I have one and it is a great harp which suites my particular needs perfectly.

However if your goal is to become a professional harpist who plays classical repertoire and you want a harp that will suite all your needs from now on without having to buy another later then I recommend against such a small harp.

It’s great for some things, but it isn’t going to cut it in an orchestra or playing the full extend of classical harp repertoire.

So if you want a harp that will be useful for a professional, classical harpist then go for a full concert grand.

You don’t say which examination board you are interested in doing your diploma with, but I would assume that the harp requirements are broadly similar. Check out the ABRSM website – the harp requirements for grades up to 8 can be found at http://www.abrsm.org/resources/harpSyllabusComplete08.pdf

Good luck!

Another thing to remember before purchasing if you go with a harp that’s smaller than a concert grand is that not all 44-string harps cover the same range. For example, the Camac Clio only goes down to the 6th octave F, but the L&H Grand Petite goes down to the 7th octave D.

You say you are interested in buying your final harp now, however in a few years time when you may (or may not) outgrow a smaller harp you will know much more your preferences in harps.

Have you tried a Camac? The upper register on Camacs have more space ( it’s so nice when I play my teachers as my hands have plenty of room on the top octive).

My advice is to buy a 44-string harp. You can play most everything on this size instrument. There are only a few orchestral parts that need the full 47-string range. All of the major harp manufacturers make something in the 44 string size now. It’s a nice portable pedal harp. Unless you plan to do a lot of orchestral work, I really cannot see spending the money to buy a full-size honking orchestral harp. Actually, most of the pedal harps played around 1900 were 43-45 strings.

My first pedal harp was a 40 string harp – it was just too small to play a lot of things. But the 44 string suffices for nearly every venue. I highly recommend this size harp.

There is only one harp that I would say is an exception to that rule and that is the Salvi Orchestra – it’s a scaled-down 47 string harp, only as big as a lot of the 44 string harps, so it’s very portable for a full grand harp.

I would not bother buying the 40-string – go with the 44 string. It will make a good “back up” harp or second harp if you decide later that you want to spring for the full 47-string grand.

Darhon