Harp
For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation).
 A medieval harp (left) and modern pedal harp |
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| String instrument | |
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| Hornbostel-Sachs classification | 322-5 (Composite chordophone sounded by the bare fingers) |
| Developed | Antiquity |
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A harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard.
It is classified as a chordophone by the Harvard Dictionary of Music
and only types of harps are in that class of instruments with plucked
strings. All harps have a neck, resonator, and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to as open harps.
Depending on its size (which varies considerably), a harp may be played
while held in the lap or while it stands on the floor. Harp strings are
made of nylon, gut, wire, or silk on certain instruments. A person who plays the harp is called a harpist or harper. Folk musicians often use the term "harper", whereas classical musicians use "harpist".
Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North, and South America, and in Asia. In antiquity, harps and the closely related lyres
were very prominent in nearly all cultures. The oldest harps found thus
far have been uncovered in ruins from ancient Sumer. The harp also
predominant in the hands of medieval bards, troubadors and
minnesingers, as well as throughout the Spanish Empire. Harps continued
to grow in popularity through improvements in their design and
construction through the beginning of the twentieth century.
The aeolian harp (wind harp), the autoharp, and all forms of the lyre and Kithara are not harps because their strings are not perpendicular to the soundboard; they are part of the zither family of instruments along with the piano and harpsichord. In blues music, the harmonica is called a "Blues harp" or "harp", but it is a free reed wind instrument, not a stringed instrument, and is therefore not an actual harp.
Origins
Harps were most likely independently invented in many parts of the world in remote prehistory. It is self-evident that the harp's origins may lie in the sound of a plucked hunter's bow string or the strings of a loom.
A type of harp called a 'bow harp' is nothing more than a bow like a hunter's, with a resonating vessel such as a gourd
fixed somewhere along its length. To allow a greater number of strings,
harps were later made from two pieces of wood attached at the ends:
this type is known as the 'angle harp'.
The oldest depictions of harps without a forepillar are from 4000 BC in Egypt(see Music of Egypt) and 3000 BCE in Persia (see Music of Iran). While most English translations of the Bible feature the word 'harp', especially in connection with King David, the Hebrew word is nevel, a type of lyre with 10 strings and not a harp at all. The Hebrew word for one kind of harp is kinnor. Other ancient names for harps include magadissambuka. The kanun is a descendant of the ancient Egyptian harp and was introduced to Europe by the Moors during the Middle Ages.
Structure and mechanism
Harps are roughly triangular and are usually made primarily of wood.
The lower ends of the strings are fastened to the inside of the
sounding-board, the outer surface of the resonating cavity. The body is
hollow and resonates, projecting sound both toward the player through
openings, and outward through the highly flexible sounding board. The
crossbar, or neck, contains the mechanism or levers which determine the
pitch alteration (sharps and flats) for each string. The upper ends of
the strings are attached to pins in holes drilled through the neck. The
longest side, the column, encloses the rods controlling the mechanism
of a pedal harp. At the base are seven pedals, which activate the rods
when they are downwardly pressed. The modern sophisticated instrument
spanning 6½ octaves in virtually all keys was perfected by the
19th-century French maker Sébastien Érard.
Lever harps do not have pedals or rods. Instead they use a
shortening lever on the neck for each individual string which must be
activated manually in order to shorten the string and raise the tone a
half step. Thus, a string tuned to natural may be played in sharp, but
not flat. A string tuned to flat may be played in natural, but not
sharp. Lever harps are considerably lighter in weight than pedal harps
and are smaller in size and number of strings. Lever harps are popular
for playing folk music and are most commonly called folk harps.
The harp lute or dital harp adapts the lever tuning system to a fretted instrument in the lute or guitar family.
Development and history in Europe
Angle harps and bow harps continue to be used up to the present day. In Europe, however, a further development took place
adding a third structural member, the pillar, to support the far ends
of the arch and sound box. The 'Triangular Frame harp' is depicted in
manuscripts and sculpture from about the 8th century CE, especially in
North-West Europe, although specific nationalistic claims to the
invention of the triangular frame harp cannot be substantiated.
