Harps: What You Need to Know

For most people a harp is a harp is a harp, right?  Well there are differences in harps and the sound they produce.  Here’s a brief overview of the harp world.

                Pedal Harps

These are the kinds of elegant harps one sees when attending a symphony.

There are different sizes of pedal harps depending on the amount of strings it has.  They may have as few as 42 strings on a student model, all the way up to 47strings on a grand concert sized harp.  By the way, those grand sized harps weigh in at 84 pounds.  It’s quite a task to transport those to a harp gig!  All pedal harps have 7 pedals at the base enabling a player to use both feet to operate them up, down, or middle positions depending on the key signature of the music being played.  Many harpists prefer this kind of harp instead of a lever/ folk harp because it gives more versatility when playing complex pieces of music.

          Lever or Folk Harps  

Many people are confused by the different names given to a lever harp, such as Celtic harps, Irish harps, etc. They basically all operate by changing the pitch at the top of the instrument with a lever for each string which the harpist can change as the music so notes. It is slightly restrictive on the type of music that can be played because the levers don’t allow for flat notes and the harpist has to reach up while playing to change change the levers if the music has any key changes in it.  Most music written for a lever harp doesn’t have any or little key change in it during the music so it is easier to play. 

There are many different  sizes of lever harps ranging from the small lap harp with 22 strings all the way up to a floor sized model with 44 strings.  In addition, an Irish harp is strung with wire while the traditional or folk harp is usually strung with a combination of wire and nylon string.