Is a lap harp a good idea for me?

[Tacye]

I am going to disagree slightly here – most harps are made to be played, to make music.  This often entails less than ideal treatment.  They are more likely to pick up dents and bruises if taken around to different venues and how many of us keep them in temperature and humidity controlled perfection every hour of every day? If someone lives on a houseboat and wants to play, or enjoy owning, a harp then it may well be worth the extra attention this requires.  (I do exclude a few very special irreplacable instruments from this philosophy, mostly antiques.)

[Allison Stevick]

I’m with Tacye–if a person is enjoying the instrument, I see no reason they can’t have it where they live (unless they live in a hot, locked car on a sunny day…*wink*).

Also, Ardival harps are made in the highlands of Scotland, and it’s very humid there much of the time. 😉 The Ardivals that I played were all at the Edinburgh harp festival, over a period of 3 days, and it was varying levels of humidity in that time– from pouring rain to sunny with a drier breeze. Windows were open when it wasn’t raining, so surely the weather was making a difference. While Bill Taylor did have to retune the harps a few times a day (between using them for workshops and people playing while browsing at the Ardival stall), he assured me that they generally don’t need that much tuning with normal use, and that they don’t break strings more often than any other harp, and that as long as the temp and humidity are generally consistent (or if there is a change, that the harp is allowed to transition slowly within safe range) they shouldn’t have any problems. I say all this, because these were the kind of questions I was asking him. I was considering bringing a Kilcoy back to the states, and was asking his opinion about changing climates with it. He said it wouldn’t be a problem, as long as I did the initial work of keeping it tuned and relatively stable while it was settling in.

So, if a person wants an instrument on their houseboat, and they love it and play it, then more power to them!

However, this is one reason my bigger harp is carbon fiber–it doesn’t matter what I do with it, or where I go, it will always be fine. I’ve left it in the car, played in rain, wind, sun, shade, traipsed around with it in the woods and played it while actually in a creek. The durability can’t be beat, as far as I’m concerned. I would totally take it on a boat if I had a boat to live in. 🙂

[Elettaria]

How difficult do you reckon it would be to keep a small wire harp happy on a houseboat? What sort of maintenance could overcome that kind of problem?  My guess is that she was doing OK with it, then stopped playing for a while due to injuries, and that’s when it sat about unattended and developed problems.

We brought the harp over to my partner’s last night, and the setup there is so much better than at my flat!  He’s got one of those parent-and-child lamps by his coffee table, so the reading lamp part is in the perfect position for playing the harp on the sofa, with the music on the coffee table.  I need really good lighting for playing the harp, especially with wire strings, and this is actually better than I ever managed at my flat.  (Although my flat has a nice nook in my bedroom set aside for the lever harp with a spotlight clipped onto the bookcase behind it, which worked out very well once I swapped desks with my partner to give myself more space.  Two days till the Starfish arrives!)

It’s also started holding its tuning better, to my surprise.  I managed to get in a practice session after only a bit of tweak-tuning.  Any idea why it’s finally settling?  I might hold off a bit on sending it back to Ardival, which will cost a lot more in postage than the actual repair will, since I’m going to have to go through the tuning settling from scratch all over again when that happens.  We’ll be at my partner’s for ten days next week instead of the usual long weekend, and I was going to bring the Starfish over, but honestly I’m not sure there would be space for it, so it might be better to have some quality time with the Kilcoy, if it continues to behave its little self.

Having a better tuner helps, too: it’s much easier with a wee Snark clipped onto the pillar than when I was using an app.  I bought that Snark just before the previous, thoroughly damaged rental lever harp that I was scammed over went back to its thoroughly dodgy owners, so my partner promptly snaffled it for tuning his various dulcimers and bouzouki and such.  It now lives at his flat, so I can use it for the Kilcoy.  Should I get another Snark for the lever harp, or is there a better tuner I can get in the UK?  I think I had to keep clipping it to the tuning pegs and moving it along with a lever harp, since the clip wasn’t wide enough to fit on the pillar.  Is there anything with a clip that does fit, or do you just get used to moving it around on the tuning pegs?

Photos will be posted shortly!

[Biagio]

To all who reacted to my “don’t do this comment” – sure, you are right to criticize what on reflection was rather stringent.  So sorry about that – think of my comment more as a cry of “Aaaargh”.  You would not believe some of the things that people do to lovely instruments – any one who does repairs has some real horror stories.   Such as one where the player tried to adjust the pressure-fit neck on a Dusty with a mallet. I kid you not.

HA ha I’m certainly not saying “Don’t play in any but perfect conditions”!  If you do have it in humid conditions, provided there are no sudden changes, not a problem.  Just don’t leave it in a closed case for extended periods (I’ve seen that one – urgh), tune and play it regularly, and a harp should live a pretty long time.

