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Definitely try L&H harps if they work for you! They are just as reputable as the others. Again, do try to play them yourself to make sure that this is what you want, it’s simply not the same online.
Hello there!
I have never played Triplett but I feel that you’re asking yourself all of the right questions. And the good news is that you seem to want a rather stardard model so theirs plenty of choices.
First a great link that sumps up the basics :
Celtic HarperSecond, the name of a few reputable brands that have 34 + sting harp.
– Camac harp : French harper, good value for the price. I’m not sure where you live but you can easily find a few of their models for less than 3000$ fully levered
– Dusty Strings : the FH36 models have a great reputation
– Salvi harp : Italian harp maker, loved by those who also play the pedal harp in my experience. Again not sure of the price in the USAfter that I haven’t tried the brands but there is of course Triplett, Thormalen, Stoney End, Heartland Harps etc etc.
Definitely check all of their websites and have fun comparing what you want.
However, my recommendation is to find a way to play as many of them a possible before buying. Seminars and festivals are the best way to find a lot of harp makers and players together and peuple will often let you try out the harp. Videos and sound samples simple don’t give the most important part, which is : does that harp make you vibrate?Stunning!
Looking forward to that film, do keep us informed when it comes out 🙂It’s great that you had a historically-accurate harp to lend as well. That harp looks right at home in this setting.
Hello there,
I have one of those, though we call (plucked) “psaltry” or “psaltery” a from where I’m from. (as opposed to a bowed psaltry that you play with a bow). I’ve also heard it called “lap harp” because you lay it flat on your knees or on the floor.
It is quite different from the harp though, but fun for little kids.
Normally, when you bought the instrument, you should have had dotted “scores” in trapezoid form, that you can slip below the strings. The kid just has to follow the dots and pluck to create a nice melody.
I’ve heard that they were the ancestors of today’s music scores. Not sure if that’s true, but it makes a lot of sense.
My first advice to you it getting a bunch of those and getting your toddler to play around with that. You can find some online when typing “lap harp score”, I think. You could also make some yourself.
I like Biagio’s idea of tuning it to different keys. I’ll stop my suggestions here because I’m not sure how realistic I can be for a two year old!
Let her have a lot for fun with it and coordinate all of her senses. Learning the harp should come later.Hello Genevieve,
What is a baby harp? Is it a lever-less, 12 or 15-strings Celtic Harp?
Your title mentions the Celtic Harp as a whole : I feel that it is important to point out that the Celtic Harp is an instrument in and of itself, and not a toy prelude to the “real thing” (= the pedal harp). They belong to the same family of instrument, but the Celtic Harp is not a lesser harp. That would be like saying “playing the violin is much easier than playing the cello, because it’s smaller!”
If by “baby harp” you mean these Pakistani 12 or 15-string toy harps, I agree with Will-Weten : they are cute decoration but the sound tends to be horrible and there’s not much music you can do with it.
Some YouTube video, with pro harpist, get a sound out of them : but if you want to be able to play a little bit I would advise getting a larger harp. You can rent it out for a while, and see if you want to pursue with this instrument. With the harp, it very often it a case of “you get what you pay for”.
Definitely check out other posts on this forum, including one by Biagio that gives you an idea of the price it costs to make a harp.
Hello Annie,
Knowing the style you want to play is important to determine the kind of harp you want to buy. I feel like you’re looking at a lot of option but (correct me if I’m wrong) since you’ve never played the harp before, you’re basing yourself on blog posts here and there.
That’s a fine approach, but you have to understand that someone who plays classical music professionally in an orchestra is not going to say the same thing as someone who just wants to play for schoolchildren.
So I have two advice :
First, read and re-read this website : Celtic Harper – What Type of Harp Should I Get? (For beginners)
This link will tell you a lot about harp differences. Things to take into account first are : the price, the harp quality (no Pakistani) and whether or not you intend to move on to pedal/concert harp. You can read the page with a notepad, writing down what you want to find in a harp and what you don’t care about. Defining your wants and needs is the first step!Second, I would consider renting out a harp for a year or so. You seem convinced that you can play with a 27-strings harp but don’t seem to have a clear idea of what it would enable you do to, or not.
(like, why would I use an E#?)
This is an example : the thing is, you actually don’t know yet whether or not you’re going to need that E#. What if you end up using it often on your favorite melodies?
Hence, renting out a 34 or 36-string lever harp and taking a few lessons with a harp teacher is the way to go : you can build up a small repertoire and start seeing what kind of harp you would go on needing. Be honest as you can be with your teacher : it will be their role to advise you as well.
After renting out a harp for a while, you can then to a harp shop or harp show and try out dozens of harp and brands : only then will you know how many strings you prefer, if you want to play with gut or nylon or fluorocarbon, if Camac or Truitt is the way to go, etc. Your choice will be all the more informed.
In the long run, renting a harp is actually saving money : it’s much more expensive to buy new harps every 2 to 5 years when your tastes have refined or evolved, than giving back a harp you’re renting!
For most people, music isn’t about success, it’s about enrichment.
Couldn’t have phrased it better!
I too have started the harp as an adult, and what matters is the enjoyment of it.
I, too, was feeling a little self-conscious. I’ve asked my teacher the same thing : why would she teach beginners when there are child prodigies all around to be taught? She answered that she liked teaching adults a lot, they don’t take advice for granted and what to understand the method behind practice. This in turn leads her to reflect on her teaching and everyone grows with it.
As a side note, I’m comparing my progress with that of my boyfriend’s daughter who started the piano as I started the harp, as well as some cousins : and we progress quite similarly!
