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Thank you for visiting our Frequently Asked Questions page. We invite you to email us and we would be more than glad to answer any particular questions that you might have. Below are just some of the questions you have summitted. Enjoy!
and answers to other frequently asked questions As far as we can tell, mankind has been making and playing harps for four or five thousand years. Earliest harps and lyres had no resonance chambers, but the desire for more volume led to the increase in the size of the harp box, and the forms we are most familiar with. The Irish harp is not the oldest harp, but it is the form we most commonly assosciate with harps. From old paintings, carvings in stone and wood, and works of art in bronze we can trace this particular form of harp back to the 9th century. The design was refined and modified, but the essential elements were pretty well defined in Ireland and Scotland by 1400. The "low headed" harps were smaller and easily portable for the troubadours. The addition of more bass strings necessitated a more significantly curved neck, or the "high headed" harp. The oldest surviving harp is the Brian Boru, at Trinity College in Dublin, which dates back to 1400. The Tara, which dates from the 18th century, is most familiar in form, and was the first harp to have four feet on the floor. The era of the old Irish harpers ended about 1810. With the death of the last of these harpers came the death of their instrument as well, and it was not until a couple of generations had passed that an interest in the old ways and the old music revived. In the meantime, the pedal harp had come on the scene, with its complex system of hooks and wires controlled by the musician's feet, which allowed the player to change keys, use semi tones, and include accidentals. Sebastian Edward, the French harpsichord maker, is credited with the double action harp, but an earlier German maker in the latter part of the 17th century is thought to have been the first to devise a hook for sharping the strings. In the next 150 years others have devised ways to connect these hooks with wires and rods to foot pedals operated by the harpist. Modern pedal harps, or concert harps, typically have seven pedals. Because of the influence of the pedal harp people had become accustomed to the versatility that came with the ability to produce semitones. When the interest in the old Irish harps revived, various versions of the "hook" or sharping lever were fitted directly to the neck of the harp. Many musical instruments changed significantly at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th, most notably the violin family of instruments and the transition from wood instruments to silver (flutes). One result of these changes was louder, clearer music. In its quest for volume, the pedal harp lost some of its sweetness and full resonance. Lever harps are not orchestral instruments, which gives them the latitude to focus on a different style of music. Instead of featuring glissandi and arpeggios and keeping as many strings active as possible, a lever harp is at its brightest and best with the haunting melodies of old hymns and folk tunes, or the lilting rhythms of the jig and schottische. Like the differences between a steel string and a classic guitar, the lever and pedal harps each have their strengths, and rather than describing the instruments by what they are not, harp players like to enjoy the harp that best suits their own style, while cheering on all other harpists. What is a lever and how does it work? A harp lever is a hand operated device that is installed below the string nut of each string and allows the player to play in more than one key without retuning the whole instrument. The normal position of the string is parallel to the face of the neck and perpendicular to the soundboard. The lever slightly displaces the string, which shortens the vibrating length of the string and alters the pitch. Most levers can be adjusted if they do not perform satisfactorily.
There are four major parts of the harp: the soundboard, the sound box, the neck, or frame, and the strings and hardware The soundboard, if it is made of spruce, should be well seasoned, of a fairly close, even grain, with a clear tone. The harp maker can tap on the unfinished soundboard with his fingers and choose spruce with a clear ringing tone from the very beginning. Many harps are made with a plywood soundboard. The advantage to this is the stability; the disadvantage is that glue (an integral part of plywood) does not vibrate much. The soundboard tone and volume can be maximized with the proper interior bracing. The soundbox must be stable, hard, and beautiful. Square corners tend to deaden an instrument. This is why guitars and the violin family of instruments have a rounded strip of linden or spruce lining the interior corner between the back and sides. The problem of deadness can also be solved with a coopered back, as is customary with some harps and some mandolins. Both stability and hardness are achieved with hardwoods with dense grain, such as maple, walnut, cherry, or mahogany. The neck, or frame, of the harp, like the box, must be stable, hard, and beautiful. Maple is a wood of choice for the neck because it is so hard and so stable, and multiple laminations are used to increase stability. Because the neck has a curve, the possibility of splitting would be great if it were made of a single piece of wood. When the neck is laminated, each piece is turned 90 degrees from the previous piece, so that the maximum strength of the wood can be utilized. The harp strings, which are on the left side of the Irish harp, have a lot of tension, and the potential of a twisted pillar is significant. This is why the wood for the pillar is chosen with such care, with a close straight grain. The pillar of a Celtic harp should be laminated. The turned pillar, while it is also usually glued up of more than one piece, relies on the mass of the pillar to ensure stability. The strings and hardware are the last part of harp assembly, and it is at this point that the harp maker