I take it the Ardival was left (on that houseboat) unplayed and untuned for a long time.  It would not be surprising if the pegs were sticky for a while, after being re-strung, in that circumstance in almost any environment but especially a humid one.

 

Best wishes,

Biaigo

[Elettaria]

Let me guess, epic mould? Poor harp. And a mallet?! 

The Kilcoy is adjusting to my partner’s flat, which is colder than mine. In other words, it was in fine fettle after we brought it over last night, and this morning the bass was sharp and the treble was flat. I’m sure it’ll get used to it.

[Biagio]

Yup, nice green mold and the bass wires were green too (copper wound).   Sheesh.  Let’s not even  talk about the mallet:-)

I know that you and Allison, and Tacye already own these little books or else already know what’s in them but will throw this out for other readers.  They’re well worth having: Troubleshooting Your Lever Harp by Dave Kolacny and The Harper’s Manual by Laurie Riley.

Maybe the wood dried a little over at the flat?  That would do it….

Biagio

[Allison Stevick]

Yikes!! Mold and mallets! I would never advocate for the horrible abuse and neglect of an instrument! 😉

I love knowing what to do and how to do things for care and maintenance. I don’t actually own those books but they are GREAT resources, and I hope to get my own copies at some point. 🙂

[Elettaria]

Considering how stressful it is if you merely have a situation such as renting a supposedly-new harp which turns out to need its ten year old bass wires replaced and all its levers regulated, I can’t even imagine how awful it is when you get serious damage like that.

Hopefully this photo will work!  Link to the photo.  I turned the reading lamp off in order not to have it shining too brightly in the photo, but it’s perfect for lighting the strings well.  This should give you an idea of how I look sitting with a 22″ Kilcoy, being all of 4’11” tall.  Though I think my partner was squatting on the floor in order to get an angle that hid my face, and it doesn’t come up quite that high on me.  Do you reckon I’d be OK with a 27″ Folcharp on my lap?  I’ve tried the method where you cross your ankles and hold it between your knees, and fibromyalgia meant that it just hurt, even with padding.  The other question is whether I’d be able to cope with the added weight.  The Kilcoy is 4.5lb and the weight isn’t a problem for me, it balances well and I think I could take extra weight if it were sitting well, but I’m not sure how much.  James says that the lighter the harp, the brighter the sound, and I don’t like tinkly harps.  So we’re probably talking about something in the region of 7lb.

I know it’s all about how the weight is distributed – the first time I went to the Edinburgh harp festival, I was looking at lap harps, which tend to be around the same weight as our tiny 6.5lb cat.  The harp companies were probably startled to hear me muttering, “<i>That’s </i>not the same weight as the cat!”  What does it tend to be like, wire or lap harp players for whom weight is a problem?  Is there anything I could do to help spread the weight, such as a strap going around my hips?

Next, what can Folcharp owners tell me about them?  Which size and wood did you get?  What is the sound like?  Generally, which wood do people recommend for someone wanting a warm sound and playing with fingerpads?  He has some woods I don’t know much about, such as mulberry and American sycamore, plus he mentioned maple as being a warmer toned wood and I’ve generally heard that it’s a brighter toned wood, so perhaps it’s different for wire harps.

[Biagio]

Elletaria, since the harp’s knee (aka shoulder) should be about an inch below your chin I would measure: from your knee to your chin at about a 35 degree angle to get an idea if the 27″ Folcharp will be a good size.  If you play in a chair you might consider a stand.  There is a picture of one mounted to a double strung on my profile page.  If that would be interesting I’ll send you directions for making something like that, modified since the Ardivals and Folcharps do not have string access holes in the back.

Honestly, in your place I would send the Kilcoy to Ardival to have it cleaned up rather than taking a chance on a different harp that you may or may not like.  As for wood tone:

Boy is that an open question!  OK rock maple may be described as “warm” but I’d describe it as “bright”.  Unless James is talking about silver or red maple.  Generally speaking less dense woods such as black walnut are considered “mellower” because they do not ring as long as harder ones (i.e. sapele or maple) and more vibrations are absorbed in the wood.  But that’s just a very rough guide.  Figured woods sound distinctly different from their non-figured counterparts of the same species.

Then there’s the creme de la creme of bog willow which is softer than maple but with inter-locking grain and a very bright ring……but let’s compare ring to tinkle.  The latter is usually the result of strings that are too thin and short and/or the SB is too narrow.

That is one reason that small (nylon) harps sound tinkly: the maker just “cut the range down” from his larger model without increasing the vibrating surface.

