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I use MuseScore 3 a lot. I’m not sure whether the bugs and the less than adequate items in the handbook of MuseScore 4 have finally been dealt with, but MuseScore 3 actually can do everything I want it to do and it’s extremely versatile and you can have great layouts. The MuseScore music notation program is completely free and without ads, and downloadable from musescore.org (which is quite different from musescore.com which tries to sell you subscriptions for the use of their sheet music).
Anyway, in MuseScore 3 I regularly use the beta function of importing a PDF to sheet music, so that I can easily adapt or transpose music. Yes, it does take some editing to make things perfect, and yes, to work this way efficiently, you need a bit more knowledge of MuseScore than it takes to get started working with MuseScore, but it still saves me loads of time comparing with typing everything over by hand.
There’s a great and active community forum where one can find or ask one’s questions and get adequate answers.
If you need far more strings than you could get: fishing line can be bought in several diameters and colors, both in nylon (not suitable to use for harps but might look good for your purpose) or fluorocarbon strings (in theory actually usable for harps if you get it in the right diameters). So, perhaps also contact your fishing friends?
As I guess you’re in the US (because you have a Witcher harp), for a great sound in a real small harp, I would have a look at the smaller Lewis Creek Harps. They’re not cheap though…
If it needs to sound real soft, but still sweet, a back yard music fireside harp might be suitable. You can even mount some levers on it (but beware it could become top heavy). This harp is really light-weight and the cardboard for the soundbox is said to be surprisingly sturdy. You’ll find several youtube clips with people playing them.
And finally, there are the Stoney End 22 string harps, available as single and/or double strung.
For a lap harp I would consider light-weight levers in order not to get a top heavy harp. I’ve heard great things about the new Forte levers, but I haven’t been able to try them out myself.
You may be lucky to find the name of builder a year of building by looking at the bottom of the harp or shining a torch inside the harp.
You may like to know that these ‘levers’s are called ‘hooks’.
Hi Balfour, actually, these ‘new nylgut’ strings have been on the market already quite long, perhaps for more than 10 years. They sound better than the first generation. In the upper half of the harp strings, they sound a bit brighter and a bit less rich than natural gut, but they seldom or never break. I really like them from the higher strings down to about middle C, below that somehow they don’t sound as rich as natural gut, even a bit dull, but that could have to do with the length of my lower strings be actually too short to sound real well.
Hi Kim, does your lever harp have Bow Brand lever gut strings? In that case Bow Brand silkgut strings may be an option. You can switch them without having to adjust the levers.
Silkgut strings are opaque greyish/whitish synthetic strings that are cheaper than gut, but sound warmer and richer than nylon things, though not as warm and rich as natural gut.
If you’ve got other strings than Bow Brand lever gut on your harp, I would contact the builder of your harp or, if not possible, a reputable harpshop that also sells lots of strings. They have lists with comparisons of strings and could advise which strings would suit your harp.
There’s a great Italian company Aquila Corde that in fact makes the Bow Brand silkgut strings (and lots of other strings). You would like to look at the “new nylgut” (which is practically the same as silkgut). You can order it in lots and lots of different diameters. Have a look at: https://aquilacorde.com/en/early-music-strings/synthetic/historical-harp-ngh-new-nylgut-strings/
You may like to contact the owner of Aquila Corde, Mimmo Peruffo, with specific questions. He is a kind and knowledgeable man who’ll probably can and will provide you with the answers you’re looking for.Beware that putting too heavy strings on your harp may cause it to explode and too light strings won’t pull hard enough to make your soundboard vibrate.
@LILY-WHITE If you found the Dusty FH34S walnut already a bit dark, I think you may be preferring a more bright tone. Harps made by Dusty are made to sound bright. Such a harp in walnut will give it a rich and warm sound, and it would still tend to sound significantly brighter than lever harps built to sound warm. I prefer cherry tone wood, which also sounds rich and warm, but has a different sound character. I don’t know how to describe it, and think you really need to sit behind the harps yourself.
I wonder whether you heard the FH34S strung with lever gut strings. They sound richer, warmer and also less bright than a nylon strung harp. Perhaps you experience gut strings as a bit darker than nylon strings?
I understand you’d like to buy a ‘forever’ harp already, but I think you’ve only seen and heard very few harps until now and I wonder what would be your possibilities about trying them out yourself. Is there a society of harpers in your country? They may organize events and some kind souls there might let you try their harps for a while there.
Lily, if at all possible, go to the Netherlands for some days and visit the Zingende Snaar in Rhenen, to try and play all the lever harps. This in order to find out what kind of harp sound you really like. They sell Dusty, L&H, Salvi, and (my favorite) Pepe Weissgerber harps, and some other marks I don’t personally know. The shop isn’t cheap, but it is reputable and sends harps all over the world. Unfortunately, they don’t sell Camac harps any more, as for some sad reason I can’t understand, Camac chose to have only one shop in the Netherlands to sell Camac harps (and only Camac harps)…
@MEL, mine was strung with pedal gut strings. At the time, this model was both sold as nylon strung as pedal gut strung.
I wouldn’t string it into fluoro carbon strings, as with the same diameters of the strings, they would increase the tension which is bad for harps in general, but especially for older harps, and with the same tension, the strings would be significantly thinner and that could be a problem for the old levers which might work less well (the plastic levers can hardly be adjusted). Also, the sound of gut is quite different from fluorocarbon strings.
Now,if you want or need to replace strings and you’re on a budget, you may like to try Camac Nylgut. That is especially suitable for harps with pedal gut tension and it has practically the same diameters. Nylgut sounds a bit less rich than natural gut, but it is much cheaper, and I actually like it being a bit brighter than gut, but not as bright as nylon.If the levers are still functional, don’t change them. If you need to replace a few, chances are that Camac could still provide you with them. Though the modern Camac levers are great, putting them on this harp would cost a lot of money. Think of removing the current levers, filling up the holes, drilling new holes, masking the filled up holes and putting new levers on. I really don’t think it would be worth the price.
@Lily Camac harps are very sturdy and heavily built. If they’re properly cared for, they could last at least for the rest of your harp playing life.This is a Camac PH36. I owned a Camac PH38 (so with 2 more strings) once. You got a real nice harp for a great price. Have a lot of happy hours with it.
Hi Lily, I wonder whether you’d like the free and online weekend that the professional harp teacher Heather Downie (from Scotland) will organize from 23rd of June. More information at: https://heatherdownie.ac-page.com/summer-how-to-harp-weekend-2023
She’s built an enormous “Technique Bank” with all kinds of exercises on video. Also, she has arranged lots of tunes, each for beginners, intermediate and advanced players. And she has a surprisingly interesting possibilities for people with a monthly subscription to get personal feedback.
I only know there are two German harp builders building e.g. historical harps, Pepe Weissgerber, whose other harps are wildly popular in both Germany and the Netherlands and, Martin Gust, (of Magus Harfen who is having a good name in at least Germany.
Pepe Weissgerber, have a look at: http://www.weissgerber-harfen.de/index.html#trippel (who also builds modern double strung and cross strung harps.
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