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Hi Jacob,
Here are a few thoughts based on what you have written:
1 – “What should I get” questions are always welcome to harp enthusiasts!
2 – Size is the limiting factor with that C-below-middle-C limitation. If a harp is to have good tone the lower you go the longer the strings must be.
3- For back packing then you will be looking for something at most the size of Dusty Strings 26 – which fits in a case made for back packing. So you might consider the Ravenna 26.
4 Such uses can be hard on a harp, so you probably don’t want something that you mind getting dinged once in awhile. That suggests to me the Ravenna or one of the Harpsicles – or a small used harp.
5 – Lovelands are fine levers but they can get knocked out of alignment more easily than Truitts or Camacs.
6 – Given some of your intended uses besides outings, consider the traditional bard’s harp – a wire strung. Some come with sharping blades rather than levers; most people just tune to G or C, transposing or retuning if needed.I started briefly with a pedal harp, decided I preferred a lever one and have graduated to the wire strung, so there’s a bit of bias there. Sort of a historical reversal LOL. A more traditional instrument as I said, and the nature of wire is such that they have a lower frequency than nylon or gut for a given vibrating length.
I have two at the moment, and two lever harps – I don’t find the lack of levers limiting on the wire strungs. Actually I would be willing to sell one of them and the price is right (about $600), but it may be a bit taller than you would want (about 36 inches). It will fit in a DS 26 case though.
Getting back to my “lower frequency” observation as an example: the lowest string on that is a G2 (97.99 Hz). If I strung it with gut or nylon that low string would have to be be a full octave higher (G3/196 Hz).
Another possibility would be the Music Maker Limerick kit. It can be strung with nylon or steel – or if you want to really go trad. with brass or bronze several steps lower. The Limerick is a bit heavier than it might be, but many bardic types like it for it’s size.
Hope that helps!
Biagio
Hi Carol,
The short answer is “Yes within reason.” You may have to replace some other strings to keep the action and tension where they are designed to be. Some levers might also have to change.
One example: I decided to drop the range on my 34 string two steps. So now the lowest note is an A rather than C. Contact your harp maker and a string maker to work out what is most feasible.
Biagio
Hi Circulus,
Looking up teachers in the area is a very good idea; quite often they have student rentals and while they may not wish to sell them, they might – and at least will be happy to let you interview and try them out.
Carl Swanson – a member here – has a fine reputation as a performer, harp maker, and teacher – he is located in NY. I’d get in touch with Carl first of all.
Another teacher I recall is an East Coast dealer as well for the Rubarth Merlin (an excellent lever harp); I will try to look up her name.
If you are willing to wait a little it would be a very good idea to attend the Somerset Harp Festival in Parsippany NJ coming up in July. You would meet many many harpers and they always have a huge vendor exhibition as well. Here is the vendor list:
http://www.somersetharpfest.com/exhibitors.html
One of my friends has said that she will be there offering a slightly used Sligo Luchair; there are usually others with used harps to sell.
Other “showroom” type possibilities would be the Virginia Harp Center showroom in Philadelphia and the Harp Connection in Salem MA.
Best wishes,
BiagioOK here are some thoughts for you to consider:
First off it would probably not be a very good idea to buy a used harp at this stage unless you are able to examine it with an experienced harpist, who has a good understanding of design. Some things that may be problems might not be evident to an inexperienced eye.
All sound board materials will have unique sounds, which are somewhat dependent on the strings as well. Carbon fiber does sound different from spruce, certainly; the question is “does the sound please you?” You should be aware however that other materials than these two are often used in qulaity harps: redwood, cedar, basswood, mahogany, yellow poplar and high grade laminates to name just a few,
Most people recommend at least 26 strings to begin learning but a larger issue (pardon the pun) is whether it is a floor or a lap harp. The latter is difficult to control unless you have a floor stand.
The more strings the merrier maybe, but price increases quickly beyond 26 – not just in terms of the strings themselves but for levers (which can be 10%-20% of the cost for a 36 string harp.
I would not say that 38 strings are any more preferable than 36 and there are some fine harps in the 33-34 string range. $2000 is about the lowest you will pay for a good harp new or used with the exception of what you will find in a kit. Some possibilities in your price range would be the Dusty Strings Ravenna 34, Music Makers Voyageur, Blevins Evensong 34 (a bit over the cost limit), and the Stoney End Lorraine.
A question to ask yourself: what kind of music do you intend to play most and will you be taking lessons? The answers should help you decide on a specific model.