can at last hear the result of all of his careful craftsmanship. The harp has been designed for a specific string package, usually a combination of nylon or gut and steel or wire. The differences in string packages, and the choice of which one is right for you is comparable to the difference between a steel string and nylon string (or classic) guitar. A "harder" strung harp, like the steel string guitar, has greater volume, and a more softly strung harp has more greatly sustained notes but less volume, like the classic guitar. What are the colored strings for? The colored strings are signposts, so you can keep track of where you are. The human eye sees five objects easily, but after that we have to count. The red strings are "C's" and the blue strings are "F's," except in Paraguay, where the colors are reversed. What is a wound string and why do we use them? All pedal harps and most lever harps have monofilament nylon or gut in the range between strings 1 and 24, and nylon or bronze wound strings on the lower range. Winding a string increases its mass, which lowers its frequency and increases its tension without sacrificing flexibility. Nylon core strings wrapped with nylon have certain problems. Because nylon is stretchy, repeated tuning continues to stretch the string, causing it to lose mass, which in turn causes the wrap material to become looser. But if the core is stretched to its limit on the string machine while it is being wrapped, the wrap not only acts like a corset, it actually imbeds itself in the core, holding the string in its stretched state until it is installed. Finding the optimum diameter for the desired tension without producing a thubby bass is the key. A wrapped nylon string tends to have the same tone character as the higher monofilaments, which is considered an advantage over a string package that combines monofilaments and wire wound strings. Steel core wire wrapped strings have been used on folk, or lever harps at least since 1825. The advantages of steel cores are their strength in small diameters and the nearly imperceptible stretching. Properly installed, they last for years. The problem with wire wound strings is the transition between steel and gut strings, not unlike the difference in tone character between a steel string and classic nylon string guitar. One way to bridge the tone gap is to use fiber core strings wrapped with nylon or silk. A properly braced soundboard is also a key to creating the same tone character between types of strings. When the bracing is doing part of the work of spreading the sound across the soundboard, the differences of tone quality virtually disappear. If you don't like the tone quality of your harp, it could be that you have the wrong string package. After working with one customer's harp (not made by us) she reported, "I've been tuning the harp every day and it's really starting to sing. I'm finding the sweet part now that it's the right height." What about harp dynamics? The placid, beautiful little harp sitting in the corner of your living room is really a bundle of energy. For its size and weight, nothing else is under such a strain. If the string mass and tension equal the resistance of the box and soundboard to the string mass and tension, there will be perfect balance, and tone generation will be at its best. So what can upset this perfect relationship? A harp that is properly built and cared for should remain stable indefinitely, but drastic changes in humidity and temperature will destroy any instrument. Consider purchasing the useful humidity control kit, designed for acoustic guitars, and keep your harp out of hot cars. An outside temperature of 90 degrees can easily reach 150 in a closed container. Store your harp in a corner away from direct sunlight and out of traffic patterns. Even though the harp is designed to withstand its own pressures and tensions, it is not designed to withstand the added strain of jolts, falls, or drops. Which harp is the right harp for me? Is a smaller harp a child's harp? The right harp for you is the harp that fits your budget and the harp that has a good tone, properly adjusted levers, and meets your criteria for how and when you want to play it. Buying a harp is sort of like buying your first computer. It is better to buy a little over your head because you will learn so much and get so many new ideas that you will want to be able to do more than you originally thought. A more lightly strung harp is really nice to play in your living room or for harp ministry or therapy. It is quieter, and it has the sustained notes that we associate with harp music. A more tightly strung harp can also have better separation, is brighter, and therefore has more volume. This is an advantage if you play with a group. A smaller harp is more portable, but your repertoire is more limited because of the smaller number of strings (and therefore fewer notes.) The only harp that is really designed to be a child's harp is the 34 string Parlour harp. It has a small neck block to fit the child's small shoulder, so she can reach the strings without straining. It also has a string tension that closely matches that of a pedal harp, so if the student chooses, she can make that transition easily. The issue of string tensions seems more important to people who primarily play the pedal harp because they are accustomed to the strength needed to pull the heavier strings. Pulling a lightly strung harp too hard will cause it to buzz. People who primarily play a more lightly strung harp seldom have any difficulty playing a harp with tighter string tension. If you are using the proper technique, you can quickly learn to make the most of either a lightly or a tightly strung harp. Remember, when buying a harp that all harps have not been created equal. Non pedal harps are not standardized, and it is possible to buy a harp that will self destruct or that you cannot tune because the harp maker has not learned enough about harp dynamics to apply those principles to their design. We hate to have to say this, but if the harp is very inexpensive, it probably does not work well enough to play. Good harps