Any male harpists in here?

[aleksandar-djuric]

Hello to all!
I’m a male harpist from Belgrade Serbia. I’m 23, and started playing the harp when I was 16. I have just started my studies at the Music Academy, and I am the first male harpist at my school. Not a lot of guys play the harp here I guess.
As for the harp, I personally think it all comes down to the sound. Those of you who have had the luck of going to some bigger harp store, and trying out more harps belonging to the same model, could have seen how different they sound. I would never choose a more simple harp to a highly-decorated one if the difference in sound was big. But I do agree that nowadays makers tend to make more simple harps, Salvi Apollo being my personal favorite.
I have an old Lunacharskogo harp, which is very good for practicing, but nothing more. Hopefully I will get a concert harp one day.

[brook-boddie]

Alexander,

I listened to your YouTube videos–great job!

[aleksandar-djuric]

Thanks for the comment! It was two years ago, but I really like that Sonatina. 🙂
This forum is really great!

[william-nichols]

Yes. I am a boy, Im 13. I love the harp, i have been playing since I was 4.

[Alex Flores]

ME!!! 13 and just starting.

[pietra-dekker]

I’m a female harpist, but I like the idea of more male harpists being out there. I’ve noticed a trend in the pieces that the harp is in. Apart from classical music, the next largest genre that the harp seems to be in is R&B music, which is not the “girliest” genre.

[pietra-dekker]

I have nothing against male harpists, however, I do not agree with the generalisation that the harp is in fact a male instrument and that “the greatest harpists were men”. It is wrong to classify the harp as a feminine instrument (although the word for harp in many languages that have masculine and feminine words in a feminine word), but it is also wrong to counter that with the idea that the harp is a manly instrument.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I don’t think so, if only because the feminine association is so pervasive. And with 90% or more of the players being female, male harpists do need that masculine association for personal as well as esthetic reasons. It’s not a political statement. My teacher (female) used to tell all her pupils, you have to be able to play like a man. Why? Because you had to be tough, you had to have a tone that would blend in with male players on other instruments. Because without working toward that, many female players would never develop those qualities. It is also a different kind of expression of beauty. Male students need to learn it too. But, in truth, the harp is what you make of it.

[Anonymous]

Hey people. My name is Curt. I am new to the harp. I have recently invested in a nice larger sized lap harp after 6 months of reading up and visiting these forums. I find the harp to be a dynamic way to express ones self. I like the way I feel as I play a piece excellently. It is like electricity. I hope no one here will consider peer pressure and be disuaded from growing in there skill at the harp. Its others insecurities and fear that cause them to prod and to pry. You are doing well and your pursuit is doing you well and will bless others into the future. I hope you get a chance to get out and meet other harpists that are male. You will find that many Harp builders are male. I have talked to many and they are passionate about their craft and doing well. I saw this instrument for me as a weapon of war against the negative preasures in the world. With it

[unknown-user]

I am a male 68 years old who started playing lever harp at 50, mainly because I couldn’t afford a pedal harp. I am self taught which probably explains my bad technique, but look….there are lots of male lever harp players, & most of them older. My hero is Judy Loman who not only has fantastic sound, but the quietest hands ever !!!!!!!!

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