The graceful curve of the harp's neck is a result of the proportional
shortening of the basic triangular form so that the strings are
equidistant. If the strings were proportionately distanced, the strings
would be farther and farther apart.
European harps in medieval and Renaissance times usually had a bray pin fitted to make a buzzing sound when a string was plucked. By the baroque
period, in Italy and Spain, more strings were added to allow for
chromatic notes; these were usually in a second line of strings. At the
same time..single-row diatonic harps continued to be played.
The first primitive form of pedal harps were developed in the Tyrol
region of Austria. Hochbrucker was the next to design an improved pedal
mechanism, followed in succession by Krumpholtz, Nadermann, and the
Erard company, who came up with the double mechanism. In Germany in the
second half of the 17th century,
diatonic single-row harps were fitted with manually-turned hooks which
fretted individual strings to raise their pitch by a half step. In the
1700s, a link mechanism was developed connecting these hooks with
pedals, leading to the invention of the single-action pedal harp.
Later, a second row of hooks was installed along the neck to allow for
the double-action pedal harp, capable of raising the pitch of a string
by either one or two half steps. The idea was even extended to
triple-action harps, but these were never common. The double-action
pedal harp remains the normal form of the instrument in the Western
classical orchestra. There was a chromatic harp developed in the late
19th century that only found a small number of proponents, and was
mainly taught in Belgium.
Latin America
In Latin America,
harps are widely but sparsely distributed, except in certain regions
where the harp traditions are very strong. Such important centers
include Mexico, Andes, Colombia, Venezuela, and Paraguay. They are derived from the Baroque harps that were brought from Spain during the colonial period.
Detailed features vary from place to place. Paraguayan harps and
harp music have gained a worldwide reputation, with international
influences alongside folk traditions. Mexican "jarocha" harp music of
Veracruz has also gained some international recognition, evident in the
popularity of "la bamba". In southern Mexico (Chiapas), there is a very
different indigenous style of harp music. Travel between the ports of
Veracruz and Venezuela afforded an opportunity for transmission of harp
traditions between these areas
In Venezuela, there are two distinct traditions, the arpa llanera and the arpa central (or arpa mirandina).
The modern Venezuelan arpa llanera has 32 strings of nylon (originally,
gut). The arpa central is strung with wire in the higher register. An
authoritative source in Spanish is Fernando Guerrero Briceno, El Arpa en Venezuela (The Harp in Venezuela)
The style of music and the manner of construction are differentiated from one region to another.
Paraguayan harps have a wide and deep soundbox which tapers to the
top. Like Baroque harps, but unlike modern Western harps, they do not
stand upright when unattended. The harp is Paraguay's national
instrument. It has about 36 strings. Its spacing is narrower and
tension lighter than that of modern Western harps. It is played mostly
with the fingernails.
Africa
There are many different kinds of harp in Africa. They do not have
forepillars and so are either bow harps or angle harps. As well as true
harps such as Mauritania's ardin, there are a number of instruments that are difficult to classify, often being labelled harp-lutes. Another term for them is spike harps. The West African kora
is the best known. The strings run from a string arm to a 'spike' and
the resonating chamber is attached to the base of the spike.
Asia
Sassanid mosaic excavated at BishapurLouvre. depicting player and a harp. Artifact is kept at The
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Modern European and American instruments
Playing style of the European-derived instrument
Most European-derived harps have a single row of strings with strings for each note of the C Major scaleoctaves).
Harpists are aided in telling which strings they are playing because
all F strings are black and all C strings are red, and the wire strings
are silver or bronze if C or F. The instrument rests between the knees
of the harpist and along their right shoulder. The Welsh triple harp
and early Irish and Scottish harps, however, are traditionally placed
on the left shoulder (in order to have it over the heart). (over several
The first four fingers of each hand are used to pluck the strings;
the little fingers are too short and cannot reach the correct position
without distorting the position of the other fingers, although on some
folk harps with light tension, closely spaced strings, they may
occasionally be used. Also, the little finger is not strong enough to
pluck a string. Plucking with varying degrees of force creates dynamics.
