Nearly every person who plays the harp at one point sat mesmerized by the sound of the instrument. Whether the harp sound was thunderous, angelic, melancholy, or simply stunning, the sound compelled you. Maybe it was at a solo concert of a virtuoso, maybe it was the first time you heard a harp in person, or maybe, like me, it was when masterful writing met capable hands in an ensemble concert. 

Back in 2002, the family of a school friend invited me to hear an evening performance of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. I had only been playing for about a year, and I was awestruck by the harp playing I heard that night. Those familiar with Britten’s chilling opera will know that it is scored for a chamber ensemble in which the harp plays an integral role; the instrument is, by turns, sweet or eerily tinkling before biting with nerve-jangling intensity. It was an early and unforgettable lesson in the variety and power of the harp’s sound palette.

Gabriella Dall’Olio (photo by Julien Elbisser)

The harpist in the pit for that performance was Gabriella Dall’Olio. Many years later I studied with her in college and came to learn that what characterizes her teaching, above all else, is her attention to sound quality. As musicians, we often learn by example. So it stands to reason that many harpists can trace their approach to sound quality back to an influential teacher, just as I can with Dall’Olio.

Dall’Olio references her studies in France with Debussy-protegé Pierre Jamet for her approach to sound. “Working with Jamet was a real awakening. His sound filled the air. It had color, texture, space, consistency, and a sense of distance, regardless of where it was being produced,” she recalls. “It had a real three-dimensional physical and emotional substance that entranced me. The four years [studying with Jamet] were a curious and enthusiastic quest to emulate these ideals.”

Bryn Lewis (photo © Kevin Leighton)

Longtime London Symphony Orchestra principal harpist Bryn Lewis looks to his first two teachers for his sound inspiration. “My first teacher Jean Bell would often say ‘Listen,’ ‘Again,’ or simply ‘No!’ This she did repeatedly at the start of a piece until one had created something meaningful with the sound,” Lewis says. “My second teacher, Renata Scheffel-Stein, a student of Tournier and harpist in the Philharmonia and London Symphony Orchestra, was also known for her clear, warm sound.”

Sound quality is at the very heart of what you do at the harp. It’s your musical fingerprint. You might start with a sound inspiration—a teacher, a performer, a recording—but how do you build upon that inspiration in concrete ways to develop, craft, and hone your own sound quality at the harp? Let’s find out.

Building your core sound

A keyword to remember is timbre. This is the quality and character of sound, as opposed to the pitch or volume of the notes you are playing. You might say that a timbre that is lush, round and unencumbered by any tension or “hardness” is the core sound of the harp.

If I asked you, “What kind of sound would you like to have at the harp?” you’d likely say, “I want it to be beautiful!” When we refer to a harpist’s particular sound, we might comment “So-and-so has a beautiful sound.” But what makes it beautiful? How do we make our own sound beautiful? 

A good starting point for considering your “beautiful” tone quality is a technical one. Technique is ultimately how you set the strings into vibration. Heidi Bearcroft, principal harpist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, says her personal sound quality philosophy involves searching for the warmest (i.e. richest and mellowest) possible tone. “To find this, I play with the fleshiest and fattest part of my fingertips,” she notes. “By really digging in and preparing the string—feeling the pressure before releasing—I am able to avoid a pale or ‘plinky’ sound.”

Heidi Bearcroft (photo by Karol DuClos)

Bearcroft’s intense focus on articulation—the physical sense of a full, unlocked motion of the fingers into the hand—is important in the quest for sound. Many of us are taught that a strong, weighted finger drawn purposefully “in” and then released, will give us the best vibration. The harp is tactile, and we have no bow or other apparatus for striking a note. Therefore any stimulus or feeling in the fingers will be translated directly into your sound. 

The “release” is arguably the most important factor in articulation. If you keep the energy in your hand, and fail to release it, that could amount to tension you may end up hearing in the sound you produce. “A stiff articulation will produce a shallow, thin sound,” Dall’Olio points out. “If you dampen the string just after playing it, very little will resound in the strings. The harp is a sympathetic instrument, and we create texture and volume not just by playing the notes, but by setting the harp in vibration. Try to play the string in different ways and with different articulations, and each time listen to the resonance of the harp.”

To really explore your core sound, try first using individual notes rather than groups or patterns. Approach the string with a single finger and try for your most relaxed and weighty articulation. Listen to the vibration. Is this the quality you always produce? If not, what do you want to change?

