Innovations in harp design, materials and engineering

[lam-wk]

I am a newbie to the harp but I have played several string instruments such as the guitar, mandolin, zhang, pipa, ukulele, guitarlele etc. After changing a number of gut strings and hearing stories of cracking of wood of harps of my friends, I am rather curious about the reason behind the apparent slow evolution of materials and engineering of harps since the last century.

For most other string instruments, there are a lot of evolutions. To mention a few, the guitar has evolved from the use of gut strings since the 1950s to nylon, fluorocarbon, brass and steel. Even the ancient oriental instrument such as the pipa and zheng evolve from strings of silk to steel. Yo Yo Ma has played carbon fiber material cello, which is incredibly sound and resistant to temperature and humidity. Silent instruments built using piezoelectric pickups and lighter materials have been used in violin, guitars and others. It seems that the harp, since the invention of double action pedal harps in the 1810s, almost stopped there.

I wonder why this is the case. Why are there no harp made of carbon fiber, no silent harp, no silent pedal actions operated by ultrasonic motors, no electric harps with built in tuners, no MIDI harp, no string made of more durable materials other than gut with similar tension and linear densities? Are the manufacturers lack the resources for R&D in harp?

I have no offence to the harp, the manufacturers and the players. This is purely out of my curiosity.

[Tacye]

>Why are there no harp made of carbon fiber,
http://www.heartlandharps.com/models.html

>no silent harp,
http://www.camac-harps.com/camac-harps-eng/dhcbluelight.html

>no silent pedal actions operated by ultrasonic motors, no electric harps with built in tuners,
There have been attempts in these directions – cost of the instrument (6 tuners cost less than 47) and expectations that our harps will still work in a century’s time are among the reasons they haven’t taken off yet.

>no MIDI harp,
http://www.sionedwilliams.com/midiharp.htm

>no string made of more durable materials other than gut with similar tension and linear densities?
http://www.savarez.fr/anglais/alliance-kf-harp-strings.html

I could have chosen different examples – but the last few decades have had a lot of R&D, especially in lever harps. Many people, myself included prefer the sound of wood and gut, but once you know where to look (it is a smaller world than the guitar) these things exist.

[kreig-kitts]

We ‘ve talked about carbon fiber harps, MIDI harps, electric harps, as well as the possibility of motors here. You might search around in the forum archives to find the discussion.

As Tayce pointed out, there have been many innovations since the invention of the double action harp that have been in use for quite a while. Strings of nylon, metal, fluorocarbon, and so on are standard on so many harps they barely merit mentioning. In addition, Camac has been using carbon fiber to lighten their harps for years and they also use a fairly different action design. Several makers reinforce the necks with Carl Swanson and Camac have both taken nearly ten pounds off the weight of a concert grand, just over 10% of the weight, Andrew Thom has been making harps from aluminum and carbon fiber for years, some makers use other materials to make a more thinner, more resonant soundboard that withstands the pull of the strings. Heartland Harps have been making very light folk harps entirely of carbon fiber and are now working on a pedal harp.

[lam-wk]

Dear Tayce and Kreig,

You are my hero! This is truly eye opening. Certainly you are very knowledgeable about the harp.

The carbon fiber harps look gorgeous and so are the electric harps made of carbon fiber. 10 lb. weight for a Celtic harp of 38 strings is very attractive for travelling. Savarez was my favorite brand for classical guitar when I was a kid and I love the energetic sound of its super high tension strings for guitar especially for competitions. I stopped using the brand since the wired strings tend to shed the silver coat to my fingers causing stains after hours of playing. I am not aware they also make harp strings.

Maybe there should be a larger market for these innovations through marketing strategies and make the price tag more affordable.

I wonder how the traditional materials are’t superceded by newer materials and why the “mainstream” harps still looks so similar in the last 200 years? Maybe, as Tacye point out, most people still prefer wood and gut.

[kreig-kitts]

Well, most carbon fiber violins still adhere to the basic Strad pattern. People are fond of the look they’re used to, and if the overall shape changes too much there would be an adjustment playing, especially if one switches between instruments.

In addition, while I’ve heard some carbon fiber violins and cellos with amazing resonance, sometimes it seems like the wooden instruments have more warmth and character. The carbon fiber is almost “too perfect”. I think for the harp, the weight is a huge advantage of carbon fiber. A wooden violin is still quite light, and even a cello or bass isn’t particularly heavy, but a harp’s physics, the strings pulling it instead of compressing it, and so much more tension, require a lot of thick, solid wood and make it extremely heavy. With time, I imagine carbon fiber harps will gain in popularity as portable instruments and school instruments (for the durability), though people will still use wood for many performances where they want the tone or even the appearance. On that note, I would expect to see more things such as veneered carbon fiber to give a more traditional appearance but keeping many benefits of synthetic materials. I think Camac does this with their columns already.

[Tacye]

Another innovation for you! http://www.harptronics.com/

[catherine-coates]

I want one of those!!!!!

[lam-wk]

WOW, this is a great harp. I am surprised about the innovations! Thanks for the information.

[Adair]

dang you tacye, now i want a harpella. i wonder how much electronics extras you have to carry around with it. i love love love the colors. looks like it would be lightweight, except for the case.. apparently it weighs 25 lbs WITH the case. now i have to find out how much one would cost. Does anyone have one of these yet?

[Tacye]

And I don’t want one – I admire the innovation, but it seems a soulless tone generator rather than a warm, nuanced, individual musical instrument.

[Author]

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