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I haven’t tried this myself, but have heard great things about it: Therabath Thermotherapy Paraffin Bath for arthritis treatment. You can read more about it and watch a video on Amazon. Also, if you currently play a high tension pedal harp or any high tension string harp, you may consider switching to a folk harp with lighter tension. I did, and it really solved my achy hands and fingers 😉
https://www.kksound.com/instruments/harp.php — here is K&K website. Cables for Big Twin are both 1 ft long from rca connection. This would mean the upper piezo would only go up the soundboard from the point where you drill in for race connection. Mine was drilled in at bottom of my Pratt. So unless those KK cables were longer way back when I had them installed, the harp shop owner probably extended the upper cable himself, or ordered it longer. Maybe you should do a measurement on your harp, then email K&K.
I have used the KK Big Twin on Pratt Chamber harp (36 strings) place 1/3rd down from top of soundboard and 1/3rd up from bottom of soundboard. Worked beautifully! I don’t own an amplifier, but plugged into event PA system. No feedback. Projection was clear and audible in a room filled with 200+ talking and drinking guests 🙂
How enjoyable to read these posts!! I am a harp teacher at the beginner to intermediate level. I started as an adult harp student when I was 50 (I am now 69). I have a college degree in music, so I acquired music theory which is an invaluable tool for teaching at any age or level, but especially to adults who want “immediate gratification and satisfaction”. I start teaching without music…basically getting to know how to get around the harp, even if the student doesn’t read music. I can weave theory into simple songs, and the student becomes interested from the start, and also confident they can really make music on this instrument. Enjoyment is the key ingredient! Typically I have found that my adult students are very ready to take on the harp…not having so many commitments as when they were younger (i.e., demanding jobs — some are retired; children; etc.). So they seem to have enough time to practice. Also, I never let them cancel a lesson because they aren’t prepared, because we can always sit down together and learn something! They are happy to do this. I have become friends with all of my adult students. Such a joy to be their teacher AND often ending up becoming friends. It’s awesome to find that we discuss something that touches on an emotional level with the music or the harp, because they are now able to connect with the music that way. So rewarding to be able to have all this during a music lesson. It’s important to recognize what they want from playing the harp, and why they chose it. I think the biggest “plus” is that I learn from THEM more than they could ever imagine. I teach at their homes, which allows a comfortable feeling for them with their own harp. And when I go home it is amazing how inspired I am with my own playing and ambitions because of them 🙂
Here is an excellent link for listening to Triplett Eclipse (and other Triplett harps https://triplettharps.com/harps-by-sound.php
A little about my “journey for sound” with regard to the harp…
1. Blevins Espre (36 string, nylon, fully levered). Needed more sound projection. However, this harp had clarity in sound and pitch from high end to low bass not often found on a harp this size.
2. L&H Prelude (38 string, gut/nylon/wire, fully levered). Very nice sound and projection. Played for nearly 5 years. But I couldn’t travel with it easily, so needed a smaller harp. However, traded it in for full price (bounty program with L&H) for concert grand pedal harp. Thought I’d get into it. Didn’t. Still have it since ’08, and rarely ever play it, though keep it restrung and tuned, play occasionally.
3. Pratt Chamber Harp (36 string, gut/nylon/wire, fully levered). String tension same as a pedal harp. Awesome sound, excellent projection and sustain, clarity of pitch. Eventually it got to be too heavy for me (I am older now) to travel with. Also, not really conducive to playing the sound I like to get with Celtic music.
4. Dusty Strings FHS36 (36 string, nylon, fully levered). Thought this would be the answer for me. Turned out it had so many overtones ringing while playing that it drove me a bit nuts. I also felt it was too much treble. Not nearly enough bass. And definitely not enough projection. I have heard this harp played live and online or on CD recordings and it sounded lovely. Somehow, in person for me while playing it, it just didn’t have what my ear needed: more bass. Also, I found it tinny in various parts of different registers. Oh well…Onto
5. Triplett Eclipse (38 string, nylon, fully levered). WOW! Seems this harp has a little of all the other harps I have owned. Good bass, excellent middle registers, and clarity in upper registers. Great projection, amplified or not (bought the built-in amplification system). This is the right harp for me in every way. Size, weight (though I do cart it…makes life much easier), sound, and it’s also GORGEOUS!
