Any male harpists in here?

[unknown-user]

Hey! In the amateur harpists forum on this site, people were talking
about the shortage of male harpists. I was just wondering if there
were any teen male harpists in here.

[unknown-user]

Hi, well, I was a teen male harpist till this year. I just turned 20..
I am sure there’re lots of them out there but they are just too shy. Interesting when I was reading my teacher’s old harp magazines (some even dated back to the 70s), there were LOTS more male harpists back then! I wonder where they are now…I guess the stereotype that harp is a girly instrument has driven many guys away. I think all instruments should be enjoyed by everyone in the world!…
Come on out guys!!

[unknown-user]

Yes. My son is 15 and has been playing for 2 year now. Although he may be to shy to come forward about it. He is a lover of classical music.

[unknown-user]

My son is 14 and just going into high school come fall 2002.He’s been playing harp for 5 years but is now worried about peer perception. He believes peer perceive harp as an feminine instrument and does’nt want that to come back at him. He wants to quit!
Any suggestions are welcomed. He is very gifted and it would be a shame.

[unknown-user]

Some answers mentioned the perception of harp as a female instrument.

[unknown-user]

Hey! im 13 years old. I’ve been playing for about 4 years or so. I guess there is a stereotype with the harp being “feminine” or “girly.” Personally, I think that’s a little dumb. I play four times every sunday in church. I’m proud of my skill, not ashamed! All my friends think its the best thing. hehehe… My friend Jared and I even started a violin/harp duet that evolved into a whole chamber group. I play in orchestras and all that kind of stuff. My advice would be to ignore the whole “harp is girly” or “harp is gay” thing and just continue to share your talent of music with others. If wish more male harpist wouldn’t be ashamed. this is just my theory. Hope it helps!

[alexander-rider]

hi my name is alex, i’m 15 and i live in the uk. i would really love to speak to a fellow male harpist, it can get pretty lonley for us guys!

[HBrock25]

yeh, i`m guy, i`m 15 and have been learning for about 8 years now…my address for msn or hotmail is guybguy@hotmail.com …that’s not really a terribly valuable contribution to the topic at hand, but it’s late and i`m tired and it’s late…goodnight

[unknown-user]

hello i am also a harpist and a very big fan of everything to do with harps as well. sincerely i am from Malta and there isn’t anyone else who is male and plays the harp. this makes me upset since everyone thinks and others have just said that harping is feminish. i also play violin and cello.

[unknown-user]

Yes i have just started to play harp , Im 34 and MALE ,I am deliberatly NOT having any sort of teaching mainly due to the fact that the only teachers I can find are female in there fourties

[christopher-molloy]

33 yrs old in Upstate NY. Playing for a few years. Hard to find a teacher that loves music and not just the black and white of the written. I like to take music that is not made for the harp and try and make it work. Ozzy’s “Goodbye to Romance” Simons “bookends”
Chris

[unknown-user]

Hey. I agree that everyone should be able play any instrument they like, without judgment
on them or the instrument.. I hate it how people stereotype the harp as a “girly” or “gay”
instrument. The harp is one of the most ancient of instruments. David from the Bible
played the harp, I’ve even seen a male harpist at a Metallica concert. o_o;

I don’t play harp.. yet. It’d be a dream to be a harpist, and I’m trying to convince my
parents to let me take lessons, so who knows.

People classify the harp as a girly instrument. Since when did musical instruments have
genders/gender requirements?

[unknown-user]

As it happens, a very long time ago in Spain, it was _ILLEGAL_ for women to play the trumpet! Fortunately, that frankly stupid law was repealed a long time ago.

I, too, am a teen (16) male harpist(-to-be). If anyone belittles you about being girly for playing the harp, that’s their problem, not yours. Anyone who would be willing to belittle you about something as silly as that has serious flaws in their logic, and should be burned at the stake. 🙂

[tony-morosco]

Another male here. Although not a teen I started in college at 19.

I never got negative comments about the harp being for girls in college or since. In fact back in college there were some people who only knew me from playing the harp and I am told I was often referred to as the “cool guy with the harp”.

[unknown-user]

I’ve been playing for about two months now, and not once,
like the post above me, have I received any negative comments. Girls love the fact that I
play the harp, the guys think it’s really “different,” but they respect it, and everybody else
seems to think it’s great. I’m sure there are still a few people out there who think “Oh, the
harp is girly/gay, what a loser.” But they probably only think that because they don’t have
the reputation of being “that guy who plays the harp.”

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