Hearing sliding pitch change when flipping levers

[Tara Schoepke]

My old harp has Loveland levers. When I flip them, even when the string is not vibrating, I can hear a faint sliding of the pitch, pretty much on every string. This is particularly troublesome on the lower strings because of their resonance.

Is this normal or is this a regulation problem?

If this is normal, how do I avoid having the premature sliding pitch change ruin everything while I’m playing? Maybe then I need to post in a different forum…

For example, my harp is tuned to E flat. The B flat one octave below middle C needs to change to B natural. I have 2 beats to do it. My right hand is busy so I can’t use it to damp the string as I flip the lever. The B flat hasn’t been played for 4 beats so it’s not still vibrating.

When I flip the lever, I get this horrible “phantom” B natural sound while I’m still playing B flat major stuff with my right hand.

I’m afraid I may have to leave that B natural out even though it adds so much to the piece.

Any advice or ideas on how to fix this are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[carl-swanson]

When you are playing, all of the strings, particularly the lower strings and particularly those in the overtone sequence for the note you are playing, will be vibrating to one degree or another. On a lever or pedal harp, there will always be a slight “shadowing” of the note that the lever or disc is closing on, whether you are playing or not. So all you can do is camouflage the sound by moving the lever or pedal at exactly the same moment that another string is being played. We do the same thing when we muffle or place a finger on a vibrating string. We do those things at exactly the moment that we play another note. Playing the harp involves a lot of camouflage and slight-of-hand!

[balfour-knight]

How very true, Carl–slight of hand! I love it!

[casunrise]

Tara, it sounds like the levers themselves might be an issue. My grandson and I recently restored an old harp (see attached pictures) and when looking for levers for it, we found that many — including Lovelands — have issues such as string abrasion (which adds unwanted sound and also wears down the string each time the lever is moved). Others, including Camac and Salvi, wouldn’t even talk to me since my harp wasn’t made by them. We learned that all levers will cause some noise when they touch the string, but the sound can be greatly reduced by minimizing the required motion. The lever design that ultimately worked the best was made by a Pakistani company called Mikel. Pakistani harps have picked up a bad reputation over the years, but lately it seems that Mikel has taken huge steps to improve and become a major player, especially with their levers. They are certainly among the least expensive on the market right now ($5 each across six different sizes), and when we put them on our harp they appeared to be great quality, with no abrasion and pretty minimal movement. There is just a faint sound when the lever engages, but it’s hardly noticeable and certainly won’t be a major issue in a performance.

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