Harp Naming

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This topic has 39 replies, 26 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 2 months ago by eliza-morrison.

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October 7, 2010 at 2:20 pm #157675

Michael Harwood
Participant

I have recently come across some posts that suggest naming your harp is important.

October 7, 2010 at 2:30 pm #157676

kreig-kitts
Member

I don’t name my instruments. Maybe that’s why they never come to me when I call.

October 7, 2010 at 3:16 pm #157677

kay-lister
Member

Kreig – LOL . . . very good!

October 7, 2010 at 5:15 pm #157678

jessica-wolff
Participant

I don’t name my instruments either.

October 7, 2010 at 5:35 pm #157679

tony-morosco
Participant

In past discussions on this it seemed that a lot of harpists do name them, but it is nice to see I am not alone in not naming mine.

Although I consider my harps beautiful works of art in themselves, they are, first and foremost, tools to me that I use to make my music. I have no more desire to name them than I would to name my favorite hammer if I were a carpenter.

That said, I have only once named an inanimate object. I practice Japanese swordsmanship and I named my favorite sword Butterfly. It was a joke actually (I had just seen Madam Butterfly for the first time and she committed suicide with a Japanese sword and so I referred to it as my “Butterfly Sword”) but it stuck and I still sometimes refer to that sword as Butterfly without thinking.

October 8, 2010 at 2:54 pm #157680

Sylvia Clark
Member

My first harp is named Hyacynth (LH 15)…with two Ys because I misspelled it the first time I wrote it.

October 8, 2010 at 6:36 pm #157681

andy-b
Participant

Of the harps I’ve had over the years, some I’ve named and some not – just depending on whether a name popped into my head and if it seemed to fit! The two I have now are Chocolate (a walnut Thormahlen Serenade) and Freyja (a mahogany Camac Athena Concert Grand).

Andy

October 8, 2010 at 7:19 pm #157682

Karen Johns
Participant

Naming your harp is really a matter of personal choice. I don’t think naming your harp is as important as playing it, but for me, giving a pet name to my harp makes it more “alive” to me. I’ve named my vehicles before as well. If I think about it, my first exposure to hearing about a harp having a name was in the book “The Mists of Avalon” where Kevin Harper referred to his harp as “My Lady”. I don’t know if this is based on actual ancient tradition or just the author’s fancy, but it certainly displayed the affection between harper and harp. Perhaps naming a harp or other instrument is a way we use to get in touch of our own personal muse…

Karen

October 8, 2010 at 11:13 pm #157683

deb-l
Participant

I name my harps, even the rentals, because they are all so different from each other they almost seem to have personalities.

October 9, 2010 at 12:25 pm #157684

Karen Johns
Participant

I’m feeling the same type of guilt towards my Voyageur ‘Ceridwen’, as I play Gwydion side-by-side. I’ve really been neglecting her lately, and still need to replace her strings. You are not alone in feeling this way, Deb.

Karen

October 9, 2010 at 2:03 pm #157685

deb-l
Participant

what we need Karen, is more hours in the day so we can play with our Musical toys to hearts content.

October 10, 2010 at 3:11 am #157686

jessica-wolff
Participant

The cello is a beautiful instrument too and it would be a pity to drop it. My practice time is divided between guitar, harp and banjo.

October 10, 2010 at 11:23 am #157687

Karen Johns
Participant

Again, I am with you (and starting to think we may be kindred spirits! LOL). I also play other instruments- hammered dulcimer, flute, irish whistle,bodhran, and voice. Funny thing is, I’ve only named the hammered dulcimer (Sylvia). Maybe it’s more common in stringed instruments? Or perhaps larger instruments?

I can’t part with any of my instruments, any more than I could cut off a limb. I sold my very first harp, a lap harp I had built from a kit more than a year ago. I still think about that little harp and wonder how she’s doing, and wish I had her back.

Karen

October 10, 2010 at 7:06 pm #157688

harp guy
Participant

I’ve named my instruments, but not in a serious way. For me it’s just silly fun. My harp is named Penelope, my flute is Chloe, and my piccolo is Alice. My Studio harp (by musicmakers) is named Edgar. Whenever I have to leave a rehearsal for a few minutes during a break I always ask a friend to ‘babysit.’ I never think of them as separate entities though. I play my flute and harp and they are extensions of me. Naming is just for fun.

October 10, 2010 at 7:42 pm #157689

deb-l
Participant

harp guy, I totally agree I don’t feel they are separate entities either, but when an instrument becomes your voice it feels like part of you is in the instrument, and I think of it playfully almost like a living thing.

Karen, we are very alike!
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