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Wil has made most of the comments that I might have, here are a few more:
To Wil’s last comment I would add “How much experience do you have playing and do you have access to a teacher?” I host a forum for beginners and that is the first question I ask when such a question comes up. Id est first find a teacher, then consider different harps with his or her guidance.
Even though a mid-to-high tension lever harp may be strung with nylon (such as the Dustys or Tripletts) there is no reason you cannot replace those with gut at the same tension. It’s a question of whether you want the firmer tactile sensation, mellower tone, and faster decay that gut offers over nylon. Of course the Dusty Boulevard already has gut at “concert harp tension.”
Any such harp from a known manufacturer will be well made, so I think it is more a matter of a) ergonomics and b) your budget.
Everybody’s body is different so the only way you will be able to compare will be to sit down at those you are considering and try them out. Personally if I were strongly considering moving up to a pedal harp I would want the lowest bass possible and go with the Salvi Ana. But that is a BIG lever harp so I would also be considering my skill lever, portability, etc. etc.
The more strings there are the more levers there will be and each one of those will add about $20 US to the cost for the lever alone not to mention the additional engineering involved for a larger instrument. Additional enhancements will of course add to that: decorative elements, fancy wood patterns, amplification, type of sound board, and so on. Most people will recommend a spruce SB but some excellent harps such as the Merlin and Boulding Concert Oran Mor use a high density laminate. Again you really cannot tell if something is right for you without trying it out.
Good wishes,
BiagioSome of those are definitely Pakistani, and I would not buy any harp based on price alone. Some people have had good luck with the smaller Paki harps but it should serve as a warning that no harp maker I know will agree to work on them if they break. As for levers….as Charles noted good ones cost the most on a decent harp – anywhere from $12 – $17 (retail), and a shoddy lever is worse than useless.
In addition to the harps that Charles suggested, let me add the Musicmakers kits. They are excellent entry level instruments, easy to put together, and you will save a lot of money in shipping.
Good luck!
BiagioWouldn’t it be easier and safer to just buy a box and padding from Dusty Strings? Sure, you have to ask them to ship the box to you but I’d bet they would be happy to. Their shipping boxes include packing instructions, and no, the case is not required, though you might as well.
Biagio
Good advice all, but the one I have to keep remembering:
“Do not practice any piece faster than the speed at which you can play the most difficult section perfectly.”
Cheers,
BiagioIt’s a bit like patting your head and rubbing your tummy isn’t it?
There are essentially three “issues” here:
-Pre-placing: your fingers should be where they need to be, especially in the LH before you strike – so slow down, and master the LH separately from the RH.
Counting: use a metronome
Patterns: your LH for the most part is your accompaniment hand and there are definite patterns – mostly some kind of chord. So try just playing that as an unbroken chord until your fingers are comfortable with the placement pattern.
Related: Your 19 is just too small to follow some of these patterns while also playing a melody. Your options are 1) buy a larger harp – minimum 26 strings 2) simplify the pattern (just play the root and a fifth or third) 3) master the pattern alone for practice (before getting a lager harp).
Previously we mentioned some other “teach yourself” sources, one being Bruner’s “Play the Harp Beautifully” which addresses this and other early issues. Wood’s is a classic but it was written when there were no other lever harp instruction sources. Many people found that it just goes too fast, so you are not alone.Biagio
That’s great of you to keep us updated Evolene!
A little historical background which may interest you and your teacher…the modern double strung harp was conceived in 1990 by Laurie Riley and Elizabeth Cifani, who approached their respective designers – Steve Triplett and Gary Stone. [side note: Triplett no longer makes doubles, Gary does]. There is some discussion still about whether the strings are better angled in to a single string rib (Stoney End’s design) or more widely spaced with two ribs as with Dusty, Rees and others.
