position of the hands on the harp is like hands that would be ready 

to give someone a compliment, i.e., “the position is similar to hand extend, as if ready 

to shake hands, but with the fingers turned inward.” (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.04). So 

the fingers are placed on the harp strings, except for the little fingers that are not used 

to play the pedal harp. This is the best and most accepted way to pluck naturally the 

strings. Such position is used on both hands, and every pedal harp technique is 

developed upon this basic position (CHALOUPKA, 1979). 

       The harpist has a basic “hand form” that must be trained. The difficulty of playing 

the harp is that the harpist's hand must “draw” patterns by articulating with the fingers 

on the strings. Koechlin (1954), explaining pedal harp writing, mentions the use of "a 

great number of drawings" (p.121) of possibilities for writing, i.e., the hand is 

suspended with the fingers drawing structures corresponding to the arrangement of 

the figures on the score.  

             The right hand on the harp plays usually the melody written frequently in the 

treble clef. The playable range of the right hand is from G2 to the highest strings (figure 

13). The left hand on the harp usually plays the harmony and is usually written in the 

bass clef (figure 14). Its playable range is the entire register of the harp. In certain 

passages, one can alternate hands, both hands can play in parallel chord sequences 

(CHALOUPKA, 1979; REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002). 

 

Figure 13.  Range of right hand on the pedal harp (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.5). 



35 
 

 

Figure 14. Range of left hand on pedal harp (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.5). 

 

            Formerly, the melody was characteristic of the left hand, as in any other string 

instrument. However, the use of the right hand for the melody came as inheritance of 

keyboards instruments because there was a shortage of the harp repertoire.  

The vast repertoire of the keyboard instruments was used by the harpists. Those 

instruments had similarities with the harp in the diatonic arrangement of the notes, i.e., 

the arrangement of the white piano keys (C, D, E, F, G, A, and B). The black keys of 

the keyboard instruments that refer to chromaticism are played on the harp with the 

help of pedals (this point will be discussed later). Thus, the ancient technique of the 

harp was modified, resembling the writing of keyboard instruments. 

             The change of register can be written on the same stave, pointing up the stems 

of notes played by the right hand, and down the stems of notes played by the left hand 

(figure 15). Each group of notes can be written with stems down or up according to the 

register and hand. The range of the notes used by each hand should not exceed one 

octave. We do not use notes with many supplementary lines, usually indicating them 

with the “octave above” and “octave below” symbols. 

 

 

 

 



36 
 

 

Figure 15. Musical example: both clefs are used at the same staff when the harp is played, i.e., both 

hands are played in the same register (RAVEL, 1925 apud KOECHLIN, 1954, p.120). 

 

 

            An indispensable observation is that, there are ways for the harpist to read 

those figures (figure 15). One is to place the four fingers at once on the strings, from 

one hand to the other. This is a rule for descending arpeggios. Another possibility is 

the sequence of notes to begin in the low register (ascending, which would be the 

opposite of figure 15), then the left hand would be placed in the sequence, with notes 

from one finger to another, or also from one hand to the other.  

 

2.4 Fingers – As Groups of Notes 

 

             In the modern harps the strings are plucked with the fingertips, not the nails. 

Nails are used in folk harps, namely: Paraguayan harps and Irish harps (small harp 

with metal strings). Therefore, due to anatomical reasons, the use of the little finger of 

both hands was excluded from the fingering of the pedal harp for a better technical 

development.  

              The harpist uses four fingers in each hand. To the thumbs are directed the 

highest notes, followed by the second fingers (index fingers), third fingers (middle 

fingers) and the fourth fingers (ring fingers) leaving to them the lowest notes3. The 

placement of the fingers on the harp usually starts from the lowest note to the highest 

note, i.e., in a four-note chord, the ring fingers will play the lowest note of a chord. In a 

 
3 Arabic numerals refer to the fingers of both hands: 4 = ring fingers 3 = middle fingers, 2 = index finger, 1 = 

thumbs. 



37 
 

three-note chord, the middle fingers will play the lowest note. It would be like the 

fingering of the left hand on the piano to both hands, with no use of the little fingers 

(CHALOUPKA, 1979; REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002).  

               As already mentioned, harp reading begins from the lower notes on. So, the 

fourth (ring) fingers play always the lowest, following by the third (middle) fingers, 

second fingers (index fingers) and thumbs that play always the highest notes. And if 

the opposite occurs, as in figure 15, the thumbs will have primacy followed by the other 

fingers in sequence. The fingers attack all the strings like a grouping. Piston (1969) 

writes that:  

 

On the harp there are no fingering patterns such as those occasioned by the 
arrangement of black and white keys on the piano keyboard. All scales are 
fingered alike – ascending 4321 [left hand] 4321 [right hand], descending, 1234 
[right hand] 1234 [left hand], etc. (PISTON, 1969, p.330-331). 

 

 

2.5 Intervals between the Fingers 

 

           A hand on the harp can pluck at the most a 10th interval (CHALOUPKA,1979; 

KOECHLIN, 1954; MILLER, 2015; REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002). In the moment the 

harpist needs fingers to complete a chord, the other hand immediately assumes the 

responsibility for the remaining note(s).  

A maximum range interval for each hand on the harp is between the fourth and 

third fingers (annular and middle fingers) for lower notes, and second and first fingers 

(index fingers and thumbs) for higher notes, avoiding large intervals between the third 

and second (middle and index) fingers. 

 



38 
 

 

Figure 16. Position of the hands on harp strings: left hand followed by right hand (JORDAN, 2007). 

 

           Eventually the left hand can exceed the 10th interval. In such situation, the 

harpist does not place all fingers of the left hand on the strings at the same time, but 

plays note by note, placing each finger at a time. If the left hand had to play a chord in 

non arpeggio, it would not be possible to exceed a 10th interval. 

              Playing a succession of fast notes with the stretched hand is not natural, 

especially considering that the technical support of the harp is to pluck strings (not 

pressing them), so the succession of fast notes with maximum extension is to be 

avoided. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid the succession of fast notes with maximum 

extension of the hands.  

 



39 
 

2.6 Chords and Variations 

 

             The chords on the harp are always arpeggio. Salzedo (1917) writes that “all 

chords not preceded by a special sign must be slightly arpeggio.” (p.2). When a longer 

arpeggio is desired, it is written as a symbol corresponding to the arpeggio symbol 

(figure 17). The composer can write non arpeggio, using the symbol [ in the extension 

of the chord (figure 17). Such procedure is recognized as exception, not as rule. 