Best wishes,
BiagioSaul makes a good point. One should adjust oneself to the harp and not the other way around. Unlike a pedal harp, lever harps are not designed to “tip back and rest lightly on the shoulder.” It’s one of the most common frustrations I see when going from one to the other.
If your lever harp rests lightly against your thigh, however, it should be quite stable even if you play with a lot of force. But that will require some slight modifications in posture and technique which we may not wish to do.
Biagio
Shoshanna, I was not addressing your remarks directly, so sorry if you took it that way. People join groups for various reasons, and groups are set up for varying purposes. If the group owners are responsible they will be clear about the purpose, and the rules that go along with them. By the same token, members or prospective members are reasonably expected to understand the purpose and rules and abide by them.
We are very clear in my group that we act in effect as a harp circle and require similar attitudes. You would not expect scores in a circle to be copied and circulated without permission (copy right violation) for example, or for a teacher to join the circle just to pick up more students, or for a producer to join solely in order to hand out flyers of their product. All of those might be perfectly acceptable in some other group.
We are happy to pass along information but we are not a vehicle for promotion and we’re pretty clear about that. The Grossi question is a bit tricky legally, as well as ethically. It is not an authorized translation (i.e. approved by the original’s publisher) but a private one, therefore created and made available under “fair use” theory. If, however, it were to be taken, copied, and distributed that would make the translator and the group liable for legal action.
We really don’t want that, so we have tried to solve the problem this way: if someone just wants that translation, we used to direct them to the translator. Unfortunately, she has passed away.
We expect prospective members to read the guidelines which we provide, and if they do not intend to abide they should not ask to join. I resent it when they do that – and it does happen, believe me.
Biagio
You really do not need a translation except for the discussions on technique, and even there not so much if you have been studying under a teacher or using some other standard reference. One of the more recent ones (and it is excellent) is “On Playing the Harp” by Yolanda Kondonassis.
Grossi is a classic in that it has one of the most extensive and orderly exercise progressions, so for that reason alone it is something every harpist should have on the shelf. Besides, as someone suggested, Italian is the language (still) of classical music.
There have been several translations made by private individuals, some of whom have shared their work with different forums. Those files are private, for members only, and therefore effectively copyrighted translations of a copyrighted book.
Speaking as an owner and moderator of one such group, I resent it when people try to join simply to get their hands on it, or any other work we have in our files. If that is their only purpose for wishing to join their application will be declined.
Biagio
Oh, thought: we’ve mostly mentioned artists in the Celtic style but there’s plenty of other music that goes great on the lever harp. Two personal favorites are shape note songs and Spanish/latin. You can most often pick the tune out by ear, but sheet music is also often available. Here are two from those genera: Adio Querida and Beach Spring:
Adio Querida is Ladino in a harmonic minor (sharp your melody octave fifth), Beach Spring is pentatonic.
If you would like a brush up specifically on Celtic styles it would be well worth buying Laurie Riley’s DVD “Secrets of the Celtic Style.”
Biagio
Hello there back,
Sure I can mention some of my favorites: Harper Tasche, Loreena McKennitt, Patrick Ball, Chris Caswell, David Michael, Marta Cook for a start. But as good or better idea I think would be to connect or re-connect with that very large and diverse community. For instance, join the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen, the Yahoo! groups Virtual Harp Circle and HarpList (which have a lot of harp lovers of all persuasions). Perhaps attend conferences and gatherings – Somerset and the South East Harp Weekend.
Best wishes and see you around,
Biagio
A bit off topic but since it has been mentioned: if those wound N/N strings have been correctly measured the winding should not pass over the bridge pin, which is where they usually get smooshed and unravel. Unfortunately that often happens unless the harp maker has made the strings himself (professionally string makers do their best but they cannot know how much the SB will belly up – which may be 1/2 inch or more).
As a precaution I always coat the last inch or so of the winding with super glue at both ends and have never had one “birdcage” since I started doing that. I dislike N/N for other reasons: it can be slippery, sometimes too thick for good articulation where an alternative would be thinner and better.
Gut or FC may be a good solution, or bronze or steel core with fiber bedding depending on the desired tension and tone. Fiber core with silver or bronze wrap is the best transition from gut IMO but it has it’s own quirks and is not cheap.
Biagio
Contact a professional string maker to ask if they have the specs on file. In the US you might try Markwood Strings or Robinsons Harp Shop. Either will want to know the vibrating length (sound board to bridge pin) of those strings – and preferably all the rest as well. They may have done this already, or they may have to run an analysis (that only costs about $15 and it is well worth it).
