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I just did some more experimenting on chords spanning a 10th in one hand on my L&H Prelude 40 harp, and I discovered that I CAN play a chord in one hand consisting of 1-5-8-10 in the upper half of the harp where the string spacing is a little narrower (regardless of right or left hand), but it’s much more difficult for me down in the bottom two octaves where the spacing is wider. Down in that lower range, my difficulty is mainly in trying to play an octave between fingers 4 and 2, which isn’t quite as difficult higher up the harp.
-Gregg
So here is a summary of what I’ve discovered with my small hands. I CAN play a 7th chord in one hand which spans a 10th, such as G-D-F-B, but if the 3rd note from the bottom is an octave above the lowest note, as in G-D-G-B, I have to leave it out (the upper G in this example), because I really struggle to force my hands to play an octave between fingers 4 and 2.
Again, harpists with larger hands probably don’t have this problem.
-Gregg
Edit: My issue may be more to do with trying to force an octave between fingers 4 and 2, as I just now discovered that I CAN play a 5th between fingers 4 and 3 without too much difficulty in a 7th-chord spanning a 10th, such as G-D-F-B.
-Gregg
I don’t have all that much experience as a harpist yet; however, I thought I would give my 2-cents. I have fairly small hands. Whenever I come across a 4-note chord in one hand that spans a 10th, and there’s no way to take one of the notes with the other hand, I can only play it as a 3-note chord in that particular hand by leaving out one of the inner notes. For example, if the left-hand part calls for a chord consisting of C-G-C-E (starting from the lowest note of the chord), I can reach the outer 10th (barely) with the left hand, but I have to leave out the higher “C” and play it as C-G-E so that I can play the “G” with the 2nd finger. My little hands just don’t want to play a 5th between fingers 4 and 3! I’m sure harpists with larger hands don’t have this problem.
-Gregg
By the way, the Salvi Gaia has the unique feature (among pedal-tension harps, especially of 38+ strings) of only weighing 24-25 pounds! The Camac Korrigan, on the other hand, apparently weighs somewhere between 30-33 pounds and is also a bit more expensive than the Gaia. Additionally, the Salvi Gaia has true pedal harp stringing, whereas the Camac Korrigan takes the bass wires 3 notes higher, which would apparently be more like your L&H Folk harp stringing but NOT like pedal harp stringing for those 3 notes. The L&H Folk Harp stringing apparently took the wires 2 notes higher than pedal harps.
-Gregg
Hi, Molly,
If you’re looking for a pedal-tension lever harp with at least 38 strings and with a curved pillar for the folk harp look, the main 2 contenders would be the Salvi Gaia (I have one on order!) and the Camac Korrigan. If 36 strings is enough, then a L&H Troubadour would be good, and if 34 strings is enough, then a L&H Ogden would be good, as well.
I hope this helps!
-Gregg
Charles, I mostly really like my Prelude 40 (which I purchased brand-new last year through the Virginia Harp Center); I would be happy to try to answer any questions with my fairly limited experience. I agree that it has a very nice visual appeal! It’s currently the only harp in my collection which has pedal gut for a significant portion of its range, and I really like the firm feel of the pedal gut strings!
-Gregg
Since Balfour hasn’t yet responded, I’ll give a response that I’m sure he would suggest as an alternative, and that is to tune the harp in C major and raise all the levers for the key of C# major, which gives the same aural result (as long as you’re not actually reading from sheet music in Db but are actually playing with the C strings as your tonic, whether you play by ear or transpose the sheet music).
I’m sure Balfour will chime in!
-Gregg
Hi, Heartbroke,
Did you ever decide on a harp model for you and your young daughter to share? If so, what did you choose, and how do you like it?
-Gregg
Does the padded cover go all the way around the harp, including the bottom? I have a L&H Troubadour, and I don’t understand why all they make for it is a dust cover but no transport cover. I also have a L&H Prelude, and they DO make a transport cover for that which is separate from the dust cover that comes with it, and their Ogden model comes with a carrying case, so I’ve never understood why they don’t make something beyond just a dust cover for the Troubadour.
Hi, Sara (and everyone),
I’m glad you determined what string type was originally on the harp! Since the time I posted about the eyelets, I have learned from Balfour that the reinforcements for the bass wires on most concert-tension harps like this which are flush with the soundboard are actually called “dots,” and that the term “eyelets” is really reserved for the donut-shaped grommets that stick out of the soundboard (usually for the non-wire strings). Thanks again, Balfour! 🙂
I still would like to know if a Salvi Ana strung in lever tension has a dot or an eyelet for 5A since that string is wire in that case.
-Gregg
I bought a used Troubadour V a few years ago and appreciate the fact that the neck and pillar are one piece. Why did L&H change this design to be 2 separate pieces in the VI? And, for that matter, why do most, if not all, of the other lever harp makers use the 2-piece design for the neck and pillar? It seems to me that a single-piece neck-pillar would have to be much stronger.
-Gregg
Sara, it sounds like your harp was probably designed for pedal tension strings, though I don’t know if the 5A eyelet is the only difference besides the strings themselves. I have several harps, 2 of which have a significant number of gut strings; I keep all of the harps in a small room in which I have both a Haier dehumidifier and 2 Holmes tabletop humidifiers which I got a little over a year ago, and I haven’t had one string break in all that time, so I highly recommend that you do something similar if you can. (Now I’ll probably experience a string breakage soon now that I’ve mentioned that, haha!)
Hi, Sara and Wil,
Just to add my “2-cents’ worth,” it’s my understanding that every Salvi Ana harp can be strung in either pedal-tension or lever-tension stringing, and that the owner of the harp can go back-and-forth on this if he/she chooses, as long as the levers are re-regulated for the change in gauges. However, I recently noticed in the stringing charts for the Ana on harp (dot) com that there is one little difference between the pedal and lever stringing: in lever stringing, the wires go one string higher (5A) rather than stopping at 5G. Does this mean that an Ana which was originally strung in lever tension will have an eyelet meant for wires on 5A while an Ana which was originally strung in pedal tension will have a regular eyelet on 5A? If that’s true, seeing which eyelet type is in the 5A hole in the exposed side of the soundboard should indicate whether the harp was originally strung in lever or pedal tension; just see if it matches the eyelet types for the rest of the bass wires or if it matches the eyelets from 5B on up. Even more obvious is to notice whether 5A is a wire string or not. Of course, an Ana should be able to accommodate pedal nylons, as well, as long as the levers are re-regulated for those gauges. Wil (or anyone else), please correct me if I got anything wrong!
Hi, Christy,
Do you happen to know about the child harpist Effie on YouTube (channel name “The Little Harpist”)? In her older videos at around age 6 (which her mom posts), Effie started playing a green Salvi Mia, and it’s so adorable watching her play that at such a young age! With 34 strings and only 22 pounds (according to the Salvi website), that harp model must be fairly comparable to a Dusty Ravenna in terms of range and weight, which you said you’d previously owned.
Happy continued harp hunting!
-Gregg