But there are more than merely tactile factors to consider. Several years ago, in the pages of this magazine, the great jazz harpist Park Stickney was asked what he thought was the most important aspect of technique. His answer? “Listening.” Brass players who must produce clear tones in highly pressured musical situations are often encouraged to “hear” the note in their head before playing. As harpists, we may find it helpful to do the same. By creating a strong inner impression of the tone we want to hear, we may find it creates a physical response that empowers us to create the desired sound. 

Lewis suggests listening to any great player of any instrument, and you will hear not only this core sound but also variety. “The most interesting players have a range of sounds to suit the style, period, and mood.” Of course, it is vital to develop your signature sound quality, but Lewis’ point about variety suggests the importance of being able to alter that sound when the music calls for it. If we rely too heavily on the natural, generous warmth of the harp, we risk confinement to a two-dimensional soundscape. If the round, refined harp sound is too genteel to fit the character of the work we are playing, the music can end up seeming a little lackluster. 

Try plucking a string and then dampening it immediately and listen—if you have plucked the string with a supple articulation and with the use of weight, there will be a gentle light bounce in the wrist and fingers. You’ll hear the harp resonating, and overtones ringing, no matter how loud or soft you play. That sound will travel to the end of the room.

When trying to develop a core sound, or when deciding what sound quality the music requires, try to hear it in your mind first. How do your body and technique react to this stimulus?

I was discussing this recently with my friend Karen Marshalsay. Marshalsay is an outstanding player of the Scottish traditional harp who also plays the pedal harp professionally. Recently, at a gig on the pedal harp, she was performing some traditional lever harp selections and found it was not a straightforward process. “I’ve had to work a lot harder and search for ways to play traditional music on pedal harp that sounds right both in terms of the tradition and as a good performance on pedal harp. The sound dies quicker on a pedal harp [than on wire strung harps], and it’s harder to work up the resonance and different timbres that are much more natural on lever.” Something that happened naturally on lever harp had to be intentionally striven for on the pedal harp, so it’s wise to have an inner sense of the timbres that fit the piece.

Explore the variety of tone, varying where on the string you are playing. What timbre best suits the passage you are working on?

Dall’Olio agrees that understanding the context of the music you’re playing is critical in crafting the right sound. “[Sound quality] is dictated by style, by the character of the work, by the language the author spoke or the images that inspired the work. For example, Gitana by Hasselmans, Tzigane by Ravel, and Lolita La Danseuse by Tournier are works inspired by so-called ‘gypsy’ or exotic styles of music, written by elegant French composers. Whilst there is a degree of ‘Frenchness’ there are many Spanish harmonic clichés of harmony and phrasing. So I try to reflect this in the sound and find something more earthy, fiery, wild.”

When you go beyond your core sound and incorporate different qualities and characteristics, you have the exciting possibility to create a soundscape and paint images in sound. By considering the context of a piece of music, we can go on a fascinating journey of exploration, listening, and storytelling.

Where is your music from? Who wrote it? What sound do you think they had in mind? What kind of harp might they have been familiar with? Use these things to construct a soundscape that is vibrant, alive, and true to what’s on the page and what might have been in the composer’s imagination.

Tools of the trade

Your instrument also plays a large role in your sound quality. “Everyone has ‘their’ sound,” Lewis notes. “Ideally, everyone should play on an instrument they feel supports that sound.” From the happy day you acquire your instrument, what follows is years of growth and exploration as you get to know and bond with your harp. Most modern harps are well-made and have great evenness throughout the range of the instrument. However, every harp is different and has its own voice—individual characteristics that differentiate it from others. On a particular instrument, you might find it easier to produce pure harmonics in all keys, or it might have an unusually clear, projecting bass register. 

How conscientious are you being about tuning and intonation? The best harp technicians will tell you, the better the tuning the better the harp (and you) will sound. What are the strong points of your harp? Do you have a favorite register on this harp?

Understanding the instrument you are working with is critical in crafting your sound. Dall’Olio characterizes her work with her instrument as a partnership. “It sounds a little philosophical, but I don’t play the harp; I play with the harp, much like a horse and rider,” she says. “While the rider is important in directing the horse where to go, I can only get what I need by striving to bring out its best and the best of myself with it.”