             The note that falls on the beat is usually the lowest note of the chord. When it 

comes to orchestral works and chamber music such rule is controversial, it depends 

on the experience of the composer in writing and the interpretation of the group. The 

arpeggio direction must consider what comes before or after harmonically and 

melodically so that the ornament does not disturb the harmony or the phraseology of 

the work. Chaloupka (1979) suggests that “this may be indicated by an arpeggiando 

sign with an asterisk at the bottom (*) preceding the chord.” (p.8). 

 

 

Figure 17. Chord on the harp (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.49). 

 

            Great chords in shape of great arpeggios on the harp are common. In such 

cases, chord notes are distributed between both hands. However, Chaloupka (1979) 

advises us to omit a note in the left-hand chord. For reasons of sound resonance, by 

doing so, we give space for harmonic sounds (harmonic series) to associate with 



40 
 

natural sounds and thus it sounds clearer (figure 17). The harp is a harmonic 

instrument. Chaloupka (1979) suggests some chord guidelines: 

 

1.The span of the chord should not exceed an 11th. In a 4-note chord the 
interval between the two bottom notes should not exceed a fifth. In a 3-note 
chord the interval between the two bottom notes should not exceed an 
octave.  

2. Block chords (non arpeggiando) should not exceed a total span of a 10th. 

3. P.D.L.T. (près de la table) chords, meaning that they are played near the 
soundboard, should not exceed a total span of an octave. (CHALOUPKA, 
1979, p. 5) 

 

 

            Shaking chords (tremolo chords) also called bisbigliando (murmuring) are 

played alternating quickly the hands (figure 18). Associated with enharmonic notes the 

effect has a clear sonority. It can also be used in one hand, but the best effect of 

bisbigliando is obtained by alternating both hands. 

 

 

Figure 18. Bisbigliando on the harp (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.34). 

 

Effective trills on the harp are played with two alternating hands, like the 

bisbigliando chords (figure 18 and 19). The one-hand trill is not advisable, but is also 

used. The use of enharmonic notes for trills is of great value, they give more definition 

to the trill. 

 



41 
 

 

Figure 19. Trills on the harp (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.33). 

 

           The most suitable region for trills is the treble region due to acoustic reasons. 

The shorter the string the less its vibration time, therefore due to the speed of finger 

replacement, the greater possibility of sound. Whenever possible, the use of 

enharmonic notes is advisable in order to achieve a clear sonority. 

The great arpeggio is written following the rules of the extension of the hands 

and the intervals between the fingers (figure 20), alternating both hands. 

 

 

Figure 20. Chords written in great arpeggio. Ravel (1905) wrote the division of hands. (RAVEL, 1905, 

p.2). 

 

2.7 Scales 

 

            The technique used to play a scale is the same for all types of scale, i.e., in 

tonal, modal, atonal, chromatic, and pentatonic contexts. When possible, the same 

finger arrangement is used, but with interval differences (i.e., 4321 left hand, 4321 right 

hand).  



42 
 

The strings to be played are always the same, for example, the note C, C# or 

Cb are played in the same string, and so on, what changes are the notes pressed in 

the pedal groove, i.e., pedals are used to give new tones and semitones (see below 

item 2.9). Therefore, the shape of the hand to play the notes of a scale are arranged 

in the same way. 

The glissandos can be written with lines that indicate their range (figure 21). 

Such lines can be precise or not, i.e., with or without start note and end note. The notes 

can be represented by a pedal diagram (see below item 2.9), or written on a small 

scale in parentheses on the staff, or with letters below the staff. 

 

 

Figure 21. Scale and Glissando (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.51) 

 

            The glissandos are a variation of the scales, simply modifying the speed of its 

execution with the sliding of fingers on the strings (KOECHLIN, 1954). Glissando can 

be done with one or two fingers of each hand or combining both hands. This means 

that with the use of pedals we can make a series of variations on the glissandos, 

including enharmonic notes. So that we can play a scale or glissando chord just 

operating the pedals and sliding the fingers on the same strings (RIMSKY-

KORSAKOV, 1964). 

            Schlomovitz (1978) suggests writing pedal diagrams (see below item 2.9) for 

major enharmonic scales. With the help of note (pedal) enharmonization is possible to 

play glissandos of chords (figure 22 and 23). For example: in the Bb major key, it is 

possible to sharp the E and A strings; in the D major key, it is possible to flat the C and 

G strings. In the case of the C major key, the B string is played as B# and the F string 

is played as Fb (figure 22 and 23). 

 



43 
 

 

 

 

Figure 22. Suggestion for major scales enharmonic glissandos on the harp: the process of 
enharmonization becomes glissandos of chords. Figure constructed according Schlomovitz (1978). 

 

 

 

 

 



44 
 

 

 

 

Figure 23. Suggestion for major scales enharmonic glissando on the harp, the process of  
enharmonization become glissandos of chords. Figure constructed according Schlomovitz (1978). 

 

 

 

 

 



45 
 

2.8 Harmonics 

 

            Harmonics on the harp, i.e., notes that sound an octave up, are played in the 

middle of the string being simultaneously muffled with the same hand. They are 

indicated with a small circle above or below the actual note. The range of harmonics 

on the harp is indicated in figure 24. Harmonics below or above this range do not 

sound. However, harmonics played on strings of wire below the range sound like dry 

notes emitted from a marimba. In this region it is advisable to use one note at a time 

for a reasonable sound emission. 

 

Figure 24. Range for harp harmonics (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.12). 

 

               Harmonics can be played as single notes, or by both hands. The left hand 

can also play two notes with the maximum interval of four and three notes, and triads 

in the fundamental position. The right hand can play only one harmonic at a time: the 

harp rests on the right shoulder of the instrumentalist, so the right arm is limited to 

playing only one harmonic. The right hand can play harmonics in conjunction with left 

hand (figure 25). It is possible to combine natural sounds with harmonics, even in 

glissandos. 

 

Figure 25. Possibility of harmonic sound (ALEXANDER, 2008 p.688). 



46 
 

2.9 Pedals 

 

           One of the fundamental principles for harp writing is the use of pedals. A feature 

to facilitate the reading of the pedals is a diagram of the pedal arrangement (figure 26). 