So, hoping you find what is right for you. It’s a fun adventure. Yes, I still own 4 harps, along with a small Blevins Eden 26. But I play my Triplett Eclipse almost exclusively, and will most likely sell the pedal harp and Pratt…I chose a Triplett Eclipse (38 string) for small to large gigs, where I could either plug it in for amplification or not, depending on venue. And I also chose a Blevins Eden (26 string) for outdoor gigs without a real audience involved (like a gig I played called “Pass Notes” where musicians set up with their instrument (guitars, me with harp, etc.) far enough apart from each other so we couldn’t hear each other, on trails at the top of Colorado mountain passes in the fall for the color change of the aspens, as folks traveled to see them. I am sure there will be other venues like this where a larger harp really isn’t necessary with regard to my music choices. I also take this small harp to lessons I teach to help with a visual for students with regard to technique, etc. And I often have harp duet music available at the student’s level so we can play together as well…very fun! Hope this helps 🙂
I used to use carbon fiber strings (Savarez) as a replacement for the gut only on my 36 string Pratt Chamber harp. I played outdoors sometimes, and they held pitch in all sorts of weather (wind, humidity, lack of humidity). They worked very well, and lasted a very long time. However, I did not have carbon fiber on the upper 1st and 2nd octaves. Not knowing how much room you have in the holes at these upper registers on your harp, I have actually strung nylon up through the hole, then looped around and strung AGAIN up through the hole (that is, if you have enough room in the hole). You will have to allow for enough slack in the string, and bring it up to pitch slowly. Though this is what I did with nylon strings at upper octaves, the only difference I see when doing this with carbon fiber strings is to bring it up to pitch VERY slowly…over a few days…When I would restring the carbon fiber strings in place of the gut, I actually only wound them at the pin once (and again, with enough slack in string). Then I let them “rest” there for 24 hours! Then I’d bring them all up just a little more the next day, maybe just another wind or so around pin, and so on, until finally they were nearly close to pitch. The Savarez strings (carbon fiber) are way more stretchy than gut or nylon, and require alot of tuning before they finally hold pitch. And sometimes, there are too many winds at the pin because of how stretchy they are, so you unwind and pull the string through the hole again and then there will be the usual amount of winds around the pin once they hold pitch. But again, as for the very thin upper strings, if you have room in the hole to bring the string up and back through the hole a 2nd time (leaving enough slack in string so that when you start your winds it won’t be too tight and snap on you), it might help your situation. It certainly took care of things for me using nylon, which are also very slippery and difficult to hold with a regular “lock” at the pin. Best of luck.
I don’t know where or who would make this item for you, but I wanted to share how I handled it…I used to have a Blevins Espre 36 lever harp which was also sat too low for me. So I had my husband build me a square platform of wood which we stained cherry to match my harp. It was enclosed on 5 sides (top, and all 4 sides) and left open on bottom so I could just carry it easily by holding one of the sides. I figured out how high I needed the sides to make it the right height for playing my harp comfortably. Received mega compliments on it. You could find someone who could put one together for you (that is, cutting all 5 pieces of wood and using finishing nails to tack it all together. Then all you do is gently sand it down and stain it with a urethane stain of your choice to match or offset your harp color. You could even put a piece of leather on the top and either glue it or tack it on with pretty upholstery tacks…Hope this helps. Just don’t make it too heavy, ’cause that’s just one more thing you will have to carry with you if you travel.
