small Celtic harp

[ac-spyrou]

Hello, I’m new here and to harp playing as well(I haven’t played one yet!). I’m looking for a small harp I could take with me to a park/nature trail. I really like the size and sound of this harp on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoNb3_6TvqU

Anyone know where I can find more information on that harp? I found it by searching “Celtic knee harp”
Also, any suggestions on small harps to play Celtic music on would be very much appreciated.

Thank you and I love this site! : )

[randal]

Greetings and welcome to the harp!

The harp in the youtube clip is a wire-strung clarsach–and looks to be of a traditional design (carved sound box from a single block of willow or similar wood). There are significant differences between wire- and nylon-strung harps–both in construction and playing technique. These are also fairly hard to obtain–but becoming more readily available with the recent increasing interest in wire harp

In the US: Ardival, Witcher, Triplett, others

There is also Muis Dreamsinger n California–who builds more affordable models, and offers a small, lap-size model as well

[sheri-wildt]

The topic is a little older, but if you are new to harp, I would suggest avoiding wire strung at first. They sound awesome but are harder to play….very rough on your fingers! It’s also harder to learn on a lap harp than a floor harp because the strings can be spaced closer, and you have to worry about balancing it on your lap while also looking at music/paying attention to hand position/looking at strings, etc. I started out wanting a lap harp and my teacher talked me into a floor harp, albeit a small one. I’m very glad she did!

Depending on what quality you want, you can get a decent small floor harp for not that much more than a good lap harp. I started on the Stoney End Briar Rose and a year and a half later, I just now feel like I could transition to lap harp. Nylon strung will be easier for learning and once you feel like you are ready, then move to wire strung.

If you really want a lap harp to start with (and some people do just fine starting with them!), and want to keep it inexpensive but still get a quality harp, try a Harpsicle. They are very nice, if not somewhat modern looking. If you want to spend a bit more and want different wood options and a more “celtic” look, Stoney End has a few and they have a crazy good rent to own option so you don’t have to pay all the money up front. Triplett also has two smaller harps that seem to be a good quality and also have a rent to own program. I’m considering either the Brittany from Stoney End or the Christina from Triplett.

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Sheri! (from another Sherri),

Glad to hear you like the sound of the wire harp too! I’m a wire harp player (exclusively, don’t play nylon) but I’d like to make one gentle correction to your above comment “but are harder to play….very rough on your fingers!” Actually, wire harp is no harder to learn to play than nylon-strung when you’re starting out. It’s just a different technique is all. And it would indeed be hard on your fingers if all you did was play with your pads! So normally, we play with our nails. The strings are of course, spaced closer together to accommodate this.

I’ve written a tutorial about this on my website at: http://sherrimatthew.com/wordpress/. Please see the entry, “Wire Harp Technique: Playing with Nails” for a discussion of this. Also, wire harpist Ann Heymann has written two very accessible books for the beginner and they are what I learned on. Not hard at all! Please see:
http://www.clairseach.com for further info about her and her writings.

For the original poster, there’s lots of options out there, Here’s one more for you to consider! Sheri does make a good point about starting on nylon and moving to wire. I did in fact do just that and I think it worked out well for me, because there was the cost issue to consider. However, I had to remain mindful of what my goals were the entire time and know when it was time to change – technique issues and so on. Hope this helps!

[sheri-wildt]

Hi Sherri,

Thanks for setting me straight! I didn’t know that about wire harps. I have fiddled with a few and tried to use my finger pads and it was rough, so it’s nice to know you use your nails so it wouldn’t hurt. I do love the sound of wire harps, and actually started playing the harp after watching someone play the cláirseach. When I went to my first teacher, she quickly set me off the idea of a lap harp at all and wanted me to start on the floor harp. For me, floor harp was probably a better choice as I needed “easy as possible” to begin. I do know that some people pick a lap harp up, however, and have no problem at all with it. I’m not as instrumentally inclined so I need all the help I can get. 😉 I’ve been taking lessons for a year and a half and I’m still playing Hot Cross Buns just to work on my technique!

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Sheri!

No worries… all part of the learning! 🙂 My wire harp is actually a floor harp, but I might get a smaller lap wire harp in a year or two. Portability is nice. I’ve got a cart to move my harp around, even if I just want to go outside on a nice sunny day and play outside for a bit and work out a few arrangements… At the moment I load him on the cart and buckle him in, then go for a roll down the stairs. You can see some pics and read a bit about my harp here: http://www.sherrimatthew.com/harp.html.

Hot Cross Buns? 🙂 Don’t think I know that one. That’s ok. Variety is fun, if you can work it in. Might help to bring your technique up to speed, trying a bunch of different pieces. Do you think you might be headed for cláirseach eventually? I always like to see more people taking that instrument up and doing new stuff with it.

[randal]

Like Sherri, I play wire harp exclusively. Although I started on nylon–pretty much the same factors as Sherri: I knew for many years it was wire harp that I wanted to play, but for a variety of reasons–it took me years to commit, and more years to acquire one

I have two Triplett wire harps–floor and lap

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Randal, I know all about that path! 🙂 How are you enjoying your lap harp?

When I started on nylon, I actually studied wire technique on it. Strange, but true. So I worked out of the books, did the damping thing, although the long ring time wasn’t there for me to hear it, grew my nails, all of that. The problems began when I needed a higher string tension for some of the techniques that demanded a bit of speed. The nylon was just too floppy and I couldn’t get out of the way in time for anything to happen. At that point I had to make a decision to invest in a real wire harp. It took six months for Triplett to build my Luna and while I waited, I kept up my studies as best I could on the nylon, but I’d really hit a wall there. When my new harp arrived, my technique really took a big jump forward, because it was suddenly so easy to do it on the real thing. Like the difference between running fast in sport shoes and bedroom slippers, if that analogy helps! LOL!

[randal]

Thanks Sherri–my small harp is really great for its size. I should probably not say, however, that it’s a lap harp–as it’s really too large for the lap, and holding it so is very cumbersome

[Sherri Matthew]

Hey Randal,
Which model did you get? I see on their web site they have the Avalon 26 and the Irish 25. Sorry to hear it’s a bit much that way. That could cause some discomfort in the long run, hopefully nothing serious. Did you come up with any playing work arounds to deal with that? btw, I’m thinking of going with Argent Fox for my next wire harp… will be a lap harp, but double strung! 🙂

[randal]

I have the 25. I wasn’t looking for a lap harp, necessarily–I acquired it used, but I do occasionally play it in my lap (and even in bed–lying under it : ). I did pursue a strategy to mitigate having to find a stand/chair or whatever for it…I got the 50″ floor model ; )

Double-strung wire? wow!

[Sherri Matthew]

Irish 25 is still a bit awkward? Will have to take a look at their measurements and compare them to Argent Fox’s. You’ve got me thinking now! (and that’s a good thing). I see their Irish 30 is about 50″ tall.

Yes, I’ve been wanting to do multi-rank wire for a long time, but not until my technique was up to it. This would let me do echoing effects, among other things. My husband was teasing me about how I was going to keep that thing in tune! (and he’s a musician too).

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