It is written every time when a new pedal arrangement is required. Another way to write 

such pedal arrangements are pedal/note letters below the staff or a small scale in 

parentheses in the score, in case of glissandos, for example.    

 

 

 

 

Figure 26. Pedal harp diagram, and musical pentagram with the C-flat major scale corresponding to 
the pedal diagram in the example. 

            

The most common are the use of the diagram and pedal/note letter. The 

composer does not have to worry about pedal indication or pedal diagram, but he must 

be aware that the modulations and cancellation of tones need to be done separately 

from the fingering of the hands. The composer must also remember the diagram 

arrangement to proceed modulations and accidentals in the score. Adler (2002) 

however suggests that: “It is important to memorize the arrangement of pedals on a 

harp, as well as which foot operates which pedal” (p.91). The diagram corresponds to 

the movements that the foot makes with each alteration of the note of the sheet music.   



47 
 

The harp has seven pedals, one for each note of the diatonic scale (C, D, E, F, 

G, A, B). The arrangement of the pedal harps is not in the sequential order of the scale 

(figure 26). We have three left side pedals that correspond to the D, C, and B strings 

(with three grooves for each pedal, corresponding to flat, natural and sharp), and four 

right side pedals E, F, G and A (also with three change possibilities for each 

note/pedal). 

Two pedals, one in the right foot, another in the left foot can be operated 

simultaneously, respecting the arrangement of the pedals (DCB / EFGA). For example, 

change pedal D# to Db (right foot) and natural pedal G to G# (left foot).  

The pedals are responsible for all chromatic changes on the harp, they flatten 

and sharpen the diatonic strings of the instrument. For example, if we are in C major, 

all notes of the harp will correspond to the key of C major and all pedals will be in 

natural position (figure 27).  

 

 

Figure 27. Possibilities of pedal harp diagrams (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.19). 

 

Remember that if the C# pedal is pressed, all the C's of the harp will become 

C#. The same is valid for each note, so the use of enharmonic notes is of great value. 

The tuning of the harp is C flat, i.e., all the pedals suspended up (figure 26 and 27).   



48 
 

The pedal harp was built especially for the musical demands of the tonal system. 

In the tonal system we have two basic ways of changing diatonic notes: flatten and 

sharpen. So, we have a groove for each pedal/note that corresponds to such changes, 

besides the natural groove (the double sharps or double flats is played with enharmonic 

notes, see below).  

Natural A, G and D cannot be doubled enharmonically (figure 28). And notes 

C1 and D1 (last two lower notes of the harp) and G7 (last treble note of the harp), 

because do not have a pedal mechanism, can only be tuned manually with a tuning 

key. 

 

 

Figure 28. Enharmonic notes. (MOORE,2002, p.4).  

 

To write for harp the knowledge of enharmonics shows an observable resource 

(KOECHLIN, 1954; MILLER,2015). For example, C major scale is the same as B# 

major scale, etc. (figure 29). Schlomovitz (1978) suggests a sequence of major scales 

based on the Circle of Fifth, with changes of just two pedals per key, (figure 30 and 

31), and writes that:  

 

Transposing a ½-tone up or down (from a flat key to a natural key, or a natural 
key to a sharp key, as key of Gb to G#, or Eb to E) can be done very easily on 
the Harp, if a careful plan of pedal changes is worked out. The usual 
transposition are done by up or down the scale by keys. In doing this, you will 
be playing every other key in the cycle of fifths, and each key change will require 
two pedal changes. (SCHLOMOVITZ, 1978, p.1) 



49 
 

 

Figure 29.  Adapted figure Circle of fifths, see figure 30 (pink) and 31 (green). (KÁROLYI, 2015, p.49). 

 

 

Figure 30. Adapted circle of fifths - from the key of C flat major. A sequence of major scales based on 
the circle of fifths, with changes of just two pedals per key (SCHLOMOVITZ, 1978). 



50 
 

 

Figure 31. Adapted circle of fifths - from the key of G flat major. A sequence of major scales based on 
the Circle of Fifth, with changes of just two pedals per key (SCHLOMOVITZ, 1978). 

 

 

The use of the pedal provides possible modulations and possible accidentals. 

Remembering that the arrangement of the strings is static (figure 32 and 32b), and 

arranged in a diatonic manner, depending only on the fingering of the hands.  

 

                 

Figure 32. Enharmonic suggestion (REES-ROHRBACHER, 2002, p.36). 



51 
 

 

Figure 32b.The diagram of the pedals arrangement for the figure 32.  

 

  In the case of tonal music, it is advisable that the harmonic progression follow 

the harmonic conduction of the circle of fifths (SCHLOMOVITZ, 1978). Because the 

pedal harp is a tonal instrument, the pedals (accidents/modulations) are conducted 

more naturally following tonal principles such as, for example, the relative chords, as 

well as anti-relative (figure 33), and the relationship of the secondary dominant chords 

in the circle of fifths (figure 34).  

 

  

    Figure 33. The principle of changes in relative chords, as well as anti-relative. The neighboring 
chords of third, lower or upper, are related to the main functions (in the first degree – Tonic –, fourth 
degree – Subdominant –, and fifth degree – Dominant) as relative and anti-relative. Accidents in red 

represent pedal changes. (BRISOLLA, 1979, p.66). 



52 
 

 

 

Figure 34. Relationship of the secondary dominant chords in the circle of fifths, i.e., the chords of the 
harmonic center has its own dominant (fifth degree).  Accidents follow the conduction of harmonic 

functions, being a parameter for placing or canceling the pedals (BRISOLLA, 1979, p.72).  

             

  Modulations/accidentals must be prepared or synchronized with the rhythm of 

the hands, both to modulate or to cancel, i.e., pedal changes should preferably be 

synchronized with time (pauses, for example) or rhythm of the work. Salzedo (1917) 

writes that:  

 

Every unnotching of the pedals is scrupulously indicated in accord with the 
rhythms of the musical expression. By conscientiously taking note of this, one 
will acquire two things important in themselves and necessary to interpret 
faithfully the musical thought. First of all, the pedals will cease to occasion 
special solicitude, and thus the needless worry they cause will disappear. Then, 
also, owing to their correspondence with the musical accentuation (aesthetically 
and sonorously considered) the movements of the feet will no longer be left to 
chance. The action of the pedals can thus be controlled in a manner both 
unnoticeable and silent (a most important matter), and the ensemble of the 
player’s gestures will constitute a whole indissolubly harmonious and 
essentially artistic. (SALZEDO, 1917, p.4-5, bold in original). 