The relative newness of the modern double perhaps explains in part why there are few makers and players as yet; usually they will only be made when someone orders one. Technically, a double is actually easier to make than a single since there is no lateral torque at the neck-pillar and neck-body joints. It does seem that interest is increasing recently; I see more and more people with small doubles as travel instruments. As of now, only Blevins and Rees make a 3 octave double, aside from individual crafts people.
Happy harping!
BiagioI would be very leery of just throwing on an existing string set – Roosebeck or any other – unless you are sure that it was built with that specific set in mind. You do not want to over power the soundboard with too much tension, nor to have crummy tone with one that is too low.
A good set of custom strings from a professional such as Vermont Strings or Markwood Strings (for e.g., both US firms) should not cost more than about $200, probably less. Why take a chance and possibly kill the instrument?
As Tacye suggests, start by measuring the existing strings for diameter and, let me add, for vibrating length. This will give a professional string maker what they need to know for a replacement set. Assuming that you know the maker’s name, they may even have the original specs on file.
Best wishes,
BiagioWil, ha ha yes; as I wrote, Dusty chose to lighten the string tension somewhat from that on their single. Ray and Sue are fairly conservative and also pretty canny. From a manufacturing view, it would make more sense to keep the double close to the same specs as the single – no extra strengthening such as braces or neck reinforcement – and just reduce the load a bit. I have to say, with considerable respect for the folks over there, that I personally would rather have higher tension but of course that would mean a greater expense. I’d also prefer zither pegs to through pegs but you can’t have everything. Well maybe one can, but now we’re getting into a custom design. Oh well:-)
Evolene, I forgot to mention this – now that you have your double, I suggest that you watch Laurie Riley’s Introduction to the Doulbe” on Youtue – and perhaps even order the book(s) and DVD. Both great!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMG9lZOwJdsBlessings all,
BiagioAn excellent question Jordan! I am sure that you will see many fascinating responses, many of them naming individual models/makers. I will do that too and but think it would be more useful to focus on some other things initaily. First off let it be said that no matter how extensive our musical knowledge may be, lessons are imperative early on to develop good harp technique. There are some excellent self-teaching resources out there but none of them can possibly replace an experienced teacher. In person lessons are preferable, but many fine teachers will also offer lessons via Skype or similar.
As we progress as harpists we often find that our needs and interests change; further, most if not all of the intermediate to advanced players that I know have at least two harps and most have more. So the question is: what might those be and which would be preferable to acquire first?
Assume we are attracted to orchestral music: we would want a fairly large high tension gut strung lever harp to begin with – Lyon and Healey, Salvi, Camac, etc. or even at the lowest cost a Dusty Boulevard. Eventually we would acquire a pedal instrument. This is obviously a significant investment.
Assume we prefer the lower cost and more limited chromatic ability of the lever harp. We would soon want a larger instrument: 4-5 octaves. The choices are many among good to excellent instruments, from kit harps to top end custom designs. We would probably also eventually want a smaller harp – your current 19 string to, let us say 22-26 strings. We might even branch out further to consider double strungs, cross-strungs or (as in my case) find that the wire strung grabs our interest.
Getting down to specifics and personal history…I got into harping by the back door, by designing and building harps. Now, I do not recommend this route for everyone but I do emphatically wish that harpists in general knew a great deal more about specifics such as wood choices, string theory, sharping devices, etc. That would save them a lot of time and money when evaluating instruments. Given what I know however, let me offer a few choices for larger instruments that will not break the bank at this point:
– Magical Strings 36 string concert Oladion/Oranmor: this is the choice of a renowned professional (Harper Tasche) for his outdoor concerts. While it does not have the nuances of higher end harps such as Dusty Strings FH series, Camac, etc. it has a big voice, and is relatively inexpensive.
-Dusty Strings Ravenna 34 – also an excellent lower cost harp.
-Music Makers 33 string Voyageur kit with upgraded custom strings. An easily built, fine harp, that is used by some teachers as a rental instrument; but the tension is erratic in the lower mid. If you should consider this, contact me off list for an upgraded string design.