Depending on finger position on the string, different tones can be
produced: a full sound in the middle of the string, and a nasal,
guitar-like sound at the very bottom of the string. Tone is also
affected by the skin of the harpist, how much oil and moisture it
contains, and the amount of thickening by callous formation and its
surface texture.
Concert harp
Main article: Pedal harp
The concert harp is large and technically modern, designed
for classical music and played solo, as part of chamber ensembles, and
in symphony orchestras as well as in popular commercial music. It
typically has six and a half octaves (46 or 47 strings), weighs about
80 pounds (36 kg; 5.7 st), is approximately 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in)
high, has a depth of 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in), and is 55 centimetres
(22 in) wide at the bass end of the soundboard. The notes range from
three octaves below middle C (or the D above) to three and a half
octaves above, usually ending on G. Using octave designations, the range is C1 or D1 to G7. At least one manufacturer gives the harp a 48th string, a high A.
The concert harp is a pedal harp. Pedal harps use the mechanical action of pedals to change the pitches
of the strings. There are seven pedals, each affecting the tuning of
all strings of one letter-name, and each pedal is attached to a rod or
cable within the column of the harp, which then connects with a
mechanism within the neck. When a pedal is moved with the foot, small
discs at the top of the harp rotate. The discs are studded with two
pegs that pinch the string as they turn, shortening the vibrating
length of the string. The pedal has three positions. In the top
position no pegs are in contact with the string and all notes are flat; thus the harp's native tuning is to the scale of C-flat major.
In the middle position the top wheel pinches the string, resulting in a natural, giving the scale of C major
if all pedals are set in the middle position. In the bottom position
another wheel is turned, shortening the string again to create a sharp, giving the scale of C-sharp major
if all pedals are set in the bottom position. Many other scales, both
diatonic and synthetic, can be obtained by adjusting the pedals
differently from each other; also, many chords in traditional harmony
can be obtained by adjusting pedals so that some notes are enharmonic
equivalents of others, and this is central to harp technique. In each
position the pedal can be secured in a notch so that the foot does not
have to keep holding it in the correct position.
This mechanism is called the double-action pedal system, invented by Sébastien Érard in 1810. Earlier pedal harps had a single-action mechanism that allowed strings to play sharpened notes. Lyon and Healy, Camac Harps, Venus Harps, and other manufacturers also make electric pedal harps. The electric harp
is a concert harp with piezoelectric pickups at the base of each string
and an amplifier. Electric harps can be a blend of electric and
acoustic, with the option of using an amplifier or playing the harp
just like a normal pedal harp, or can be entirely electric, lacking a
soundbox and being mute without an amplifier.
The tension of the strings on the sound board is roughly equal to 10 kN
(a ton-force) or 2,000 pounds. The lowest strings are made of copper or
silver-over-silk over steel, the lower-middle strings of gut (from sheep or cows) and the upper-middle or highest of nylon.
Technique
The harp is played with the fingertips, with force from the hand and
arm, and ultimately the upper body. The fingertips are drawn in to meet
the palm of the hand, thus releasing the string from whatever pressure
was placed upon it by the fingers. The fingers are naturally curved or
rounded as they touch the strings, and the thumb is gently curved as
the tip rises to the string as an arc from its base. There are
differing schools of technique for playing the harp. The largest are
the various French schools, and there are specific Russian schools,
Viennese and other schools from differing regions of Europe. One is
called the Attl technique after Kajetan Attl, in which apparently only
the uppermost parts of the fingers move and the hand is largely still.
There is a St. Petersburg school (more than one) in Russia in which the
thumbs are moved in a circular fashion rather than in and out toward
the hand.
The differences between the French schools lie in the posture of the
arms, the shape of the hand and the musical esthetics. The traditional
French schooling calls for the right arm to be lightly rested against
the harp using the wrist to sometimes bring the hand only away from the
string. The left arm moves more freely. The hands are more-or-less
rounded, though the thumb is usually in a low position relative to the
hand. Finger technique and control are the emphasis of the technical
approach, with extensive use of exercises and etudes to develop this.