53 
 

2.10 Aspects of Harp Sound written in the Sheet Music 

           

2.10.1 The Sound of Harp     

 

The harp has greater sound power in the C major flat tone, because its strings 

are all loose vibrating without any mechanical restriction, without any mechanism 

shortening them. When possible, it is convenient to write for harp in flat keys rather 

than sharp keys. 

             Some researchers say that the sound of the harp is more sostenuto (REES-

ROHRBACHER, 2002; CHALOUPKA, 1979). However, such conception depends on 

the register: in high range (where the strings are short and thin) this assertion cannot 

be supported. It is impossible to sustain a note for long time on the harp. The vibration 

time depends on the size of the string. If it is short its sound finishes quickly. If the 

string is longer, it will vibrate a certain time more, but with no loud intensity. 

The best sound range of the harp is written in treble and bass clef (without 

supplementary lines). But this does not mean that it will have a continuous sound. After 

plucking, the sound undergoes an intensity decay. Notes written in the supplementary 

lines below the bass clef or notes written in the line above the pentagram of the treble 

clef have sound restrictions.  

The areas that have the most penetrating sound are written above the staff in 

the treble clef, because “the sound of notes in the highest register of the harp is 

penetrating and quite percussive” (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.5) The notes written below 

in the staff in the bass clef have no penetrating sound because they are very rich in 

harmonics. Chaloupka (1979) writes that: “notes below the staff in the bass clef 

progressively diminish in carrying power. The lower the note, the less it carries” (p.5). 

In order to have a clearer sound in the lower register of the harp, the player 

usually plays closer to the resonance box, producing a “drier” sound. In order to avoid 

excessive reverberation in this range, the composer can request the French acronym 

P.D.L.T. (près de la table). 



54 
 

The way to pluck the harp strings is only one, what can really be different is the 

intensity and speed of plucking and dampening. Other sound observations nuances 

can be considered technical peculiarities (KOECHLIN,1954). 

Chaloupka (1979) writes that the legato on the harp is practically natural 

because every fingering that is used has the legato intention. Although the legato on 

the harp may be questioned by the fact that the instrument is played by plucking the 

strings.  

In the case of “staccato effect upon the harp, individual strings must be damped 

immediately after they are plucked” (CHALOUPKA, 1979, p.26). They can be written 

between the stave, or in the register in which it is desired to muffle the sound. 

Alexander also writes that:  

 

With this technique, the vibrations of the string are stopped once produced 
creating the effect of violin or viola pizzicato. The passage is played staccato to 
accommodate the effect. (ALEXANDER, 2008, p.696) 

 

2.10.2 Muffled Notes 

 

            On the harp, whenever possible, the notes, chords and glissandos are muffled 

after being played, because their sound does not finish quickly. Salzedo (1917) 

emphasizes “the peculiar instrumental character of the Harp, considered from the point 

of view of the ‘arrest of vibration’ and production of tone” (p.2). The notes continue to 

sound until the strings stop vibrating, which takes a considerably long time (depending 

on register), and may interfere with the other harmonies played next. Pauses and 

instructions to muffle notes should be considered. The symbol for muffling notes 

corresponds to the same symbol of the coda.  

              Repeating the same notes on the harp successively is counterproductive, 

because to play a note the player must pluck the respective string successively. By 

plucking a string, its sound is interrupted when you put your fingers to pluck it again. 

In this way, it is no possible to keep the sound continuously sounding in consecutive 

notes, because with each new attack the vibration of the string is cut. Macdonald 

(2004) writes that: “The playing of successive notes of a chord, going up or down, is 



55 
 

well within the natural capacity of the harp, in fact it is its Italian name ‘arpa’ which 

gives these harmonic patterns the name ‘arpeggio’” (p.70), i.e., successive notes of a 

chord, played up or down. The use of enharmonic notes is the solution to the problem 

of repeated notes. 

On the harp, we have the advantage of using enharmonic notes by virtue of 

pedal action. This helps to avoid types of buzz replacing the fingers in the strings, 

which are nothing more than the sudden muffling of strings vibration. The breaking of 

the vibration produces a noise that can be avoided with the use of enharmonic notes. 

 

 

2.10.3 Harmonic Voices 

 

             Many voices writing on the harp, with a complex harmony, is also 

counterproductive. Due to its continuous resonance, its sound does not completely 

extinguish after being plucked. There is a mixture of sounds, or rather of tones, many 

harmonic voices are not advisable for reasons of resonance. It is advisable to avoid 

the use of many harmonic voices. 

             Contrary movements of voices on the harp should be avoided. So, the parallel 

movement of voices and chords is advisable. The use of consecutive thirds is 

inadvisable, it will sound better in fourths, sixths or tenths, that is, inverted thirds give 

greater amplitude of sound (CHALOUPKA,1979; KOECHLIN, 1954; REES-

ROHRBACHER, 2002). However, Macdonald (2004) writes about consecutive 

intervals in rapid succession that they “can be played only descending, enabling the 

thumb to slide from one upper note to the next while the lower notes are taken by the 

other three fingers” (p.71). 



56 
 

 

Figure 35. Consecutive intervals in rapid succession with one hand. (MACDONALD, 2004, p.71) 

 

              Four notes together in each hand of the same chord sound unclear, due to 

the timbre of the harp having a great deal of harmonic resonance. For greater clarity it 

is better to omit a voice in the chords of the left hand. On the harp, the less voices the 

better sound, the use of the vast and rich extension of the instrument is advised not to 

be directed to only one register. 

                The use of the octaves, instead of single notes, will give greater sound 

amplitude. It is advisable to avoid the use of consecutive or skipped octaves in a quick 

sequence, preferring to write passages where the player can alternate two hands, or 

both hands touch parallel octaves (right hand playing octave above left hand). 

 

2.11 Closing Considerations 

 

             The writing techniques for pedal harps discussed here refer to the writing of 

tonal music in the pedal harp from Erard (1810) to the modern period. The modern 

period was the apex of the writing of the pedal harp with French Impressionism, with 

Ravel (1905), for example. Another movement that began in the modernism and 

culminated in postmodernism, after Second Great War, that looks for other resources 



57 
 

for sounds in the pedal harp was initiated in by the researches of Carlos Salzedo 

(1917). It is the so-called expanded techniques which adds noises to the emission of 

natural sounds.  

