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That’s the word – taquitos. I had forgotten that. What did these Gothic harps look like?
One thought I had and have never seen available anywhere – removable bray pins. I know bray harps come with them built in, but I thought it would be kind of neat to occasionally retrofit a harp with them for brief usage and then take them back out again. Something that would insert securely into the hole at the sound board, maybe with a miniature clothes pin-type of mount and then just pop back out again when you’re done playing in that style. Actually, I’m not sure if bray harps were wire-strung or gut strung.
I have sharping blades on my Luna. Just flip them up and there’s my sharp. Always wondered why they didn’t have those during Carolan’s time and before. Or maybe they just didn’t use accidentals a lot to begin with.
Hi Aaron,
This is a lot more than I know about them. I remember when I was doing my independent study on harps to finish up my BA and I came across a sentence in a doctoral dissertation somewhere that essentially read, in so many words, the old Irish harps was diatonic and there was just no way to change the pitch of a string while playing. A day or so later I came across another document that introduced me to the concept (but not the details as you have) of sharping rings. So then I knew they existed somewhere in the world. Is it possible they could have been used on wire strings?
I have a Paraguayan harp also and it is strung with nylon strings. No levers or blades.
Your ideas would probably work. I haven’t tried doing anything like that. Maybe I should visit the hardware store.
Hi Laurence,
I’m an organist too (and made the switch to harp). Welcome! There are a lot of really nice lever harps out there. I play wire-strung harp, but the technique is a bit different from the nylon ones. I too, am interested in eventually learning to play double-strung, but for now am happy with my Triplett Luna.
If wire isn’t your thing, I’ve read a lot of good things on the forums here about Dusty Strings and Stoney End harps, although I’ve never touched one. I’m sure a lot of people here can point you in the right direction to a good affordable model in their line-up. I wouldn’t think you’d have to go for broke to get a nice harp.
Maybe you might want to visit a music store to see how you like their sound?
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for posting good advice. I have had this problem with my wire harp occasionally. I have never attempted to remove the tuning pin to clean it as you suggested, just cork screw it in while taking up the tension. Sometimes it slips back and then I end up having to push harder on the pin.
Last week I broke the lowest E string on my Triplett Luna after trying to deal with a problem like this. It is coil wound and the outer wrapping broke, I think after some flexing on the pin and my attempts to move it further down the tapered pin, so I would have a little more slack. It did not want to stay on E.
The next time this becomes a problem for me I’ll see about sliding the pin out. Thanks again.
Sherri
