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I was told by a couple of people that they don’t sound as nice as gut strings, but I’ll try out the nylon ones.
When I was younger, I watched the Aristo Cats and the female cat plays the harp. I thought it sounded and looked really beautiful (even as a cartoon :D). Then I saw all those paintings with chrubs with harps and then one day, a lady played the harp at my school.
I have finally decided that I’m going to do what I want and not live my life regretting not starting it 😀
Thank you for your encouragement everyone! It was interesting reading about your experiences.
I finally had a lesson! I’m so excited about getting a harp to practise with. My teacher is going to help me find one next week. Yaaaaay! I’ll get a lever harp that is gut strung- probably second hand. I’ll probably spend around £1000-1400. I’ll keep saving money though incase I decide I want a pedal harp in a few years time.
So excited! Can you reccommend anything to practise in the mean time? I could look at string diagrams and learn the notes. Plus I need to improve my music reading, but is there anything else?
Can’t wait! I can’t believe I’m finally going to learn!
Thank you so much everyone for your further replies!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who will start late. It seems that most people do start when they’re older. Probably because of the cost.
Well, I’ve been practising the keyboard to get used to reading music, but I’m now focusing on learning the notes. For example, learn what each note is on the music score, and be able to press the corresponding key. I have a music theory book for grade 1-5, but have stopped reading it for a bit while I learn the notes.
Would this help with learning to play the harp much?
I’m starting to prefer the idea of a lever harp now, because I think ‘harpy’ music sounds better than classical music on the harp. The pedal harp is nice, but I think classical music sounds better on the piano than on the pedal harp, so I might just learn to play both. What do you think? I have no experience, so I may be wrong.
I saw the event mentioned on the Pilgrim Harps homepage:
http://www.pilgrimharps.co.uk/
“27th – 29th Jul
London & South East Clarsach Society Harp Festival”But ‘Harp Festival’ was on a second line, so I read it as a separate event, but now I think it’s part of the Clarsach Society festival. I guess the only harps would be Clarsach…
I was in London today and had a look in a harp shop. They’re so pretty!
If I do have lessons and still want a pedal harp, I think I will just save for one while studying music. Some people save for cars, but I want to save up for a pedal harp 😀
Thank you, again.
Towards the end of July is a harp festival, in London, so I’ll try to make that.
How would you know what’s a good make though? I tried searching on Google, but no website mentioned this.
Are harps difficult to sell, and with 34 strings could you play piano music?
There is some music I would like to play that I could not find for the harp. Eventually, I would like to be able to play chart music, or sound tracks and you’re more likely to find the piano sheets for those.
Thank you again, and thank you Tony, for typing so much information.
I am leaning towards the pedal harp as it gives more choice in music. I love music on celtic haps, but it would be more fun to have a wider choice.
Tacye, you’re right lol. It is £83 a month. I thought it did seem too good to be true…
How long did you all hire for before deciding which harp to buy? If you choose one, you might find out later that you need a harp with more strings. With the cost of harps, it’s such a big decision.
If you buy from a good company, with the cost of buying a harp, I would expect that all of them sound good, so the main factor would be the number of strings?
Sorry for all these questions. I could wait to ask my tutor when I get one, but I’m too excited. I hope I get a job soon!
Thank you again for your replies! Sorry, I don’t have time to respond to them individually, but I appreciate every reply.
Following your advice, I have started practising on the keyboard. I’m following a children’s book which goes through the basics and basic music theory.
I thought that the pedal harp would only be needed if you’re playing in the orchestra, but if the lever harp limits what you can play, I may steer towards the pedal. I was planning to treat myself when I get my first full-time job, so I could save up for a pedal while renting.
However, considering the cost of buying a harp, what is the reason for not simply renting? I did a quick search and a pedal harp can cost around £4000, but you can rent one for three months from Pilgrim for £55. It would take about 18 years until the cost purchasing a harp becomes better value for money.
It’s okay that I wouldn’t appreciate piano music on the harp as much as harp music. I might continue to teach myself the keyboard.
Wow thank you again for such informative responses. I’m really grateful for all of your replies.
I’ve been looking on Youtube at harp music and everything sounds so nice- even beginner music.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to choose which harp to play lol. I love celtic music, but would also love to be able to play piano sheet music (as some sheets you can only get for piano). It seems that a lever harp is more suited for celtic music, but a pedal is more suited for classical. However, I would like to play both :p.
Sorry, I’m very uninformed. I’ve never touched a harp before. I’m just too excited. You can hire them from a manufacturer in London for £55 over three months with £100 deposit and if you decide to keep it, you just pay off the rest.
Sara, we do sound alike! lol.
That was really good advice. I still need to do more research into harps though. I will have to do everything slowly as I need to do some job hunting, but when I decided today that I would just go ahead and learn to play the harp, I felt so excited. That ‘Style 100’ harp you have on your blog is so lovely! Thank you for posting your blog. I’ll keep an eye on it and read through it tonight.
I was wondering why the harp isn’t very popular. There’s only one tutor in my area. My Mum knows her though. She played at my school a few times apparently. Is it because you would only have one harp in an orchestra, as opposed to many violins?
Thank you, Catherine, Angel and David for your replies!
I wouldn’t have the confidence to join a choir lol, but if I ever get decent at the harp, maybe I could play at church (if they would want one).
I played the violin when I was younger and loved it at first, but became bored after a while. It was only fun when there was a piano to accompany it, but the harp sounds lovely even on it’s own. I would still consider myself a beginner with reading music though, but at least it’s not from scratch.
If you practise on one type of harp, is there a learning curve when switching to another? I won’t buy a harp immediately. I would want to have some lessons and rent one first.
David, was the harp your first instrument, and do you think starting at 23 gave you enough time to progress?