               In chapter 4 we will observe more closely the fundamental pedal harp writing 

at the beginning of modernism which was considered the boom of the development for 

the pedal harp writing. We will approach excerpts from three works written for pedal 

harp: Concertstück for harp and orchestra, Op. 39, by Gabriel Pierné (1901), 

Introduction and Allegro, by Maurice Ravel (1905), and Concerto para harpa, by Heitor 

Villa-Lobos (1953). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



58 
 

3 FROM SENSATION TO VISUAL AND AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL 

ORGANIZATION – COGNITIVE-NEUROSCIENTIFIC APPROACH 

 

3.1 Visual System  

 

3.1.1 Psychophysical Aspects 

 

            The psychophysical aspects of visual system embrace the pathways of the 

visual information from eyes until the brain. After being processed by the visual system 

(eyes), the visual information becomes neuro-electrochemical impulses by the 

transduction – produced by the activity of neurons responsible for the encoding of light 

stimuli. The electrochemical signals reach the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) in 

Thalamus, responsible for distributing visual information to the visual cortex in occipital 

lobe – parietal lobe and lower temporal lobe where they will finally be decoded and 

understood (figures 36 and 37).  

 

 

Figure 36. Visual Cortex subdivided by specialized regions. The light enters through the eyes. Through the 
transduction process, the electrical signals are transmitted to Thalamus (in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus, LGN 

area) and then it is distributed to specific regions of the visual cortex (RHAWN, 2000). 



59 
 

 

Figure 37. The visual information becoming neural electrochemical impulse developed by the 
transduction, distributing visual information to the visual cortex (LEWIS et al, 2007). 

 

 

According to McBride and Cutting (2019), such process has correspondence to 

the other organ processes of the sensory system, i.e., "a system that receives and 

processes input from stimuli in the environment" (p.93) in four stages. In the case of 

the visual-sensory system, the stages are: "(1) sense organ – the eye, (2) receptor 

cells – the rods and cone in the retina [where transduction occurs], (3) nerve conduit 

to brain – optic nerve, and (4) brain areas where information is processed – primary 

visual cortex (also called V1) in the occipital lobe of the brain (with extensions to other 

areas to connect with other cognitive processes).” (MCBRIDE; CUTTING, 2019, p.92). 

Mack (2013) writes that: 

 

The brain […] is where seeing happens; it is the brain that figures out what the 
clues mean. Thus visual perception is a creation of the brain. It is based on the 
input extracted from the retinal image. But what is seen in the “mind’s eye” goes 
far beyond what is presented in the input. The brain uses information it has 
extracted previously as the basis for educated guesses—perceptual inferences 
about the state of the world. Sensory systems contain many representations 
that each specialize in different kinds of sensory information processing. 
Throughout each sensory system, from the peripheral receptors to the cerebral 
cortex, information about physical stimuli is transformed in stages according to 
computational rules that reflect the functional properties of the neurons and their 
interconnections at each stage. (MACK, 2013, p. 497) 

 

 



60 
 

Upon arriving at the visual cortex, the visual information is decoded by layers of 

cell (figure 36). There are two types of cell decoding: sequential and parallel (figure 

38). Cells working in parallel are responsible for visual motion and location analysis. 

The cells that work sequentially are responsible for the analysis of the form, in a 

gradual way, i.e., they decode the information until arriving at a form of image, which 

we can call the mental percept or the first moment of perception (GAZZANIGA et al., 

2014) (to be seen ahead). Such arguments corroborate with Wertheimer's (1922/1938) 

statements from almost a century ago about brain functioning: 

 

The cells of an organism are parts of the whole and excitations occurring in 
them are thus to be viewed as part processes functionally related to whole-
processes of the entire organism. (WERTHEIMER,1922/1938 apud 
WAGEMANS et al., 2012, p.15).  

 

 

Figure 38. The visual information that is captured by the eyes is processed in two pathways, one is the 
dorsal (parallel) stream and the other the ventral (sequential) stream (COX, 2018), so called 

geographically in anatomical terms (BANICH and COMPTON, 2018). 

 

 

            According to Cox (2018), the entire knowledge of the functioning of such 

junction of visual information decoded in these two perspectives (sequential and 

parallel) is still a problem for neuroscience studies. However, it is known that areas of 

the visual cortex communicate with each other and have different dominant behaviors 



61 
 

depending on the circumstances. Visual information is processed simultaneously, 

sequentially and in parallel. Mack (2013) also states that: 

 

A major goal of cognitive neural science is to determine how the information 
that reaches the cerebral cortex by means of parallel afferent pathways is bound 
together to form a unified conscious perception. Indeed, one of the hopes 
driving cognitive neural science is that progress in understanding the binding 
problem will yield our first insights into the biological basis of attention and 
ultimately consciousness. (MACK, 2013, p.498) 

 

            The ventral stream is responsible for the identification of the objects or the form 

(what is seen), and the pathways in which information is decoded sequentially and 

interpreted. Information streams sequentially through layers, which aggregate and 

modify the information during its passage through these brain segmentations, finding 

possibilities for more and more selective features of visual information. In this way, we 

can verify that the representation of the form is built progressively in the visual cortex. 

             The same visual information detected and directed by the Lateral Geniculate 

Nucleus (LGN) in Thalamus to the ventral stream, which constructs the image form, is 

developed by the dorsal system, which is responsible for identifying the object in space 

and in what way one must interact with him (where and how it is seen). The areas 

responsible for processing the visual information in the dorsal system detect the 

direction of movement, speed, and direction of attention in a given space or 

environment. Ward (2015) also states that: "It is crucial to make a distinction between 

the physical properties of a stimulus and its perceived characteristics" (2015, p.233), 

i.e., how the physical stimuli (mental perception) and subsequent mental image are 

developed in working memory, for example. 

            Such neurophysiologic approach was based on using electrodes in the brains 

of animals, done by Hubel and Wiesel (1962), who presented stimuli and saw how the 

cells responded and characterized them. In this research, the focus of the observed 

phenomena occurs in the visual cortex, occipital lobe and temporal inferior lobe (figure 

36), mainly in the ventral stream field (figure 37 and 38) for aspects to be reported 

further. 



62 
 

 

Figure 39. The path of the visual information being processed by the visual system. 