Musical choices tend to be conservative, and centered in the harp music
of the 19th century, a continuation, if you will, of the salon
tradition of harp playing. Two very influential 20th-century teachers
of this approach were Henriette Renie and Marcel Grandjany. Grandjany's
pupils have sometimes added to their technique the habit of having the
knuckle joints curved inward rather than outward, optionally or always,
as M. Grandjany's fingers were wont to do.
The other major French school is the Salzedo school, developed by
Carlos Salzedo, who studied with Alphonse Hasselmans at the Paris
Conservatoire. Also a virtuoso pianist, he informed his harp playing
with what came naturally as a crossover from his piano training. This
resulted in a more curved hand, more free movements of the arms, a more
wide range of dynamics and tone colors in his playing, which was
exceptionally brilliant. He emphasized brilliance and speed in playing.
He was also a dedicated modernist, oriented to contemporary music and
ideas, and in the forefront of the same. He was an inspiring teacher,
and his students filled many important teaching, solo and orchestral
positions in the United States and elsewhere. He has come to be seen as
American because he was exported to America to serve Arturo Toscanini
as harpist at the Metropolitan Opera, and based his later career in the
U.S. He helped to design two important harps, the Style 11 and the
Salzedo model of Lyon and Healy harps. As an innovative performer and
composer, he was of great influence on the direction of harp music
composing. His own music began in a fluent late-Romantic style, then a
unique Impressionist style and a modernist style unlike any other
composer. In fact, he was more imitated by composers than imitative.
Use in music
The harp found its early orchestral use in concerti by many baroque
classical composers (Handel, J. C. Bach, Mozart, Albrechtsberger,
Schenck, Dussek, Spohr) and in the opera houses of London, Paris and
Berlin and most other capitals. It began to be used in symphonic music
by Hector Berlioz but he found performances frustrating in such
countries as Germany where qualified harpists and harps were few to be
found. Franz Liszt was seminal in finding uses for the harp in his
orchestral music, and Mendelssohn and Schubert used it in theatrical
music or oratorios. The French and Russian Romantic composer
particularly expanded its symphonic use. In opera, the Italian
composers used it regularly, and Puccini was a particular master of its
expressive and coloristic use. Debussy can be said to have put the harp
on the map in his many works that use one or more harps. Tchaikovsky
also was of great influence, followed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Richard
Strauss, not to mention the reviled Wagner. The greates influence on
use of the harp has always been the availability of fine harps and
skilled players, and the great increase of them in the U.S. of the 20th
century resulted in its spread into popular music.
The first harpist known to play jazz was Casper Reardon, a pioneer
in the world of "hot" music. Florence Wightman was likely the first to
have her own radio series of recitals on several networks in the 1930s.
Many passages for solo harp can be found in 19th century ballet music, particularly in scores for the ballets staged for the Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg, where the harpist Albert Zabel played in the orchestra. In ballet, the harp was utilized to a great extent in order to embellish the dancing of the ballerina. Elaborate cadenzas were composed by Tchaikovsky for his ballets The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty; as well as Alexander Glazunov for his score for the ballet Raymonda. In particular, the scores of Riccardo DrigoLe Talisman (1889), Le Réveil de Flore (1894) and Les Millions d'Arlequin (1900). Cesare Pugni wrote extensively for the harp as well—his ballet Éoline, ou La Dryade
included music written for harp to accompany the ballerina's numerous
variations and enhance the atmosphere of the ballet's many fantastical
scenes. Ludwig Minkus was celebrated for his harp cadenzas, most notably the Variation de la Reine du jour from his ballet La Nuit et le Jour (1881), the elaborate entr'acte composed for Albert Zabel from his ballet Roxana (1878), and numerous passages found in his score for the ballet La Bayadère, which in some passages were used to represent a veena which was used on stage as a prop. contained many pieces for harp in such works as
The French ballet composers were no slouches in the harp department,
either. Delibes made excellent use of it, as did Gounod and Massenet in
their music.
