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Steel cores, some sort of floss (traditionally silk, but the stuff on my harp melts in an artifical way so perhaps nylon) and copper which is tinned, silvered or whatever the red and black coating is for the winding.
Whichever version you learn, you will probably not want to redo all that work to learn a different one later if it comes up again, so be sure you are happy with your choice.
On the topic of printing, I was looking at the sample pages and doubt the fingering in bar 3 of the 1st etude – it is different from the left hand version. You have probably picked this up already.
When I need to change a string and play on it right away I do a lot of tugging on the new string to stretch it rather than just letting it stretch by sitting at pitch or get a little stretch every time it is played.
A lot of a string not keeping pitch is the knot tightening, so if I have changed a string because I didn’t like it, but it is still just about passable I keep it as an emergency spare and find that will keep pitch faster, though can be fiddly to get through the soundboard.
If you know what the current finish on the soundboard is, it may be possible to pick a paint which can be removed later. For instance polyurethane is sometimes used on harps and is resistant to many solvents, so you pick a paint which won’t bleed into the existing finish and can be removed by a solvent which wouldn’t bother the polyurethane. You also need to be sure there are no cracks in the finish for the paint to seep through.
On the other hand if you are comfortable buying and selling things, you might find that buying a sensibly priced used harp and later selling it saves you money compared to the hire costs you now have. But only if your daughter likes the harp to practice on as much as the hire one. I think it worth considering – just because you buy a harp doesn’t mean you can’t change it if it isn’t the right one for your daughter, just as you would if you decided you had the wrong car.
I make a distinction between awkward-uncomfortable and painful/damaging-uncomfortable. Many techniques are awkward to start, but it shouldn’t be painful.
I would make a distinction between pieces, where usually I want the music to take priority, and studies which I am often playing to improve a technical issue. There seems little point in playing a study and avoiding the very technical issue it was written for. Though some things just won’t work for some people, such as really huge chords and tiny hands – do you have a teacher to advise on if you should persevere?
4231 is an exercise for 42 31 as chords, which I find can be a useful choice more often than 4231 itself. That crossed fingering, but downwards, is what I chose in the end for Balulalow (Ceremony of Carols), though I did take a while going back and forth between fingerings to settle on it. At that point I was grateful for doing the hard exercises earlier.
With small harps, I find a roll of anti-slip drawer liner really useful stopping them sliding away, and letting me relax and stop clutching them so hard. This sort of thing: https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Multipurpose-Non-Slip-Mat-Furniture/dp/B00AVJ9GBY
You can see that on some of the spots the wood grain curls around them, which shows they didn’t just come from outside – it wouldn’t do that if you splattered paint on it. There are also similar markings on this picture of cherry wood http://vermontwoodsstudios.com/content/cherry-wood
Wood does change colour slightly as it ages which can change how prominent patterning is.
I am going to disagree slightly here – most harps are made to be played, to make music. This often entails less than ideal treatment. They are more likely to pick up dents and bruises if taken around to different venues and how many of us keep them in temperature and humidity controlled perfection every hour of every day? If someone lives on a houseboat and wants to play, or enjoy owning, a harp then it may well be worth the extra attention this requires. (I do exclude a few very special irreplacable instruments from this philosophy, mostly antiques.)
I have a 22 string brass strung harp with nylon spacing – would you like to borrow it for a bit to try out? It is a Stoney End Eve I restrung. Bottom note is usually the A a 10th below middle C.