63 
 

3.1.2 From Visual-Sensory System to Perception 

 

            The human being interacts with the world through his perception, i.e., he 

interprets sensations captured by his senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch) 

from the external world. The sensations are the result of stimuli coming from the light, 

in the case of visual system (the retina activates the nerve cells that interpret the light 

in neural electrochemical signals identifiable by brain cells). Such process is called 

transduction by psychophysicists: the light energy (electromagnetic radiation) of the 

external world turns into neural electrochemical signals in the organism. According to 

Sternberg & Sternberg (2012) the brain processes the visual stimuli giving them 

meaning and interpretation.  

            If sensation is the result of the stimuli decoded by the sensory system, we can 

presume that perception is a second moment, in which we process and construct the 

perceptions of these stimuli. Perception is therefore defined by the theorists as follows: 

“Perception is the set of processes by which we recognize, organize, and make sense 

of the sensation we receive from environmental stimuli” (STERNBERG; STERNBERG, 

2012, p.85).  

            Sensation can also be approached by the types of stimuli that result in different 

perceptions. For example, color information, forms, or distances result in different 

perceptions. The focus therefore on certain qualities of stimulation leads to different 

perceptual processes. Above perception we can say, according to Sternberg and 

Sternberg (2012) that the cognitive process is the use of information obtained by 

perception in order to achieve certain aims. 

            Sternberg and Sternberg (2012) tell us that the variation of the visual stimulus 

is essential for the formation of visual perception. This means that the cognitive 

process depends on varied stimuli to act and develop on a proposition, a perceptual 

process. If there is no stimulus variation, a phenomenon called sensory adaptation 

occurs: "receptors cells adapt to constant stimulation by ceasing to fire until a change 

in stimulation is achieved. Through sensory adaptation, we may stop detecting the 

presence of a stimulus." (STERNBERG; STERNBERG, 2012, p. 89). Therefore, if the 

eyes adapt to the same stimulus, the variation of visual stimuli is an attribute that favors 

perception. Mack (2013) confirms saying about the perception that: 



64 
 

Perceptions begin in receptor cells that are sensitive to one or another kind of 
stimulus energy. Most sensations are identified with a particular type of 
stimulus. Thus, light of short wavelength falling on the eye is seen as blue, and 
sugar on the tongue tastes sweet. How the quantitative aspects of physical 
stimuli correlate with the sensations they evoke is the subject of psychophysics. 
(MACK, 2013, p.496) 

 

            Physical stimuli need to be diversified in order to be absorbed by the sensory 

system to get a perception, i.e., the stimuli need to be varied in motion in order to form 

a mental perception or mental representation. In this way, the stimuli will be identified 

by the sensorial system and organized as a kind of perception. This means that the 

phenomenon of perception occurs only if the sensations make sense, i.e., are 

coherently arranged for recognition by the cognitive system. So if sensations are not 

organized by the perceptual system, there can be no mental representation. 

Hornbostel (1927) already stated that: 

 

What is essential in the sensuous-perceptible is not that which separates the 
senses from one another, but that which unites them; unites them among 
themselves; unites them with the entire (even with the non-sensuous) 
experience in ourselves; and with all the external world that there is to be 
experienced. (HORNBOSTEL, 1927 apud MALLGRAVE, 2010, p.88) 

 

             The creation of the mental percept in the primary sensory regions (primary 

cortex) develops a representation that is closely linked to the physical stimulus 

(GAZZANIGA et al., 2014). The perceptual experience, the mental image (not the 

mental percept) depends on the activity in secondary regions of cognitive association, 

on a high level of perception, i.e., semantics aspects (long-term memory), and not only 

on physical characteristics (external stimuli). One of the examples Gazzaniga and 

associate mention is based on the argument that the absence of a perceptual 

experience is matched by the absence of detectable activity in secondary regions:  

 

Participants were asked to decide which of two ways a stimulus was oriented 
(…) [figure 40]. When shown the stimulus for just a 20th of a second, people 
can identify its orientation with a high degree of accuracy. If, however, the 
stimulus is presented even faster – say, for just a 30th of a second – and it is 
preceded and followed by a mask of crosshatched lines, performance drops 
to chance levels. Nonetheless, by using a sophisticated pattern recognition 
algorithm on the fMRI data, the researchers were able to show that activity in 
V1 could distinguish which stimulus had been presented—an effect that was 
lost in V2 and V3. (GAZZANIGA et al., 2014, p. 198) 



65 
 

 

Figure 40. “Activity in V1 can predict orientation of an invisible stimulus. (a) Participants viewed an 
annulus in which the lines were either oriented in only one direction (target) or both directions (mask). 
(b) In some trials, the target was presented for only 17 ms and was preceded by the mask. On these 

trials, the target was not visible to the participant. A pattern classifier was used to predict from the fMRI 
data if the target was oriented to the left or right. When the stimulus was visible, the classifier was very 

accurate when using data from V1, V2, or V3. When the stimulus was invisible due to the mask, the 
classifier only achieved above chance performance for the data from V1.” (GAZZANIGA et al., 2014, 

p. 199)  

 

            Such type of experience shows us that the image to be interpreted or 

assimilated to something, needs to be processed in other regions of the brain (high 

level of cognition), beyond the mental percept detected in the primary cortex regions 

of the physical stimulus processing (V1).  

The processes of perception recognition of the form/object (ventral pathways – 

primary cortex) can be considered as without high degrees of cognition, e.g., emotional 

attributions. As well in musical reading process: we can recognize patterns (musical 

figures or mental percept) in the score with no emotions, for example, if the forms that 

we see are developed in the primary cortex. 

From the exposed above, it can be inferred that we have three basic processes 

for visual perceptual cognition: low level, intermediate level, and high level (figure 40): 

 

 

 

 



66 
 

                                Basic Process of Perception 

Low Level  

 

From Physical Stimuli  to Sensation 

 

           Stimuli                       Psychophysical Mechanism                         Neurophysiological       

 (Light, Sound, etc.)         Sensory System (visual, auditory, etc.)                 Transduction 

 

 

Intermediate Level 

 

From Sensation to Perception 

 

      Neurophysiological                            Thalamus                                         Cerebral Cortex 

           Transduction                         LGN or MGN, connect  to                  Dorsal Stream (where/how)       

 (neural electrochemical impulse)                                                                            Ventral Stream (what) 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

High Level 

 

From Perception to Cognition 

 

       Cerebral Cortex                             Mental Percept or                       High-Level Cognition   

                                                          Mental Representation                                                           

       

          Dorsal Stream                Recognition: New Knowledge or Memory                Action       

         Ventral Stream                                                                                                   Decision                  

                                               Sensory Experience     Analytical Process          Emotions, etc.                                                                                                           

                                                 Bottom-up theories        Top-down theories                        

                                                                                                                        

                 

Figure 41. Visual perceptual cognition: low level, intermediate level, and high level). (WAGENMAN, 
2019; STERNBERG; STERNBERG, 2012; ELMES et al., 2009; GOLDSTEIN, 2011; MATLIN, 2013.) 

