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Hi Wendy. Have you been to Nova Scotia yet? We thought we’d like to live there too, and went for a holiday there last year. It is very different from Vancouver, and when we got home we realized how much we love it here. Do you take lessons in Vancouver? It’s quite drive from where you live, and with all the traffic. For the next few days I will be playing my L&H Prelude, but on Dec.20th, we pick up my first pedal harp, a L&H Style 85 GP. I am so excited, I can barely wait.
Hi S S, Hi Carl,
I live in Pitt Meadows right now, but I hope to move in the not too distant future – hopefully across the country to Greenwood, Nova Scotia 🙂
I had heard that about my name before but had completely forgotten. Thanks Carl.
Hmm. Titanium is 45% of the weight of steel, but I don’t know how much of the total weight of a pedal harp is made up of the steel/brass components, so I don’t know how much it would take off the total, but even a few extra kilos would help (in my opinion).
I’m not incredibly familiar with all the parts of a pedal harp but I do know a little about metalworking (I’m learning goldsmithing/jewelry) and I can’t think of any reason why harp parts couldn’t be titanium. There’s probably something really obvious I haven’t thought about, heh. I mean, titanium is reguarly used for high-performance engines and chassis such as in Formula 1 race cars, construction of offshore oil/exploration platforms, high-tension marine fastenings, and deep-sea submarine hulls – the stresses of a harp surely shouldn’t be a problem? (Also you can anodise it to brilliant colours which could make for some interesting action plate action. 😉 )
And Andrew Thom’s successfully been making lever harp soundboxes from aluminium for some time now, I’m wondering how that would go in a pedal harp.
Have any pedal harp builders tried titanium or aluminium for any fo the parts? I’m very curious and interested in all this! 🙂
Hi
I live in the Lower Mainland of Beautiful British Columbia. I’ve been playing lever harp for around 10months now and I love it. This is my first insterment so I expected extreem difficulties, however, the encouragement and support I have recieved from the community has amazed me. I’ve been playing at church (candlelight service coming up on Christmas eve – scary) and have played for two weddings. I keep telling people that I have no business playing in public yet, but they insist and are thrilled with the results – mistakes and all. I don’t know if all insterments get this kind of enthusiasim and support from the community but it certainly goes a long way!! Harping makes for a wonderful way of life!!
Wendy
Hugh Jones in Australia makes a small pedal harp similar in size to the Pilgrim Progress. 41 string Hugh Jones harp. Still a bit on the heavy side though.
And Andrew Thom (also in Australia) is making some large lever harps of 40-45 strings now, with strings even longer in the bass than standard pedal harps(!). No picutres on his website as yet and I cannot speak for Mr Thom but if you asked nicely he may send you a photograph and information. Andrew Thom site. (Disclaimer – I have a Thom harp, only a small one though, and I am very biased towards it! 🙂 )
And on making pedal harps lighter – perhaps someone better accquainted with such matters can enlighten me – is there any reason why many or most of the steel and brass parts on a pedal harp couldn’t be replaced with titanium and/or titanium alloys? Titanium’s not expensive, and I know it can be more difficult to work than steel and brass, but other than that?
The violist has seizures. Maybe epilepsy?
The conductor glared at the clarinnetist too, but I don’t think that the clarinettist was watching her.
Bernhard,
I really had no idea whether the idea for a lever-sized pedal harp had been tried before…I just thought that it would be a neat instrument if someone could figure it out.
