Do I need to change all my strings?

Karen Rokos received her certification as a Lyon & Healy/Salvi Harp Technician shortly after graduating with a master’s degree in harp performance from Indiana University in 1988 and is now the Harp Instructor at the Fountain School of Performing Arts at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

For both pedal and lever harps: In order to do their best work, a harp technician needs your strings to be holding pitch and able to produce a clear fundamental tone. A string that is worn or frayed is no longer perfectly round and will give a “false” pitch. If you have a string that sounds out of tune no matter how you tune it, your technician won’t be able to get a clear reading of the pitch and your regulation will suffer.

For pedal harps, nylon strings can be deceptive. They may look perfect, but when you play loud with the action in the sharp position, the pitch is going flat. If you change the pedal back to flat, the string is in tune. What is going on here? This happens because the strings have broken down at the molecular level where the disc pins contact the strings. The string is actually stretching over the lower disc pin as you play, and then returning to its former shape when the disc pins are no longer engaged. There is nothing your technician can do to fix this, the string has to be changed.

You do not need to change your wire strings before a regulation, but your harp will sound better if you change these strings at least every three years.

I suggest that you try to get your strings changed two weeks before the regulation date. This way, even if you miss your deadline by a couple of days, you will still have time to get the new strings stabilized before the regulation. Give yourself time for life to happen … because it often does!

—Karen Rokos

Joanne Baée is a guild certified harp technician, formerly professional harpist, serving both Australian and international harp communities.

Replacing all your strings prior to regulation is a very proactive thing to do. However, it is not always necessary. A full string change will depend on a variety of factors including type of harp, type of strings, age of your strings, use (professional or not), how much you play, your budget, the list goes on.

If you are not changing your full set, it’s still very important to take the time to look at and listen to your current strings. Go ahead and replace any strings you find which are worn, frayed, pitted, rusty/oxidized, or sounding “false,” “dead,” or “dull.”

Whichever strings you do change prior to your regulation, make sure you allow enough time for them to fully settle. New wire strings can settle on the same day you replace them, with just a few tunes. New gut and synthetic strings can take over a week to fully settle, and that’s with tuning multiple times a day.

Remember: harp technicians achieve best regulation results with fully settled strings. So, don’t wait until the day before your regulation to check and change your strings! Any strings replaced should go on a couple of weeks in advance.

Imagine this: you’ve proactively taken the time to check your strings plenty in advance, changed the necessary ones (at the very least), and frequently tuned them to settle. Your harp technician will have a big smile on their face! You have just helped them help you: they can now achieve the best regulation results for your harp.

So, a couple of weeks prior to your next regulation, do yourself a favor: check and change… then, tune, tune, tune!

—Joanne Baée

Steve Moss has been servicing harps since 1995, first as a technician with Lyon & Healy, and now as owner of Moss Harp Service.

In order for a technician to accurately regulate a harp, the strings must be stretched enough to hold pitch, at least for a short while. If you are replacing strings prior to a regulation, do so at least two weeks in advance, and tune the harp at least once a day after that. Twice a day is better.

Regarding whether you need to replace all the strings, the answer is not necessarily. The most critical area is the top two octaves. In that range, any wear or pitting on the strings where they contact the discs or levers will negatively affect their intonation. Ideally, the top two octaves should be replaced before each regulation. It’s an extra expense, and it takes time to replace the strings, but doing so will improve the quality and extend the durability of the regulation.

The condition of the rest of your strings will not directly affect how well the instrument plays in tune after the regulation, but can play a role in its overall sound quality. False strings make it difficult to sound in tune no matter how carefully the harp is tuned and regulated. Frayed strings tend to buzz. Worn strings make scratchy noises when the pedals are moved. Old strings sound dull and lose sustain. For these reasons, it’s good to inspect your strings regularly and replace them periodically.

—Steve Moss