There is a prominent harp part in "She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles in their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In the 1970s, a harp was common in popular music, and can be heard in such hits as Cher's Dark Lady and the intro of Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves. Most often this was played by Los Angeles studio harpist Gayle Levant, who has played on hundreds of recordings. In current pop music, the harp appears relatively rarely. Joanna Newsom, Dee Carstensen, Darian Scatton, Habiba Doorenbos, Jessa Callen of The Callen Sisters and Oona McOuat have separately established images as harp-playing singer-songwriters with signature harp and vocal sounds. Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan plays the harp in her 2006 holiday album, Wintersong. In Hong Kong, a notable example of harp in pop music is the song Tin Shui Walled City (天水圍城) performed by Hacken Lee with harp played by Korean harpist Jung Kwak (Harpist K).
Harp use has recently expanded in the "alternative" music world of commercial popular music. A pedal harpist, Ricky Rasura, is a member of the "symphonic pop" band, The Polyphonic Spree. Also, BjörkZeena Parkins. Philadelphia based Indie Pop Band Br'er uses a pedal harp as the foundation for their cinematic live sets. Art in America
was the first known rock band featuring a pedal harp to appear on a
major record label, and released only one record, in 1983. The pedal
harp was also present in the Michael Kamen and Metallica concert and album, S&M, as part of the San Francisco Symphony orchestra. R&B singer Maxwell featured harpist Gloria Agostini in 1997 on his cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work". On his 7th solo album Finding Forever, Hip- Hop artist Common features harpist Brandee Younger on the introductory track, followed by a Dorothy Ashby sample from her 1969 recording of The Windmills of Your Mind. Some Celtic-pop crossover bands and artists such as Clannad and Loreena McKennitt include folk harps, following Alan Stivell's work. Recently Florence Welch has begun to incorporate harps into her songs, notably on "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)". sometimes features acoustic and electric harp in her work, often played by
See the List of compositions for harp for the names of some notable pieces from the classical repertoire.
Harp Players
Alan Stivell is a well-known crossover and Celtic harpist. He first recorded an EP record, "Musique Gaélique," in 1959, then an LP
in 1964 called "Telenn Geltiek " (available in CD). Following these, he
has released 21 other albums including his harps, from 1970 until now
(the last one is "Explore" - 2006- ). He also recorded some albums
especially dedicated to the harp: the famous Renaissance of the Celtic Harp (1972), "Harpes du Nouvel Age" (1985), and "Beyond Words" (2002). He helped to promote developments in Electro-acoustic and Electric harps
Harpist Joanna Newsom onstage in 2007
Folk, lever, and Celtic instruments
Celtic Harp
New Salem Village re-enactors playing Celtic harps
The folk harp or Celtic harp is small to medium-sized
and usually designed for traditional music; it can be played solo or
with small groups. It is prominent in Welsh, Breton, Irish, Scottish
and other Celtic cultures within traditional or folk music and as a
social and political symbol. Often the folk harp is played by beginners
who wish to move on to the pedal harp at a later stage, or by musicians
who simply prefer the smaller size or different sounds. Alan Stivell, with his father Jord Cochevelou (who recreate the Breton Celtic harp), were at the origin of the revival of the Celtic harp (in the 70s).
The folk or lever harp ranges in size from two octaves to six
octaves, and uses levers or blades to change pitch. The most common
size has 34 strings: Two octaves below middle C and two and a half
above (ending on A), although folk or lever harps can usually be found
with anywhere from 19 to 40 strings. The strings are generally made of
nylon, gut, carbon fiber or flourocarbon, or wrapped metal, and are
plucked with the fingers using a similar technique to the pedal harp.