 



67 
 

3.2 Auditory System  

 

3.2.1 Psychophysics Aspects 

 

            The knowledge that neuroscience has about the functioning of the auditory 

cortex is not yet in equivalence with the knowledge that it has of the visual cortex (COX, 

2018). However, it is known that there are many similarities. The auditory system 

catches sound waves, just as the visual system catches the light. 

Sound waves are the result of the pressure of molecules (air, water, etc.) caused 

by some type of material and propagated by vibrations in time and space. After the 

sound waves are received by the ears and absorbed by the auditory system, they are 

encoded in neural electrochemical signals in the inner ear by means of the transduction 

of the neurons responsible for the sound waves encoding (figure 42).  

 

 

Figure 42. The ears receive sound waves, and transmitted through the auditory system by 

transduction; the neural electrochemical signals is sent to the auditory cortex (SHARMA, 2020). 



68 
 

           The neural electrochemical signals are taken to the Medial Geniculate Nucleus 

(MGN) in Thalamus responsible for the distribution of sound information, being sent to 

the auditory cortex to be finally analyzed and decoded. The auditory cortex is 

composed of several layers of cells, each one being responsible for the perception of 

specific sound characteristics (figure 43). 

 

 

Figure 43. Green field corresponds to the temporal lobe – auditory cortex. Red field to the occipital 
lobe. Blue field to the frontal lobe. Yellow field to the parietal lobe. The auditory cortex is responsible 
for the analysis and conscious perception of sound. The conscious perception of sound still requires 

research to be precisely defined by neuroscience (COX, 2018). 

 

 

The primary cortex (A1) is responsible for the analysis of frequency, time, 

intensity, type and localization. The secondary cortex (A2) is responsible for language 

and phonemes, for example (figure 44). The thalamus is also responsible for directing 

information about sound attention (COX, 2018). 



69 
 

 

Figure 44. At first, in the primary cortex of the auditory system, information received by the thalamus is 
decoded in frequency, time, intensity, type and location. In the secondary cortex specialized 

information is decoded, such as phonemes (COX, 2018). 

 

          The auditory cortex, as well as the visual cortex, processes the perception of 

sound through cell layers (figure 45). However, the processing of the acoustic image 

is not limited only to the field of the auditory cortex. It is spread in both hemispheres of 

the brain, and in other brain regions. If the auditory system undergoes any type of 

lesions, the hearing will be not completely lost, because the cells responsible for the 

auditory perception are spread in several brain regions. 

 

Figure 45. “Lateral view of the human brain, with the auditory cortex exposed. The primary auditory 
cortex contains a topographic map of the cochlear frequency spectrum (shown in kilohertz).” 

(CHITTKA and BROCKMANN, 2005) 



70 
 

           Similar to the visual system, the auditory system is divided into two functions, 

i.e., the sensory information is distributed in ventral (what) and dorsal (where and how) 

pathways. "The posterior belt [parietal lobes] is involved in localizing sounds, and the 

anterior belt [temporal lobes] is involved in perceiving complex sounds and patterns of 

sounds” (STEINBERG; STEINBERG, 2012, p. 298). Baker (2016) writes that:  

 

Like the visual system, the auditory system also has identifiable ‘what’ and 
‘where’ pathways […], which process the location of sound in parallel to 
recognizing its meaning. For the visual system, recognizing an object 
automatically implies working out where it is, while for audition it is possible to 
recognize a sound without being aware of its precise location. (BAKER, 2016, 
p.76) 

 

           About auditory cortex research, Sternberg and Sternberg (2012) emphasize 

that by the 1950s, experiences in this field focused on the function of the large area of 

the auditory cortex. Because experiments focused only on the large auditory cortex 

area are very complex, such kind of experiment is being avoided. Recently the 

researches of the auditory system concentrate in smaller areas of the cortex, that is, 

areas beyond the temporal lobe, expanding to other areas of the cerebral cortex. As 

said above, the auditory perceptual system is distributed in many ways in the human 

brain. 

 

3.2.2 Psychophysical Aspects of Music 

 

According to psychophysical aspects, i.e., the relationship between the external 

stimulus and its reception in the human sensory system, Loveday (2016) states that:  

 

Our world consists of an infinite array of sounds but they are characterized by 
three basic elements: pitch, loudness and timbre. Pitch is what a musician might 
call the ‘note’ (e.g. middle C or F sharp) and this is essentially how high or low 
it sounds. The pitch is determined by the frequency of the air vibrations, so the 
voice of a screaming child will cause very fast vibrations of air molecules (i.e. 
high frequency), and the deep rumble of thunder will cause very slow vibrations 
(i.e. low frequency). 

Loudness, as the name suggests, describes how loud a sound is and is 
determined by how big the vibrations of air molecules are. So a scream will 
cause bigger vibrations than a flute, for example, and therefore have a louder 
volume. The timbre of a sound is essentially the tonal quality that enables us to 



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identify it, so for example a flute has a very different sound from an electric 
guitar even when they are playing the same note. The reason that different 
instruments and different voices have different timbres is because of additional 
‘harmonic’ vibrations that occur when the sound is produced (…) (LOVEDAY, 
2016, p. 309) 

 

The grouping of such elements (pitch, loudness, and timbre) in time and space 

generates: the melody (sequence of notes), the rhythm (beat, meter, etc.) and harmony 

(overlap of sounds based on durations). These "three elements – melody, harmony 

and rhythm – form the basis of music and give rise to a sense of meaning and 

emotional character" (LOVEDAY, 2016, p.312), the organizational foundation of 

western tonal music. 

The figure 46 demonstrates musical perception in a bottom-up approach, but it 

should be noted that the top-down process completes the cognitive musical perception. 