Sure, you can take a guess at the right size and buy some gut or fluorocarbon but that’s all it is (a guess) and will cost you perhaps $50 or more for those few strings.
We can’t help any further without knowing the vibrating lengths. However, I notice that the last two are steel core and six higher up nylon over nylon. It is doubtful that those bottom two could be replaced with gut or FC; some of the other six possibly.
Biagio
One quite economical way to understand the basics would be to build a kit AND (I emphasize “and”) analyze the string band, perhaps customizing if to you taste. We say that the strings are the soul of the harp and the sound board it’s heart. Making a solid wood board is a bit specialized (though you can also buy one), but understanding strings is almost pure mathematics and there are computer programs available. Some free.
There is one such kit of which I am very fond for this sort of thing; that is the Music Maker Voyageur. They offer three different string sets and some of us have come up with our own variations. MM also offers a free string analysis Excel spread sheet which is excellent. It’s the one I use (except for wire strungs). At least one person made a very slight modification to the pillar in order to accommodate a spruce sound board (which she bought rather than making it herself); I’ve heard that one and it is outstanding, easily rivaling some of the best out there in the $5000 range.
The kit costs $1295 US; a spruce sound board will set you back another $250 or so. Custom strings might be another $100 so not bad – about $1700 for a great harp. Levers of course will cost you extra – I suggest Truitts for the novice.
http://www.harpkit.com/category/voyageur.html
Biagio
I use Finale but have to say that it is SO rich that it can entail a lot of study to master. I hear better things about Sibelius, but have only passing acquaintance with that.
Scanning is a problem for any program. The software must interpret the image into digital sound. This is extremely complicated and frequently inaccurate. When I have done so with Finale I ended up going through the file and fixing things that just were not right. If you can find a MIDI file however that is a breeze.
Biagio
Dear Loonatik,
OK that clarifies things…if you just wish to see how a harp is built, with emphasis on the pedal instrument, Salvi offers a virtual tour of the factory and it is fascinating.
For a detailed discussion of building the lever harp from the ground up, take a look at Rick Kemper’s detailed description at http://www.sligoharps.com
There are other sources but Rick has done the best exposition for players as well as would-be makers IMHO. It may be an eye opener. Or an eye roller:-)
Having a more portable harp is certainly nice; on the other hand, if that is the main incentive, why try to build one? There are plenty of excellent ones at very reasonable prices out there.
Good wishes and please let us know how things work out!
Biagio
I strongly encourage any serious harpist to at least study their instrument’s design; the best way to understand that is to build one, preferably with professional guidance. Nor is it particularly important for most aspects whether you are a pedalist, lever harpist or even a clarsair (wire harper) – most of the technical principles of design are the same. Further, even if you prefer the pedal instrument there will be occasions when a lever harp is more convenient.
Not to mention the joy of ownership and being able to say “I made that!” when some one admires your performance. Whether you will actually play it is up to you. But to answer your question: I know many pedalists who own and play the lever harp as well. Some mainly as rentals student instruments, most who take engagements where a pedal harp would be impractical or at least onerous. At least two well known professionals of my acquaintance decided that they actually preferred the lever harp to the pedal – although both were very accomplished with the latter. As to size, a 36 might be a bit ambitious even in a workshop, but a 29 is entirely doable.
The question I would have is this: will the workshop cover principles of design, string theory, introduction to regulation, types of levers, perhaps pedal mechanism, characteristics of different tone woods etc.? Or will the presenter be mainly focused on the students banging out a pre-designed kit for what will probably cost more than the finished product is worth? The first I would say is definitely worth while whatever your preferred kind of harp, the latter probably not so much.
At the risk of offending anyone, I have to say that I have been struck by the dirth of technical understanding among players, relative to many other instrumentalists. Frankly I feel that some of the blame for that comes from harp makers ourselves: in an effort to protect our instrument from misuse we seem to have made it all appear a deep dark mystery. Aside from the pedal mechanism it really is not.
While it is true that a novice is unlikely todesign a good harp at the first attempt, I have seen a number who built excellent ones in guided workshops.
There are more than a few shibboleths running around the harp world: “you cannot replace nylon strings with gut (or vice versa)”, “the best harps are made with Sitka spruce sound boards”, “a lever harp is just a starter instrument” etc. etc. Actually understanding how a harp is made may dispel these quaint ideas – and perhaps make you a better player with a deeper connection to your instrument.
Biagio