Folk harps with levers installed have a lever close to the top of
each string; when it is engaged, it shortens the string so its pitch is
raised a semitone, resulting in a sharped note if the string was a
natural, or a natural note if the string was a flat. Lever harps are
often tuned to the key C or E-flat. Using this scheme, the major keys
of E-flat, B-flat, F, C, G, D, A, and E can be reached by changing
lever positions, rather than re-tuning any strings. Many smaller folk
harps are tuned in C or F, and may have no levers, or levers on the F
and C strings only, allowing a narrower range of keys. Blades and hooks
perform almost the same function as levers, but use a different
mechanism. The most common type of lever is either the Camac or Truitt
lever although Loveland levers are still used by some makers.
One of the attendant problems with lever harps is the potential loss
of quality when the levers are used. The Teifi semi tone developed by
Allan Shiers is a development from traditional mechanisms and nips up
the string with two forks similarly to a concert harp. The semi tone is
double locking for a full clear sound and does not wear the string. It
is machined from solid brass and hardened steel and is adjustable by an
eccentric roller to suit any gauge of string. In addition, the whole
unit can be moved up or down to affect perfect pitch and string
alignment. The lever arms are coloured for ease of note recognition and
two sizes are made to suit treble, mid and bass.
Electric instruments
Main article: Electric harp
Amplified (electro-acoustic) and solid body electric lever harps are produced by some harpmakers such as Camac Harps
The Laser harp is also not a stringed instrument; it is a harp-shaped electronic instrument with laser beams where harps have strings.
Wire-strung instruments (clàrsach or cláirseach)
Main articles: Cláirseach and Clàrsach
The harper on the Monifeith Pictish stone, Scotland, 700 - 900 AD
Maedoc book-cover, Ireland, circa 1000 AD
The Gaelic triangular, wire-strung harp has always been known by the feminine term cruit
but by 1204 was certainly known by the masculine term 'clàr' (board)
and, by the 14th century, by the feminine form of 'clàr', ie,
'clàirseach/clàrsach'. (Gd.)
Clàirseach/clàrsach is a compound word, feminine in gender and
composed of the masculine word 'clàr' (board/harp) and the feminising
suffix '-search/-sach'. The suggestion that it is composed of the
elements 'clàr' (board) and 'shoileach' (willow) is a much less likely
explanation as i) the 'clàr shoileach' term is masculine in gender,
taking the masculine form of the definite article, and ii) the /s/
phoneme is absent (replaced by an /h/ phoneme) and therefore the /l/
phoneme would be more likely to form part of any contraction (eg,
clàirleach).
The origins of the Gaelic triangular harp go back at least to the
first millennium. There are several stone carvings of triangular harps
from the 10th century, many of which have simple triangular
shapes, generally with straight pillars, straight string arms or necks,
and soundboxes. There is stone carving evidence that the lyre and/or
perhaps a non-triangular harp were present in Ireland during the first millennium. Evidence for the triangular harp in Gaelic/Pictish Scotland dates from the 9th century
The harp was the most popular musical instrument in later medieval
Scotland and Ireland and Gaelic poets portrayed their Pictish
counterparts as very much like themselves.
| “ | Scotland, because of her affinity and intercourse [with Ireland], tries to imitate Ireland in music and strives in emulation. Ireland uses and delights in two instruments only, the harp namely, and the tympanum. Scotland uses three, the harp, the tympanum and the crowd. In the opinion, however, of many, Scotland has by now not only caught up on Ireland, her instructor, but already far outdistances her and excels her in musical skill. Therefore, [Irish] people now look to that country as the fountain of the art. | ” |
The harp played by the Gaels of Scotland and Ireland between the 11th and 19th centuries was certainly wire-strung. The Irish Maedoc Book Shrine dates from the 11th century, and clearly shows a harper with a triangular framed harp including a "T-Section" in the pillar. The Irish word lamhchrann
came into use at an unknown date to indicate this pillar which would
have supplied the bracing to withstand the tension of a wire-strung
harp.
The Irish and Highland Harps by Robert Bruce Armstrong is an
excellent book describing these ancient harps. There is historical
evidence that the types of wire used in these harps are iron, brass, silver, and gold. Three pre-16th century examples survive today; the Brian Boru harp in Trinity College, Dublin, and the Queen Mary and Lamont Harps, both in Scotland.