 

 

Figure 46. Stages approach bottom-up in music perception. White arrow for the organization of music 
for adapted. (LOVEDAY, 2016, p. 308) 

  Gestalt 



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3.2.3 Perceptive Process Aspects of Music 

 

             The basic process of the auditory perception system is structured in the same 

way as the process of perception of the visual system. Loveday (2016) states that:  

 

In the first sensory step, the ear collects the sounds around us and the auditory 
nerve carries information about the pitch, loudness and timbre of sounds to the 
auditory cortex. (LOVEDAY, 2016, p. 309) 

 

Therefore, the ears receive an external physical stimulus that goes through the 

process of transduction in the human auditory system and then forms a mental percept 

that will be cognitively interpreted. Baker (2016) states that: 

 

The perception of sound ultimately involves cognitive processing, and this 
implies that we need to adopt a cognitive approach in which sensor information 
processing happens along with symbolic information processing to produce a 
perception. (BAKER, 2016, p.75) 

 

According to Cox (2018), the basic elements of sound are recognized by the 

primary auditory cortex, that is: frequency, time, intensity, type and localization. And 

Loveday (2016) states that we can categorize sound, i.e., recognize the perceptual 

organization of sensory information (stimulus) such as speech, noise, or music. We 

will focus on the musical aspects, i.e., how we process musical information and make 

sense of such information. 

According to Ward (2015), there are two approaches in which music can be 

studied: music perception and music production. In these assumptions we can observe 

characteristics of sound sensory information for pitch organization, temporal 

organization and meter, that is.: 

 

(…) a distinction between pitch organization (which includes pitch relations 
between notes) and temporal organization, including rhythm (the tempo of 
beats) and meter (the way beats are grouped). (WARD, 2015, p. 244) 

 



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In this way, music is described as the organization of sounds (GOLDSTEIN, 

2015; LOVEDAY, 2016). Ward (2015) comments that the Western musical system 

when perceived by the brain, organizes the sensory information at pitch levels, and 

perceptible form of groups and patterns, depending on the physical relationships 

between the musical notes. Janata el al. (2002) also state that: 

 

Western tonal music relies on a formal geometric structure that determines 
distance relationships within a harmonic or tonal space. In functional magnetic 
resonance imaging experiments, we identified an area in rostromedial prefrontal 
cortex that tracks activation in tonal space. Different voxels [i.e. three-
dimensional pixels] in this area exhibited selectivity for different keys. Within the 
same set of consistently activated voxels, the topography of tonal selectivity 
rearranged itself across scanning sessions. The tonality structure was thus 
maintained as a dynamic topography in a cortical area known to be at a nexus 
of cognitive, affective, and mnemonic processing [….]. What changed between 
sessions was not the tonality-tracking behavior of these brain areas but rather 
the region of tonal space (keys) to which they were sensitive. This type of 
relative representation provides a mechanism by which pieces of music can be 
transposed from key to key, yet retain their internal pitch relationships and tonal 
coherence […]. (JANATA et al., 2002 apud RAFFMAN, 2011, p. 596) 

 

 

According to Raffman (2011), the activation patterns in the cortex corresponds 

to the relationships among tonal keys, i.e., “each key (C major, C minor, D major, etc.) 

activates a unique assembly of neurons in the frontal cortex in a given hearing." 

(RAFFMAN, 2011, p. 595). In another perspective, it was found that when listening to 

the same music or different music, such arrangement can be activated by a different 

key, but the relationships between the keys are preserved (RAFFMAN, 2011). 

In the Western tradition, note sequences are organized vertically and 

horizontally through musical notation, representing the organized description of the 

physical motion of sound. Raffman (2011) states that: 

 

The scientists’ thought is that the tonal pitch relationships in a musical work are 
isomorphic to, and hence can be theoretically modeled and psychologically 
represented as, certain spatial relationships. [...] It is hardly coincidental that 
music theorists use the term “progressions” to refer to transitions among 
harmonies, or that they characterize fast (slow) changes of harmony as fast 
(slow) harmonic motion. For another thing, musical motion may be a kind of 
apparent motion, rather like the apparent motion we experience when looking 
at a row of lights that flash serially in quick succession. Nothing moves; rather, 
it appears as if something (a light?) moves. (RAFFMAN, 2011, p. 598-599) 



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 Deutsch (1982) states that the visual stimulus (music notation) is in perceptual 

equivalence to the auditory stimulus (sound) for the perceptual organization of music.  

We can infer an intrinsic compatibility between the sound mental perception and the 

visual mental perception of music.  

 

 

3.3 Visual and Auditory Perception  

 

            When we talk about the interaction of sensory systems, it is necessary to resort 

to many fields of approach and research besides the exclusive approach of the visual 

system or the auditory system. For the sake of brevity, however, we will make some 

considerations of the multisensory research, focused only on the visual and auditory 

systems. Banich and Compton (2018) write that:  

 

Both the auditory and visual systems must extract meaningful information from 
a massive amount of ever-changing input, whether it be patterns of light or 
sound waves. […] both sensory systems tackle these problems through a 
combination of serial processing, in which information ascends through a 
hierarchy of successive stages, and parallel processing, in which different 
processing streams are specialized to handle different aspects of the sensory 
stimulus. The representation of light and sound patterns (along with other 
sensory information such as smell, touch, and taste) allows us to understand 
the surrounding environment and forms the essential raw materials for other 
processes such as memory and language. (BANICH; COMPTON, 2018, 
p.164) 

 

            Firstly, it should be remembered that the processing of the sensory and 

perceptual systems of the visual and auditory perception are similar. Both receive in 

the Thalamus (located in the center of the brain) the neural electrochemical signals of 

the sensorial systems receivers by means of the transduction. In Thalamus, the 

anatomical region responsible for the auditory system, is located in the Medial 

Geniculate Nucleus (MGN), from where fibers send the received stimuli to the Primary 

Auditory Cortex of Temporal Lobe. The region responsible for the visual system is in 

the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) from where fibers send the received stimuli to 

the Primary Visual Cortex.  



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             The sensory information is organized and mapped physiologically in the 

auditory system by sound frequency and in the visual system by position in the retina. 

The organization of information in cerebral cortex corresponds, ordinarily, to the same 

organization in the Thalamus and when it is being received by sensory systems. 

             The auditory system tends to assimilate perception over time, and the visual 

system ten