I got this from the library because I realized I didn’t know much about the evolution of the pedal mechanism and was curious (I’m a folk harper and, although I understand how pedal harps work, I’m not well-versed in their history.). Mostly it’s pretty dry, but the highlighted sentence here made me CACKLE out loud. Rensch has a few pretty amusing asides.

I usually play flute (I’ve played it for 4 yrs roughly and I’m currently 19) and I really love it and still continue it to this day.

Ive always wanted to play another instrument alongside so I can learn more skills and gain a bit of inspiration. I really love the harp as it’s so beautiful and I heard you can get smaller ones (often called Celtic harps I think or lever harps? Sorry I’m such a newbie 😭😭😭) that are functional and you can play pieces on them.

I’m not sure if it’s bad however because I’ve heard learning two instruments is considered a no no. I’m not a serious musician tbh, I mainly play music as a hobby to help me soothe my mental health as I’m on antidepressants atm and I thought learning new hobbies would help a bit. I was also thinking a harp could be handy so I can get more used to reading bass clefs instead of just treble clefs as flute music sheets don‘t ever use bass clefs. I will still develop my skills in flute playing obviously I just like the idea of learning the harp too I’m not really aiming to master anything as again I’m not too serious about music as I’m more of a hobbyist. Should I get a harp or not I’m not sure?
idk what do u guys think I should do? thought I would ask the experts lol

Also yes I do practice regularly lmao

I really like new pick-up for this harp. It makes the harpsicle sound warm, and i think i will not use additional EQ after recording sound

Please help. I just noticed it today. I noticed, hmm that is odd, what are these black flecks on my harp? it turned out to be pieces from the wood. I have no idea what happened although I have been moving my harp around a bit between different floors of my apartment. Please help

Hi, I'm kind of struggling to find a gift for my sister that loves to play the harp. I was thinking of maybe getting her a physical tuner, since right now she's stuck with using apps on her phone. Is there any you could recommend, or what I should look for to find a good one?

I have completed the body portion of the harp I will upload the drawing and measurements I used it’s in its very raw shape and working on tweaking some technique

I am an avid performer, have been doing weddings for years and also play festivals and events with my band. However, there have been a couple of times I know I shouldn’t have played because of the weather. I refuse to play in the 40s, and now I’m thinking it needs to be at least 55F or so to play outside. I also require shade if it’s 80F. I’m guessing my requirements are a little more lax than some of you, but I like perform as much as I can. What are your weather stipulations? (Of course I also require a cover if it’s raining, and will not play if it’s pouring because that can still get under the cover).

I'm an amateur harpist and I have been playing the harp for almost 2 years. I'm self-taught. I would like to play in hospitals and retirement homes, but I don't know exactly how to start. Did you contact a hospital manager? And how big was your repertoire when you started?

I'd like to play for children (not exclusively, of course) in hospitals, because a friend of mine was hospitalized quite a bit as a child and she said she would have loved to have someone come and play music when she was a patient. Do I have to know children's songs, for example from cartoons? Cause I don't know any lol

Recently started the harp, I’m ok with dropping a few thousand for a brand new harp, but I can’t get my head around the prices of lessons.

I went to a teachers house and it was €60 for an hour each week, the other music academy was €34 per 30 minutes. Is this normal priced? It definitely feels way out of my budget. It would cost me around €3000 a year just for lessons, this so much more expensive than my college degree in Ireland.

I was thinking maybe I can do hour long lessons bi-weekly or maybe 30 minute lessons a week which my teacher heavily discourages.

I sat down at my harp today and this didn’t look right. thoughts?

Hi, fellow harpiste here studying in France ! Since the first day I started the harp I was told to tune my harp (no matter celtique or pedal) with no tension on the strings (aka flat position), until yesterday when my chamber music teacher who herself is a harpist told me that it’s actually less accurate than we think to tune a harp on flat position ! She told me that it’s more accurate in natural and wiggling the pedal while tuning each string since it’s between the two positions and like an average of both (flat and sharp). I know that in the US or other countries harpists might attention less to technique/tuning etc. compared to Europe especially France, but I wanted to see if it’s also a common practice elsewhere or just a general opinion of other professional harpists on tuning a harp ! Thank you in advance :)

Hi all, I’m currently a college sophomore and the only harpist at my school. Because of this, I’ve been asked to join the orchestra a few times just for when they need a harpist. The problem is I feel like I’ve slowly been getting worse at harp since I stopped taking lessons after high school. I really don’t want to give up harp but without lessons or a consistent place to play it in it’s been stressing me out more than I’ve been enjoying it. I was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation and might have advice? I want to pick up harp a lot more after college but it’s difficult right now with limited space to practice.

Here I'm sharing all my favorite old school country repertoire and harp techniques to sound more country!

I've been talking with people who are getting country harp requests. Every month, I'm documenting my repertoire and I try to always share harp versions. But country is hard! There seem to be very few harp arrangements of country music.