One of the largest and most complete collections of 17th century harp music is the work of Turlough O'Carolan, a blind, itinerant Irish harper and composer. At least 220 of his compositions survive to this day.
Since the 1970s, the tradition has been revived. Alan Stivell's Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique
(perhaps the best-seller harp album in the world), using mainly the
bronze strung harp, and his tours, have brought the instrument into the
ears and the love of many people Ann Heymann
has revived the ancient tradition and technique by playing the
instrument as well as studying Bunting's original manuscripts in the
library of Queens University, Belfast. Katie Targett-Adams ( KT-A) is
currently leading the modern day crossover movement for the clarsach,
performing to mainstream audiences across the globe, notably China.
Other high profile players include Patrick Ball, Cynthia Cathcart,
Alison Kinnaird, Bill Taylor, Siobhán Armstrong and others.
As performers have become interested in the instrument, harp makers ("luthiers")
such as Jay Witcher, David Kortier, Ardival Harps, Joël Herrou and
others have begun building wire-strung harps. The traditional wire
materials are used, however iron has been replaced by steel
and the modern phosphor bronze has been added to the list. The phosphor
bronze and brass are most commonly used. Steel tends to be very
abrasive to the nails. Silver and gold are used to get high density
materials into the bass courses of high quality clàrsachs to greatly
improve their tone quality. In the period, no sharping devices were
used. Harpers had to re-tune strings to change keys. This practice is
reflected by most of the modern luthiers, yet some allow provisions for
either levers or blades.
Multi-course
A multi-course harp is a harp with more than one row of strings. A harp with only one row of strings is called a single-course harp.
Double harp
A double-strung harp consists of two rows of diatonic
strings one on either side of the neck. These strings may run parallel
to each other or may converge so the bottom ends of the strings are
very close together. Either way, the strings that are next to each
other are tuned to the same note. Double-strung harps often have levers
either on every string or on the most commonly sharped strings, for
example C and F. Having two sets of strings allows the harpist's left
and right hands to occupy the same range of notes without having both
hands attempt to play the same string at the same time. It also allows
for special effects such as repeating a note very quickly without
stopping the sound from the previous note.
A triple harp features three rows of parallel strings, two outer rows of diatonic strings, and a center row of chromatic
strings. To play a sharp, the harpist reaches in between the strings in
either outer row and plucks the center row string. Like the
double-strung harp, the two outer rows of strings are tuned the same,
but the triple-strung harp has no levers. This harp originated in Italy in the 16th century as a low headed instrument, and towards the end of 1600s it arrived in Wales where it developed a high head and larger size. It established itself as part of Welsh tradition and became known as the Welsh harp (telyn deires,
"three-row harp"). The traditional design has all of the strings strung
from the left side of the neck, but modern neck designs have the two
outer rows of strings strung from opposite sides of the neck to greatly
reduce the tendency for the neck to roll over to the left.
The cross-strung harp
consists of one row of diatonically tuned strings and another row of
chromatic notes. These strings cross approximately in the middle of the
string without touching. Traditionally the diatonic row runs from the
right (as seen by someone sitting at the harp) side of the neck to the
left side of the sound board. The chromatic row runs from the left of
the neck to the right of the sound board. The diatonic row has the
normal string coloration for a harp, but the chromatic row may be
black. The chromatic row is not a full set of strings. It is missing
the strings between the Es and Fs in the diatonic row and between the
Bs and Cs in the diatonic row. In this respect it is much like a piano.
The diatonic row corresponds to the white keys and the chromatic row to
the black keys. Playing each string in succession results in a complete
chromatic scale.
An alternate form of the cross-strung, the 6/6 or isomorphic
cross-strung, has 6 strings on each side of the cross instead of 5 on
one and 7 on the other. This configuration is less intuitive to someone
coming from a piano/organ background, but more intuitive to someone
with a guitar/violin or other chromatic or whole-tone instrument
background because it utilizes a chromatic scale or wholetone scale.
This configuration gives the entire octave in only 6 strings per side,
making more efficient use of the size of the instrument.
Thank u =)
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