I have dealt with this for years, as I live in Colorado @ 10,000 ft elev. The main thing is, too much softening products will make things worse. So, you need to find a “happy medium” with the use of cleaning agents (washing dishes, 409 or similar type of multipurpose cleaners), as these pull oils out of your skin. I have soft fingernails to begin with, so had the splitting problem. Then, when the split occurred, my fingertips split right where the fingernail split was. Here is how I handle it: 3 products, Elon Nail Conditioner (with Lanolin) for fingernails, which I apply no less than 3 times per day (you use hardly any of this, and can buy on Amazon), good ol’ “No Crack” unscented cream that you can buy at Duluth Trading (online or in their stores), which I use after anytime I clean or do dishes, and right before bed, and “Bag Balm” to heal a fingertip split/crack. If you already have an unhealed finger split, apply “Bag Balm” which you can get at most groceries, pharmacies, etc., and place a band-aide over it. It should heal in 2-3 days max. Finally, and probably the most important, is “file” your fingernails daily (once you have them where you want them) as this removes very little of the nail which keeps your nails from needing to be filed “below” the area which will crack because it is new skin. If you use a fingernail clipper, your nails WILL SPLIT, if they are anything like mine (soft). It took me awhile to work out this routine which definitely works. I am sure there are other products that will do the same thing, but I haven’t discovered them. The Elon Lanolin cream was recommended to me by a dermatologist when I told her about my problem. Best of luck to you! I definitely know the feeling of the tiniest split on a thumb exactly where you pluck 🙁
Here is my Blevins Eden 26 string harp. They are still being made. It has a rounded bottom which will not stand up on its own in the upright position without the stand. However, you can lay it down on its back. Here you can see the stand that is made to place it on. It has a lovely sound because of the soundbox. And it’s fairly lightweight. However, you cannot place it directly on your lap, because it is a larger “lap harp” (probably considered a “small harp”) which needs to sit directly in front of you, either on the same stool you sit on (if you straddle the bench), or on another bench in front of your chair. I chose to get it fully levered with Truitt levers, which definitely brings the price up. But you can get it levered any way you want, and choose less expensive levers.
You can’t determine key signature by ONLY looking at the key signature. But if you spot the first and last note of the melody as F, it is probably in the key of F major. And likewise, if the first and last note is D, than it is probably in D minor. (But if those notes aren’t evident as such, you might find them in the accompaniment instead, or if chords are indicated you might see the first and last chords are either F or D.) I would add that if a key signature is given and you adjust your pedals or levers accordingly, it will play correctly in either the major or minor key 🙂 And then when you hear the piece you can probably determine by the “sound” if it sounds major or minor…There’s other note-determining techniques that can be utilized within the piece itself to determine if it’s a major or minor key. But wasn’t sure if you wanted to delve that far into it…such as, the positioning of half and whole steps between notes of the corresponding scales of F major and D minor 🙂 etc…
Fake? Cheat? In my opinion, neither word fits (though we are stuck with them)! Because whatever the musician plays when using the chord progressions indicated is far from cheating OR faking! It is all music! I have always preferred the term “lead sheet”. When playing from these books the musician has to have quite a stash of improvisation techniques available to him or her, and that is far from fake, “in my book” 🙂
I play the harp AND I have a hammered dulcimer! I chose to learn it because I just wanted an instrument that I could work with patterns and rhythms on, and in a different way than the harp is played with regards to patterns. Also, I didn’t want another stringed instrument that utilized my fingertips. So I bought a Dusty Strings D45 16/15 hammered dulcimer. I bought it new from the Denver Folklore shop. I originally rented a Masterworks 16/15 hammered dulcimer from them first, to see if I could actually get into it, for a few months and was able to put the money in rent toward the new dulcimer, plus receive a nice discount on my new dulcimer because I shopped with them 🙂 Very nice people, and nice shop. Not sure if this is the shop you are referring to. I wonder if you play the harp as well? In any case, I learned the basics from someone who had a wonderful Masterworks hammered dulcimer. I like them both. Each has its own sound, both lovely. My D45 is tuned in 5ths, not chromatically. Best of luck to you.