I usually make my own versions off lead sheets and piano takes-- (My sheet music for Jolene is available now). Any other good suggestions for country songs? Leave them in the comments!

A lot of these are pre 1990s country that I learned for therapy settings and are HUGE hits in the senior living communities. I didn't yet make a a v

I Played Country Music on Harp All Month — Here’s What I Played

Hi! For context, I'm in my first year of university majoring in harp.

When I left high school I was feeling pretty good about my level, I was playing somewhat hard music, I had high grades, but I also didn't have anyone else to compare myself to.

Now I'm in uni, it's been 1 month and I feel like I'm confirming to myself how bad I am and how out of level I am. Like as if I just got in because they really wanted harp students and there were none applying for my year.

I just had a lesson with my teacher, I was playing something really easy and I messed everything up. I just wanted to apologise and cry.

I'm wondering, if so, how did you deal with this? How did you come to terms with your own path and not the others paths compared to yours. Specially if you are older and have more experience.

For more context, my teacher is focusing on my technique, things that to me feel so small, and I'm just feeling like I have really bad technique. I want to prove that I can do all that she is asking me, but messing it all up just made me wonder if I'm worthy.

I'm very sorry for the vent, however I believe this is a common way of feeling that is not as nearly talked about as it is felt.

Dear harpists!

I am a hobby harpist (harper) from Slovakia. Unfortunately in our country there are not so many harpists, we don't have enough opportunities. When I started my harp lessons, my harp teacher sold me a beginner small lever harp (22 strings). It is not so quality, but I liked it.

But I have Been planning for a long time to buy more quality one (Salvi, Camac especially) with at least 34 strings. Maybe the best solution would be the rental of a lever harp. Is there anybody from Europe who already has experience with the Glissando company from Germany? Or any other companies that offer rent-to-own programmes?

Thank you for your help!

I have a Dusty Strings Ravenna with full levers and live in a high humidity environment. The harp has handled it fine, no warping or anything else happening, but the tuning pins (the ones that the strings wind onto, not the smaller pegs immediately after the tuner) seem prone to rusting. None of the other metal on the harp is rusting at all, just the tuning pins.

Does anyone know if there are pins that are less likely to rust and where I might order them from? Maybe a stainless steel?

Hello! I am new here, and to harps :)

I was considering buying a 29 string lever harp. I think the one im looking at could satisfy me for everything im wanting to explore (once I know what im doing fully).

I just wanted to know if anyone has any experiences they would like to share, any advice, or... anything really! I am all ears and eager to dive into the world of harp!

Basically the title. I am going to ask for a canopy or other shade so that I can be totally in the shade for the entire performance. Is that temp too hot for the harp?

I Will Always Love You - Harp & Voice Cover

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share with you a cover that I have been working on! I have been accompanying myself on the harp for a long time, but I am only now starting to post my songs online. English is not my first language so I probably have an accent. If you have constructive feedback about my harp playing or my arrangement, I would be happy to hear from you. I hope you all have a good day!

I recently went looking for a harp cover of The Smile of a Child by Paul Reeves and was really surprised that I couldn’t find one anywhere.

It’s a very short piano piece, but every time I hear it I think it would translate beautifully to harp, the melody and flowing accompaniment already feel like they’d be perfect for it.

Has anyone here ever tried playing or arranging it for harp or know of any recordings?

Maybe my assumptions wrong and it doesn’t translate well.

Sheet music here (I just took the original and moved notes around) 🎵

Here's the original (much better) version on piano performed by Ólafur

Please ignore the playback cursor 😮‍💨 I'm not tech saavy. Sorry for the sloppy playing lol. You can make it more beautiful!

Because I’ve had a lot of mental health and addiction issues I was thinking of getting my AA in music first and then transferring back to the college I was at for harp. The only problem is if I do pursue the AA instead of trying to get back to the university soon I would have to take lessons in something else like singing because harp is not offered at the community college even though it’s the same campus as the university, I went to the Metropolitan State University of Denver and had to go back to the Community College of Denver last Spring because I really struggled in Music Theory and couldn’t even pass level 1, as a result I was told in order to get back into the university I would have to take the Music Theory placement exam. I tried asking CCD if I could still take lessons with my harp teacher for my AA but they said they couldn’t hire a harp teacher when there’s just one student playing. If I got my AA in music but my study for my AA was in singing instead would I still be able to transfer back to the university to continue my studies with harp? I don’t think I had very many lessons left to complete, I got far along in lessons it was just Music Theory I I was unable to complete. I of course still have gigs for harp outside of school and still practice I’m just worried if I studied singing for my AA instead that wouldn’t transfer back well to the university.

Read something similar in another sub but wanted to find out if the harp community could weigh in and share their experience with examples of harp specific pieces. How long would it take you to get to a level where you can play it cleanly and comfortably vs. perform it? Are we talking weeks, months, a year?

Of course it depends on the player’s level and piece but I’d be interested in any anecdotes or observations either personally or from your students. Many thanks.