Lever harp question

[Sylvia]

I’m a pedal harpist, so I’m ignorant about levers and wondered about this. I thought levers were always changed with the left hand, but I saw a video where the harpist reached over the top of the harp with her right hand to change a lever up near the top. Is that a common practice?

[Angela Biggs]

When the LH is doing too much to leave the strings long enough for a flip, but the RH is readily available, it makes sense to use the RH. The more complex the music, the more likely it is to happen. It’s easiest to do in the upper range of the harp.

[tony-morosco]

Yes, I do it, but I would think your ability to do it depends on how low the note is and on the construction of the levers. I have seen some older levers that I wouldn’t want to try it on, but most modern levers move easily enough and have a big enough lever to grab easily from over the top of the harp.

If the string is too low, however, you may not be able to reach it comfortably.

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