all fall into a similar price range. Pedal harps have changed very little in the last 200 years. They are exceptionally well designed and there is little difference in the construction methods of different companies. Folk harps, or lever harps, by definition, are the people's instrument. They are made by people, played by ordinary people in their living rooms or kitchens or back porches. In the nature of things, some people are better musicians than others, and some people are better technicians than others. The lever harp is much less expensive than a pedal harp, and it is easily transportable. If half of the back seat of your car lays down, you can put it in a small car, by yourself, without a cart. You can carry it across the street to play a gig with your neighbor, or across town to practice for a wedding with your sibling. It sings well with the violin, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and flute-the instruments so many of us already play. Do I need a teacher? There is no doubt that many people can and do learn to play new instruments on their own or with minimal help, if they have a previous musical background. There are several good self help books as well as numerous seminars available. But if you are going to invest in an instrument, you will be glad to benefit from a good teacher. There are some bad hand positions that you can develop that look odd, impair your playing, and even injure your wrists. The ergonomics of instrument playing are worth paying attention to if you want to do it for the rest of your life. The stylized high elbow, bent wrist of classic harpist is both good and safe for some people, but it is an unnatural position for others. If you extend your arm straight out from your side with palm up, and relax your wrist, you will find the natural position for your hand. You should be able to flutter your fingers in this position without strain. (Try the same thing with your wrist either bent to a 90 degree angle or straight-whichever is not natural to you-and feel the strain.) Is it true that I will want two harps, or even three? Yes. It is not the harp makers who have this idea, but the harp players themselves. You may well have only one harp for your whole life, but if you develop as a performer, you will find events where you wish your harp was smaller, or bigger, or lighter, or louder, and will buy another harp to accommodate these needs, without abandoning your primary instrument. How did you develop the Parlour Harp? We wanted a harp that was a bit shorter than our Chapel harp, so that it was easier to transport, and we were working with a harp teacher to make a harp for our niece, who was nine, at the time. The teacher wanted a harp with stable detachable stool, so that smaller children did not have to struggle with a high chair for practice, and yet could grow into their harp. She also wanted a harp with the string tension and spacing of a concert harp, so the students could have a seamless transition to the pedal harp. The harp needed to be excellent in tone so that it could be seen not as a stepping stone to a pedal harp, but a lifetime instrument, because not all students will purchase pedal harps.
Can I have carvings on the sides, or paintings on the top of my harp? Yes, you can design or request custom features for your harp. Talk with us about your ideas, and we can tell you what it will cost. How should I keep my harp clean? Dust it with a feather duster or soft cloth. Do not use furniture polish. As with any instrument, keeping it covered helps keep it clean, but it is fun to look at, and easier to play if it is open, so dusting it is a good option. What if my harp breaks? We fix anything we make. Our harps come with a lifetime guarantee to the original owner for materials and workmanship. If the harp breaks because of an accident we will still fix it, but the owner will pay repair costs. Don't worry. These harps are well made and we have not had any recalls. Stephen has been making and repairing stringed instruments for over 40 years, and has had hundreds of satisfied customers. Testimonials These letters of testimony refer specifically to Stephen Harris' stringed instrument making and repair, and are included so that you will know his reputation and skill in the wider music world. I take pleasure in introducing to you Stephen Harris, an outstanding luthier from my neck of the woods, Northwest Washington. He is a true artist, (and) for many years he has done excellent violin and bow repairs for me and my students. He is a meticulous artisan who makes beautiful custom made guitars, dulcimers, and violins. He is a special kind of person and an avid patron of the arts. I invite you string players to check him out. Paul Stoner (dec.) I have used Steve Harris' services for many years. He is the best repairman I know, so accomplished that I have put off needed repairs and bow rehairing until I could make the 2,000 mile trip to his shop. His work shows a degree of caring perfection that makes him a true craftsman in the best old-fashioned sense of the word. In addition, I have always found his prives to be more than fair. I highly recommend him to anyone desiring the very best in bow rehairing and stringed instrument repair. I have seen Steve's repairing skills demonstrated on every type of string instrument, and have found his work to be excellent in all cases. Among other things, Steve completely restored a turn of the century parlor guitar, which we had considered irreparable; restored a 1946 martin 000-18; repaired the beaten bodies of several Martin Dreadnaughts, repaired and restored vintage violins, repaired and restored vintage Fender & Gibson guitars and a vintage Gibson Mandolin. |
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This upright bass was burned in a fire.
Close examination shows that the chief damages was to the finish.
Disassembled, glued and cleated on the inside.
The burned scroll will be replaced.
A new scroll and neck were hand carved from a large piece of maple.
Polished and ready to play again!
Clean, repaired and ready to finish.
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