As you think about the many suggestions you will receive, try to attend as many gatherings as you can to try out as many different models as you can. First, though, find a teacher and rely on their personal guidance.
Best wishes and welcome to the harp world!
BiagioOn the comfort issue:
-First, one should not rest the wrist on the harp’s side. Touching it lightly is OK, but actually resting it there is a good way to injure both nerves and tendons.
-Second, a pedal harp is designed to be balanced when tipped back; lever harps are not. A lever harp’s knee should not rest on your shoulder; rather, rest the harp against your inner thigh. At most it should just lightly touch the shoulder.
I don’t know if this is the case with your teacher, but I have observed that some whose total experience has been with pedal harps or pre-pedal ones have some misconceptions about the lever harp. This is understandable, but can lead to difficulties. For one example aside from posture, since the nylon lever harps strings are more elastic, playing with the same force as on gut may lead to poor tone and even injury EVEN IF THE STATIC TENSIONS ARE THE SAME.
To quote Marta Cook: “Adjust the harp to your body, not the other way around.”
On volume: the double is wider than the single and while that does not give more effective vibrating surface to the SB (the area between rows is acoustically muted) it does make for a larger acoustic chamber.
On wood: yep that is bubinga. Dusty does not reinforce the neck on their doubles (I asked Ray to be sure), and they feel that walnut would not be sting enough to support the doubled tension. Hence your choices of bubinga, maple, or cherry.
On tuning: haha, same as with a wire strung – tune one string and the adjacent ones go out, until the harp has stabilized. Just keep at it and it will hold tune after a little while.
Cheers,
BiagioOk, here you are…I’ve played both the Dusty and Rees doubles as well as having made two models myself. First a word on acclimatizing your eyes and so on:
-It took me a week or two getting used to seeing two strings where I was used to seeing one. However, just like a single, when your hand position and placement is good this becomes less of an issue. Flipping levers on the RH side also requires hand rather than eye motion: place the finger on the string for the flip and then slide it up to the lever. No big deal.-As for tension: some makers, like Dusty, will use essentially the same body and SB as their single, so they lighten the tension somewhat – others will design for the double specifically. I calculated the tension of the FH2x26 – most of the difference is in the last four strings and is not noticeably lighter than on the single. Only your fingers will know for sure whether this makes any difference to you.
Wil wrote: “I was interested once until I found out that the total string tension of the double is about the same as of the single strung harp it was originally designed for.” I think there is some verbal confusion here. The total tension PER ROW is slightly less than on a single; by about 50 lbs. if I recall (out of 675 or 7.5%). One should realize as well that a double has two internal string ribs, so it is not necessary to reduce tension per string very much, if at all.
-One thing not readily appreciated: there is more sympathetic vibration on a double so when you strike a string on one side the other will ring as well, which augments (enhances) the tone.
Have fun!
BiagioAs others have written, an instructor is very important initially – as I learned the hard way. That said, it is also important to understand a few things at the outset (I may repeat a few previous points):
– Hand positions and posture are critical to playing and enjoying what you play
– A lever harp and a concert harp are fundamentally different. However…..
– Books and videos for the latter are helpful for either kind: one of the best for a beginner is-
On Playing the Harp
by Yolanda Kondonassis
– For the former I recommend-
Play the Harp Beautifully Levels 1 &2
by Pamela Bruner. Be sure to get the DVDs as well.
Have fun!
BiagioThings like this turn up from time to time – typically (if elderly) individually made chamber harps; and as Tacye noted rather loosely strung like an arpa llanera. I agree it is not pretty, but then I’ve seen some beautiful looking harps that were useful for nothing but a lamp post. Made a few myself hee hee.
Biagio
You might take a look at jury rigging Camac’s hatness for the DHC Blue line. It looks complicated but really is not: just a body harness (similar to that used by a tree climber or SCUBA diver) with adjustable straps that connect to the knee and pillar. Some 2″ nylon webbing, a little Velcro and some buckles and you’re in business.
Biagio
