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Hello Brian – here beginneth your most fascinating journey! We’ve been discussing lately the differences between pedal harps (those big, usually gilded, ones you see in orchestras) and lever harps (the smaller ones like those you have linked to on YouTube, aka Celtic harp, Clarsach, Folk Harp) and I’m delighted to see a post from someone who is attracted to the latter. The lever harp is a wonderful instrument to play – large enough to feel solid but still small enough to move around and take to gigs or lessons without too much hassle. Also, the way you play it – by effectively wrapping yourself around it, makes it feel very intimate and personal.
As E NB says, the more strings you have, the more versatile your instrument but don’t forget this should also be weighed against the extra size and weight of the harp – the more strings, the less mobile. That won’t matter too much to many people but if you have any back or joint problems you will be limited by the amount of weight you can move by yourself. I have found it impractical to go for more than 34 strings for this reason but you may have a wider choice of anything up to 40 strings. Incidentally, in most cases the additional strings should come at the bottom of the harp – ie the bass strings.
Beware the cheap rosewood harps from parts of Asia – many of these look very good but they are primarily ornamental (see one buyer’s experience here (http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/Buying-a-HARP-from-abroad-Far-East-a-friendly-warning-/10000000002155526/g.html). A good-looking harp witha great tone is what you are aiming for but if you ever have to compromise then it’s voice rather than looks every time. Generally speaking, carving and decoration is not cheap so if the harp you are looking at has elaborate ornamentation but is cheaper than you would expect, there’s a good chance you are looking at a mass-produced ‘gift quality’ instrument and the money hasn’t been spent on playability.
When I was looking for my first harp I found huge amounts of advice on the web and I would recommend you take a look at the websites of some of the better-known harp suppliers (Lyon and Healy, Clive Morley etc) and some of the harp societies like http://www.celticharper.com, and http://www.enjoytheharp.com. Try to play and listen to as many harps as possible and be prepared to wait for the right one to come along. The search can, and should be, as much fun as the purchase. Good luck!
Thank you Susan! To be honest, they look a bit expensive for me at the moment (especially with shipping to the UK) but at least now I know where to look the next time I’m ready to splash the cash!
So tempting to get into the whole ‘so that’s where those tax exempt donations go!’ thing but I’ll try to resist.
If any more proof were needed about the ineptitude of these people it’s that they require you to show them their own correspondence. However, if you have copies of any of this then I would send it back to them with an explanation that you are a professional performer and would prefer to work with professional people; as others have already said, $750 is no compensation for an ulcer or a stress-filled Christmas so I’d say that, if you can afford it, you’ll be better off dumping these people post-haste. Make sure you keep copies of their letters and emails and this thread for future reference (because there will come a time in future years when you wonder if you over-reacted and whether it might be worth giving them the benefit of the doubt and another try).
Xmas is getting close but I guess there’s always a chance that when other organisations hear you are free they may still try to snap you up and it might be worth sending out emails to those organisations you turned down if you still have their details. I hope that will happen but if not you’ll probably still be better off if you just put this whole ridiculous incident behind you, learn from it re future contracts and deposits and have a happy and stress-free Xmas. I’d also suggest that on the date of the ‘extravaganza’ you plan something with your family that you will all enjoy – that way you won’t be sitting around thinking about the gig and the payment you are missing.
Elizabeth – those Anna Dunwoodie books sound interesting. Do you know where they can be obtained from? I’ve checked Anna’s website but she doesn’t give any information about them and I’d love to know more as my sight-reading definitely needs brushing up.
Leon, I’ve passed your details on to a friend in Cornwall who is an accomplished gilder and I believe he is contacting you any day now. Hope it helps.
Thank you for making me aware of both the factory and the harp museum in Piasco – I didn’t know either of those places existed. For many years my husband and I have had Italy on our list of places we’d like to re-visit before we’re too old and although we never went to that part of the country it’s suddenly moved way up my list. In fact, if he’s not interested I might even go without him.
Thank you Eliza, I’m still inordinately proud of her. The design was at my own request but all the skill came from Tim the luthier. How many people could face the request “I want a harp on which the wood looks as if it melting, with my ammonite set into the carving and with a comet on the soundboard” and not turn a hair? I love the more traditional look of many lever harps but I wanted something that was just mine and reflected something of my personality and interests and I feel any instrument should feel like an extension of its player so it is wonderful to be able to get a little personal input into the design. Once I’d made the decision to have my new harp built from scratch it was a short step to getting involved and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of creating their own instrument. I’m sure there will be purists out there who think I’ve done a terrible thing to a great instrument but you can’t please everyone.
I’d guess that the problem with creating individually designed pedal harps must be the additional cost to an instrument that is already very expensive but I do agree with you that more unusual designs and artwork would be a wonderful thing to see.
I just have to throw in a word here in support of the lever harp. Many of us chose the lever harp because we prefer it and it pains me whenever I hear it spoken of as an inferior pedal harp. I once read a comment about those people who ask lever harpers if we plan one day to ‘upgrade’ to a pedal harp. The writer pointed out that nobody would ever ask a violinist if they planned one day to upgrade to a cello.
Now having said that, I do believe that if that is the way you look at harps and if you would only be buying a lever version because you can’t afford pedals, then you will always hanker for the pedal harp you really wanted. If, however, you see the two as two different, but linked, instruments, you may well find that the lever harp has plenty of charms of its own. I would defintiely disagree with Leon’s view that pedal harps are ‘prettier’ – beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. I’m certainly not the only person who dislikes gilt, for a start, and that rules out a heck of a lot of pedal harps, though the carved wood models can be lovely.
I know none of us can predict how we will feel in years to come but I have real trouble trying to imagine myself ever wanting to change to a pedal harp. My clarsach gives me the versatility and mobility I want, fits perfectly into my home and lifestyle and has everything I want in an instrument. I know that’s just my own preference but I would urge that you try to think of the two instruments as different ‘people’ and do your best to decide which you really want in the same way that you would decide between a trumpet and a sax, rather than between a trumpet and a smaller trumpet.
Thank you Angela – I understand now. My eyes are incredibly over-sensitive to onions and I get into such a state while chopping them that many years ago I swore it was a job I didn’t need and ever since then I’ve bought mine frozen and bagged – not always quite the same, I know, but i find very little difference when it comes to using them in gravies, sauces and stir-fries. Funny how quickly you forget those sliced fingers!
Alison – forgive me for slightly derailing the conversation but I’m intrigued by your comment that you ‘choose leeks over onions’. I can think of lots of reasons for this but none that have anything to do with protecting the hands. Please put me out of my misery.
So really it’s about the difficulty of the piece rather than any differences in notation? That’s useful to know though my playing skills limit me to pretty straightforward stuff at the moment anyway 🙁 Thanks for the answer Tacye, it makes things a lot clearer.
If your son hasn’t played before I would strongly recommend looking into the possibility of hiring an instrument first until you can be sure he wants to continue aftre the first few lessons. A lot of beginners – especially children – start with a smaller instrument (quite sensibly, if they are limited by physical size) and then later find they want to upgrade, both in size and quality. Once he decides playing the harp is something he will continue to do for many years then it would be well worth buying a really good instrument as a 34-string, is a nice size that could easily last him for the rest of his life.
