Different players can change a harp’s sound

[karen-koh]

I’ve always been told that the sound of an instrument will change according to an individual’s playing style.

For example, if my student is allowed to practice on my harp for 3 hours, when I again play my harp it sounds and feels different from usual.

Is this a real thing or am I merely imagining it? I can’t find any information about it online (perhaps I am not using the correct search terms).

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Yes, in time, the wood fibers will change their alignment according to who plays it regularly. School harps that are regularly played by many people lose their focus. My teacher, Frances Miller, told me that, and every summer, she would take one or more university harps to her cabin, and play scales and exercises on them until the sound was revived. My own harp has changed greatly over the years. You can control the sound as long as the wood is able to be cooperative. And even when a harp has a new owner, it will retain some of the signature of the previous owner.

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