Strings to your bow

What about the strings? Ultimately, any harp, no matter how well made, is nothing without them. As a student participating in summer orchestra courses in Norway, I remember our coach decreed that we should change all of the strings on our own harps annually. This, she assured us, would help to ensure a brilliant sound. In fact, I remember being allotted this nerve-racking task on one of the orchestra’s own harps one summer. There’s no doubt that new strings will sound better than old strings, but is it worth the time and money? “Well, if you are rich, of course it is a great idea,” Dall’Olio says. “I am not rich, but I make sure strings are always good quality and in good order. If they sound false, I change them. If they lose elasticity, I change them. The vibration produces the sound, and therefore a string that has little elasticity will vibrate less.”

The more you understand the give in your strings, the more consistent your tone will be. 

Lewis has more straightforward thoughts on the string subject. “When I quizzed [my first teacher Jean Bell] about strings, she said, ‘Darling, if it sounds bad it’s probably you,’” he recalls. “I tend to persist with what I have unless a string is false or becomes a strong interference with what I’m trying to do.”

Of course it’s not just how new and shiny your strings are that is of consequence. Elasticity is crucial. It is important to understand this attribute when working on your sound. Across the harp, you have strings of different lengths, thicknesses, and even materials. Your technical approach must adapt to wire, gut, and nylon in the course of a single piece. What’s more, every string in every octave has a certain sweet spot where the best and most profound vibration can be produced. Each material has a different amount of “give.” 

When you prepare the string, press it firmly, taking care not to pull the string from alignment. Think of drawing it towards your stomach. Slowly, let the string back into alignment and only then release your finger.  You are letting the string play you! How does it sound?

Understanding the elasticity of your strings goes back to this idea Heidi Bearcroft introduced us to earlier in the article, when she talked about “preparing” the string. This preparation essentially amounts to using the natural elasticity of the string to produce the best sound by pressing the string before releasing. This is done in such a way that the string almost plays you! When you prepare the string, you prepare your sound.

Carrying your sound with you

The fantastic English harpist Hugh Webb once said to me, “You take your sound with you.” For me, this is a crucial point: regardless of the instrument, your sound should be a portable concept. It’s both your hallmark and your responsibility. The instrument doesn’t produce a clear harmonic or a projecting bass note, that harpist does. It might be that a particular harp responds to the harpist’s technique or sound they are trying to create, and thereby expands the confidence and palette of the player. But a good instrument cannot give you a good sound quality, ready-made. 

I recently had to record a new solo work, where at a moment’s notice I had to change to another instrument, not my own and with which I was not familiar. Listening back to the takes, I could hear an uncharacteristic and, to my ears, unattractive hardness. I had not been able to take the time to test the give of the strings and characteristics of the instrument. Now, this was not my fault nor was it my choice. However, this experience demonstrated just how important the exploration of an instrument is when producing your best sound. With this fact in mind, it is worth noticing that several harpists I spoke with referenced other string instruments. 

“The sound is your voice,” Dall’Olio says. “Ask a violinist or cellist how much they work on sound quality from the first lesson, and the length and quality of each note, regardless of the instrument you play.” She says harpists need to work on their sound and find their style, while upholding some basic standards. “If, in the orchestra, you need to produce a pianissimo sound that can be heard within the orchestra and travel to the audience, it needs to be beautiful whilst being felt and heard from afar, and that is no easy task.”

No easy task perhaps, but it is a fun and exciting one—one that Bearcroft relishes. “Perhaps my favorite part about sound exploration on the instrument comes from the inherent intimacy of our sound production. Consider this: a violinist or cellist must slide the horse-hair of their bow across the strings to create sound, a percussionist uses a mallet to hit the drumhead and a pianist must depress keys, which hit hammers, which then touch the strings.” 

As harpists, whether we need to produce a discreet sound on a restaurant job, a powerful presence for orchestra, or an entire rainbow of dynamics for solo work, the quality of sound is all-important. It is your voice, and the means of transmitting the most intimate and fascinating details of the music you are playing. Working on sound is about developing and projecting personality through that tone quality, embracing your individuality and expressive aims, while fostering a high quality of listening. Perhaps Bearcroft says it best. “A harpist’s fingertips meet the strings directly, and thus we have ultimate control and manipulation of our output. This is so exciting, because we can change the volume, the mood and the articulation of each and every note—our range of communication through tone is vast.”