Biagio

[randal]

(Please pardon me for interjecting – but thank you Biagio for expounding on some aspects such as woods – I typically don’t read the tech stuff that goes by as it’s mostly more detail than I’m wanting at the time..  while I’m mostly ignorant on the chemical analysis, I’m intimately involved with them – as are we all.  Thanks again – R)

I may have missed it if it’s been mentioned – are the kilcoys maple?  The pics I’ve seen appear to be –

[Biagio]

LOL Randal, I try to save the tech stuff unless it’s requested and often the real answer would be “it depends”…how one plays, the rest of the design, the specific tree (tight growth rings or not) and ya dee ya dee.  Anyhow, you are welcome! Yet, alas, see below…..

The Kilcoy is “sycamore” which in Britain means a kind of maple species, Acer pseudiplatanus.  In the US “sycamore” usually refers to  is an entirely different genus and species (Platanus occidentalis).  “Platanus” translates as “planetree”.

Biagio

[randal]

Ah sycamore.  (My familiarity with it is as a generally economical ‘substitute’ for cypress in flamenco guitars).

 

(Lol, there must be something wrong with us – talking about harp wood instead of watching football on tv! ; )

[Elettaria]

James uses soft maple, which apparently looks darker than hard maple (good good) and I think is meant to sound warmer?

The Kilcoy comes up to the bottom of my ear. How does it work with stands, is the harp strapped in, so to speak, and then you tilt the whole thing? I might try an Ardival Rose at the next festival, if they have stands set up, to see if I can get comfortable with that size and shape of harp.

And yep, I know, I plan  to make friends with the Kilcoy first and see where I am in a few months. I was thinking that I’ll delay sending it in for repair for a few weeks, otherwise I am harpless while we spend ten days at my partner’s next week. Unless we can figure out a spot to park the Starfish, but it’s a very small flat.

[Biagio]

Hmmm. Well there are a number of maples some harder than others.  I suppose though he means either white maple Acer sacharinum or red maple, Acer rubrum.  Neither as hard as sugar maple aka “rock maple”, Acer saccharum.

There are of course many kinds of stands but the one in the picture is like a folding desk artist’s easel – more robust of course.  Basically a large triangle with two rear legs.  The harp base rests on a lip that can be raised or lowered and/or angled.  If the harp has holes in the rear you can clamp it to the stand.  If it does not have access holes – i.e. a closed back – you can either take the harp off when finished playing or make a strap – though the later is not as secure.

Of course dimensions are optional, but the ones I and my friends here use  are 30″ maximum length and the legs are spread apart 12″.  Of course how high from the floor depends on the angle you choose and how high you set the base lip.  For instance with my maple harp (35″ from base to knee) I set the angle so that the strings are perpendicular to the floor – with the stand at about a 45 degree angle – and the knee is 41″ above the floor.  I set the lip at a slight angle to the right for right shoulder playing. With that setting I don’t have to tip anything, just pull my chair up.

Laurie Riley sets hers differently for her Caswell Bard and does tip it back;  Nan Pardew likes it a bit higher for her Avalon.  All have access holes so we just keep the harps clamped to the stand instead of laying them flat on their backs when not playing.  The Bard has a “bump” at the base like the Ardivals and Folcharps so the lip has a gap, bridged by a bar of steel.  Since the Avalon has a curved base there’s a mirror-matched insert glued to the lip for Nan.

I1 all seems kind of fancy, but I designed these things to work on almost any small harp and to fold for travel.  You can make it much simpler for your specific instrument.  Forget the folding part, predetermine the desired angle and fasten the rear legs permanently.  Takes up more space that way of course but beats piling up books on top of boxes.

A complete description and instruction for making them is in the Spring 2015 Folk Harp Journal – you can order that from the archivist, Jerry Brown, at Musicmakers’.

PS I don’t make this  stuff anymore, ha ha.

Biagio

[Elettaria]

The Starfish student harp is here!  Lovely people at the Clarsach Society, and of course thanks to my friend for taking me.  It’s just over a year old, walnut, looks and sounds very nice indeed.  It feels great to play, too, and is so different from the harps I rented before (from very dodgy people).  The cat is wandering around it, sniffing suspiciously at it and the case. Thankfully she never lays a paw on the instruments, and usually lies nearby to listen while I play.

For once in my life, I think I’ve found a harp that’s a bit short for me, at least with my usual stool (which is 38cm high, preferably with a decently padded cushion on top), so right now it is sitting on a couple of big heavy dictionaries, and I will need to fine-tune the height and then figure out what to put it on.  Should I get Jewsons (local timber merchant) to cut me a block big enough for it to rest on, both upright and tilted?  It’s looking like 2″ is the height I need to raise it by.  I haven’t got it quite right yet, I’m getting a bit stiff and achy playing it, but it’s late and we’re going to bed soon, so I’ll fish out my various cushions and sort it out properly tomorrow.

[Author]

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