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Is the harp difficult to learn to play?
Playing the harp is very much like playing the piano. In some ways
it is easier, in some ways a bit more challenging. I personally
found learning to play the harp far simpler than either guitar or
violin, both of which I tried.
One great thing about learning to
play the harp is that everything sounds wonderful on the harp - in
five minutes you can sit down and learn to make pleasing sounds. So
practicing becomes a fun activity, and learning is easy. (See
Learning to Play the Harp for more information.)
What's the difference between a Celtic harp and the large harp found in orchestras?
The large orchestral harp is also called a pedal harp, because it
has pedals that are played with the feet. These pedals allow you to
change key. There are seven pedals, each one for a different note -
for example, a C pedal, D pedal, etc. When the C pedal is moved,
all of the C strings on the harp are changed to either natural,
sharp, or flat.
The Celtic, or lever, harp does not have pedals, but has sharping
levers to change keys. These small levers control one string at a
time. A string can be set to natural or sharp, or natural and flat,
but not all three.
The advantages of the pedal harp are that one can change keys
faster, and play more chromatic music - jazz is playable on a pedal
harp, but not realistic on a lever harp. The pedal harp is also
built for volume, to be heard over the sound of an orchestra.
Disadvantages of the pedal harp include the weight (usually 75
pounds) and the expense - $10,000-30,000.
The lever harp is built for beautiful tone, to play beautiful music.
Advantages of the lever harp include portability (20-25 pounds)
and more reasonable price ($2000-$5000). The variety of music
playable on a lever harp includes Celtic, classical, sacred, folk,
pop, ethnic, and original. There is an enormous amount of music
published for lever harp, and more is produced all the time.
What's a good harp for a beginner?
There is no particular 'beginner' harp. We don't recommend a lap
harp for a beginner, because having to balance or hold the harp in
some way can interfere with learning proper playing technique. A
floor harp (one that sits on the floor) is a better choice. After
that, it's a matter of budget and sound preference. One advantage
of a full-sized Celtic harp (5 octaves, or 36-strings) is that you
have all the notes available to you that your music will ask you to
play - you'll never 'run out' of notes.
Why do your harps have curved soundboxes?
Dave originally designed the curved soundbox for aesthetic reasons -
to have a harp of all curves. The curve also has the following
advantages:
Rigidity - a curved surface is more rigid and stiff than a flat
surface. The rigidity of the curve creates a stronger harp that
holds its tune longer.
Strength - because of the curved soundbox, the neck shape is less
arched, meaning the neck is more stable over time.
Comfort - the curve means that the harp does not lean back, and puts
no weight on the shoulder - very ergonomic! Also, there is extra
room in the upper octave for the right hand, so you can maintain
better playing technique.
If the curved soundbox is such a great idea, why don't other harpmakers build that way?
To the best of our knowledge, two other harpmakers have tried curved
soundbox construction. They both said 'never again'! It is more
difficult to construct a curved soundbox, but we feel the advantages
are well worth it.
How often do you have to tune a harp?
There's a harp world joke that says 'Every 20 minutes or when someone
opens a door!' That's an exaggeration, but harps need to be tuned
every few days, and weather or temperature changes (moving a harp from
your home to a different location) will usually necessitate tuning.
With an electronic tuner, tuning a harp becomes a quick and easy
procedure, taking only a few minutes. The more you tune your harp, the
more likely it is to stay in tune and require only minor adjustments.
How often do strings break, or do they need to be replaced?
Harp strings should be replaced every year or two, as they
gradually lose their brilliance and become dull sounding.
Breakage is rare - perhaps a few strings a year will break, and
they are usually the higher, thinner, very inexpensive strings.
Having a spare string set is a good idea, and strings don't 'age'
in the bag, so after two years you can put on your spare strings,
and get a new spare set.
Do you have a payment plan?
Because we are a small company - just the two of us! - we don't
offer financing. Some of our customers have found that the low- or
no-interest checks from their credit card companies are better rates
than anything that we or a bank could offer.
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