Move the harp into the car alone

[Emily Rose]

I’m curious if people use to move their pedal harps into the car alone.
I’m a bit new to this, and I always use to ask a friend for help when
I’m moving my harp. But I wish to learn how to do it alone. Do you feel
it’s safe enough to move the harp alone? I’m scared it’s to heavy for
me, and fear that it will fell or I will loose it.

[susan-ash]

Why don’t you practice getting it into the car with someone at the ready should it start to go south.

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

The first time I moved my pedal harp I had my husband just walk alongside of me. I didn’t want him to do anything…..not hold the door, not open the car….nothing. I just wanted him there as a spotter incase. Everything went fine, and from that time on I move it alone.

[kreig-kitts]

Loading my pedal harp was excruciating the first few times I did it. With practice it got much easier and now I can load it relatively quickly. Of course it’s quite heavy, but you eventually get a feel for the harp’s balance and know where to hold it and how to get it into your vehicle. A friend can still be very useful, especially if it’s someone who’s helped you before. I’ve found that you shouldn’t give a friend too complex a task if they’re not familiar with it.

Generally I will lay the harp in and ask them to help push it from the base once I’ve gotten it in. This is a fairly straightforward task, easy to explain to someone who’s never done it, and it can be helpful since I can focus on guiding the harp in at the best angle for the car and keeping it from bumping anything sticking out. Also, on the few occasions I have to load it on the column, that’s a huge help since keeping it upright until it’s all the way in takes a good bit of effort, and outsourcing

[Sylvia Clark]

I’ve moved my pedal harps by myself for 30 years.

[Gretchen Cover]

Check out http://www.youtubecom..

[kreig-kitts]

Just don’t ask that Joaquin guy in Portland to help you load your harp.

[Tacye]

It depends on the car- but with most the tricks I find are to never lift the harp off the ground so you are never taking all the weight; make sure you are lifting, and lowering, from the knees – don’t try to use your back or arm muscles; and make sure you have a good grasp- for instance my base cover has a hole in the middle so I can reach in to hole the wood of the harp rather than risking lifting by the base cover which could come off.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

The best way I’ve seen yet comes from Virginia Flanagan. You position the harp at the gate/back door/flap, sideways. Get between the harp and the car and lay it on your lap. Then you can slide out from under the harp and gently transfer its weight onto the car. You then have to lift up the base and slide the harp into the car. So, you need a surface on which it can slide. You can lay a mattress on top of a plastic sheet, or put a plastic cover on your mattress. The harp needs to lay on its side so it is fully supported all the way around the frame, and fully cushioned from the bumps and shakes of driving. Do not skimp on padding. The padded cover is not enough. You can get a large piece of foam rubber to put on the plastic or plywood sheet that you slide in and out of the car. Do not slide the harp in and out with only the cover to protect it. You may damage the wood and the cover. Carpeting is not enough. You can use many cushions or pillows, but that is messy. I think you would need at least two layers of exercise mats, but I think they are not enough protection.

[Abby Kent]

I use 2 small plastic

[kay-lister]

I bought 2 large orthopedic dog pads (about 6 inched thick each) from PetSmart.

[niina]

This is how I do it. We have an estate car (5 door) where the back door opens upwards.
Open the car’s back door. Always keeping one hand on the Harp in case of strong winds. Place the Harp about 1.5 meters away from the car, allowing room not to hit the back door above you when dropping the harp down. Make sure there are plenty of blankets and cushions in the car for support and padding. Get 3 or 4 cardboard rollers (the type you get in the centre of a roll of material, not too big. About 5-6cm diameter) and place them inside on the floor of the car, near the back edge. Lower the top end of the harp so that it rests about 30-40cm inside on the the rollers. Go around to the back of the Harp and lift up the base and push it in as it rolls on the rollers. Then pad and pack to your hearts content.

If you have another passenger in the back, keep one back seat up for them, lowering the other two, and then lift the column edge of the Harp to a 45 degree angle and rest it on the side of the single seat with a cushion under it at the point of contact. Then pack all around. Your passenger can then put one hand on it for extra support.

[nadav-kon]

In a workshop I did yesterday I showed how to pick up a harp with little effort.
The doubting audiance said that it is easyer for a man to do that but 5 minutes later two scrawny girls lifted OUR harps up in the air. It is all about the technique!!!

Lifting a harp

Lifting a harp2

Ayelet’s String

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