Now I’m sure that the malleability of kid’s brains means that she can pick up on things faster ; but she is also easily distracted and not always willing to sit down at the piano whereas being more mature, I know what it takes to progress.
(I also have the money to buy myself a harp and be aware of the investment : her parents spent quite a lot to buy her a decent electronic piano that is close enough to a real one, but they don’t really know if she’s going to stick with it).Like Biagio said, I’m a little puzzled at the idea that anyone taking up any instrument should want to be a pro virtuoso. Wanting to cook a few good meals doesn’t mean one has to embark on a quest to be the world’s greatest chef… And if it sounds absurd in cooking, it should be the same for music. One should play first and foremost for themselves, their own enjoyment! And if it leads you somewhere else (becoming pro for example), enjoy the ride!
Hello!
I actually do know of a few songs for 10-strings harp : Belgian harpist Marianne from the channel “Celticize Me and Jazz me Up” has composed a few for tiny harps and shares the sheet music for free.
She shows that it’s possible to play and compose actual melodies for such small. harps.. Though I personally think it doesn’t sound great, I love the efforts. Others here have given you great tips!
For a link :
Happy Villagers video andShe also does a great comparison of harps by price, playing the same tune on various sized and priced harps. harps only start sounding good at the 1000€ mark in my opinion… Here : Comparison harp prices
I would advise you to look into the harps that people mention above, for the very simple reason that playing on a “toy” harp will soon feel discouraging and you might never find yourself practicing, ever.
That was my experience with the plucked psaltry at least.Good luck anyhow!
If you live in Japan, definitely go for Aoyama. I know for a fact they make Celtic harps as well as pedal harps, I’ve tested at least two.
I’m sure they’ll be helpful if you contact them.Even if they had stopped making these models, I would look at the second-hand market : it’s a great way to get harps that are good quality and cheap(er), along as the owner took care of it. (And Japanese people usually take really good care of things).
Keep us informed of your search! 🙂
Hpn, it would help if we know which part of the world you live in. If you live in Asia, you could look into Aoyama harps? Very good quality but they might be expensive.
Great that everything turned out ok! And thank you for keeping us updated, it’s always important to know harp quality.
Furthermore, Aine tells me it’s usual for Celtic harps not to be branded. So I’m not worried about that anymore either
Not quite sure what you mean by that.
It’s true that I have seen few celtic harp smaller than 34 strings that have some kind of logo with the brand. For example, my FH26 by Dusty Strings does not have any exterior symbol marking it as Dusty (but there is the sticker inside the soundbox with the serial number). On their FH34 and FH36 though, they have pretty plaques with their logo, as you can see here :
So if this is what you mean by “branding”, I wound’t worry!
It’s interesting that you feel that this might not be the only harp you buy, just the first one. This could be a harp that one advises parents to buy for their child… when nobody is really sure if they will keep at it for the next 10 years, but that is still reasonably good quality so that the bad sound isn’t discouraging.
Harpe, thank you for the photos of the harps & harp stools.
I’m just wondering if the harps do not risk sliding off the stools : do you put felt or plastic mats on the stools to that they don’t slip? Or has this never been an issue?Hello all!
Wow, Veronika, love even the midi version of Dance of the Night and it seem to be about my level, so I think I’ll take a jab at it too!
Annie, you might want to look into Double-Strung harps if portability is a concern, and you still want to play a great range of music… There’s a sub-section on this forum called “Mine’s a triple” if you’re interested. Love the ukulele practice though 😉
On my music stand, I haven’t taken up any new pieces recently because of work starting again.
I’m polishing off a version of “Sally Gardens” that was a big piece to chew since I had to adapt it to a 26×2 strings double-strung harp. And I’ve taken a jab at the “Skye Boat Song” for double-strung by Carolyn Deal.I was thinking of picking up “Carol of the Bells” for double-strung, as well as Yiruma’s “River flows in You” for single, for which I have scores.
Actually, my problem is not getting the scores, it’s finding the time to practice!Furthermore, I’m adapting some French classics by ear to adapt with recorder. Takes me a lot of time by always very fun!
Hello Stardust,
Lost of questions here. You say that you have never played the harp before, so perhaps you have not been able to know what to look for in a harp. We need a lot more informations to be able to help you!
The first set of questions is :
Who is the seller?
Since it was shipped, what country do they sell from?
Is it a reputable brand?
What was the price range?
Have you been able to try the brand or the model out in any way before buying?How familiar are you with harps in general? Even perfectly good have can arrive with strings rather flat and take a few days to regain tuning as it adapts to the temperature etc.
However, you are right, harps are built to fit specific string tensions. Furthermore, it wouldn’t make any sense to just swap the last string from E (or A) to C, because you would have a gap in strings.
My gut feeling, by reading your post, is that you have bought a low-quality Pakistani harp which are famous for being almost unusable.
Basically, if the harp comes from Pakistan ; if you don’t know the seller or the brand by reputation, but only through a quick internet search ; if you’ve never tried the harp ; and if you’ve paid a really low price … Then you have bought a harp that is all but useless, because it cannot hold a tune, the levers are inadequate and good harpmakers will not repair it.
The price will vary by brand, but for a 27-strings harp you can’t go below $800 without levers and $1000 with levers. Good quality harps usually sell for much more than that.I might be wrong, and I hope that is the case.
If you can give us more indications, such as the brand and model of your harp, the link to the manufacturer’s website and photos of your harp, we might be able to help out!As an aside, this is a good website to check out before buying a harp in order to have the general sense of what to look for : Celtic Harper – What type of harp should I get?
