Harp Lessons - Online, Chicago, Indianapolis, Culver

Harp Lessons - Online, Chicago, Indianapolis, Culver

Why are Harps so Expensive?

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What makes harps such expensive instruments?

If you’re like most people, you enjoy the sound of the harp – the sweeping glissando musically announces the arrival of magic, fairies, dreams and goddesses. But if you’ve ever looked into what a harp costs – you might feel that magical feeling slipping away. I always tell new students and parents: “Playing harp is not a cheap sport.”

Yes, you can buy very inexpensive harps on Amazon. I did. But within months, I learned what most harp teachers know – you get what you pay for. The cheap Amazon-purchased harp had a dense thudding sound, and it wasn’t long before the levers were not holding anymore.

So truly, an entry level harp is going to start around $700-$1000 or more. Gasp! And when you look at concert harps…they cost as much as a small car, upwards of $20,000 or more.

But why? Why are harps so expensive? In short, each one is a delicate, hand-made piece of artwork, made by a craftsman/woman who has been honing their trade for decades. In some cases, for generations.

Let’s take a look at a couple of harp-making shops: Lyon&Healy in Chicago makes high-end harps for harpists all around the world. In 2019, they opened their tours to the public for the first time – before, only performing harpists could go. Now you can see how concert harps are made in a factory setting, from the comfort of your sofa.

Lyon&Healy Harps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q57owlLmwQ

Maybe owning a concert harp is not for you, and instead you’d rather a more affordable option – a Celtic harp (aka Lever Harp). These harps are smaller, lighter, and less complicated than concert harps. But as you can see in this video, it’s still an artistic process.

How A Celtic Harp Is Made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBQF0JaHJuA

What’s your favorite kind of harp? Have you been to a harp store or factory? What was your experience seeing how harps are made? Can you see how each one is unique, hand-made, and therefore expensive?

Top 5 Best Music Learning Apps for Harp, Piano and Voice Lessons

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When I was a kid, learning music was a matter of an instrument, a book and a teacher. And if I was lucky, friends who wanted to practice together. 

These days, there are so many wonderful learning apps that I use in my daily lessons with my students, and I wanted to share a few of them with you:

  1. METRONOME

Every musician needs a metronome to speed up and slow down time in music for practicing. I use the Pro Metronome app, which allows you to change the speed, change the type of notes that get counted, create unusual rhythms, and store different songs for practice later. You can also change the sound of the metronome; some of my students find traditional metronome sounds painful. Because this is an app, you can wear earphones or earbuds for practicing, which makes the clicks easier to hear and follow. 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pro-metronome-tempo-beat-subdivision-polyrhythm/id477960671

Google Play: 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eumlab.android.prometronome&hl=en_US

 

  1. NOTE READING

It’s true that you can spend an entire lifetime as a totally fulfilled musician and never read a note of music. My father actually hid the fact that he could not read music until the very end of his life. But if you want a deeper experience of music, then learning to read music is your ticket into a wonderful world of composers and their thinking. 

I love the Music Tutor app because you can set it to test you on Treble Clef, Bass Clef, Treble and Bass together – and for those who need it, Alto Clef (you know who you are!). One of my ingenious students figured out that if you play in Airplane Mode, you don’t see the ads. Clever!

Apple:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/music-tutor-sight-reading/id514363426

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor&hl=en_US

 

  1. NOTE READING AND MUSIC THEORY

One of my favorite note reading and music theory game sites is MusicTheory.net. It has been around forever, and has evolved into a wonderful tool. Again, just a few minutes each day will make a big difference in a short time. There are free and paid tools. 

https://www.musictheory.net/

 

  1. PRACTICING WITH THE MASTERS

In Victor Wooten’s excellent book, The Music Lesson, he suggests that you “jam with the masters.” While it’s probably not possible to get most masters to come to your home, you do have access to thousands of recordings that you can learn from. 

But what if the master you are listening to plays the piece too fast? Or in another key? 

Answer: The Amazing Slow-Downer app. You can import almost any song into the Amazing Slow Downer, and slow down the song to a pace you can play without changing the pitch or key. You can also change the pitch or key without changing the speed of the song. And you can create loops, little bits of the song that need more practice. That way you can practice with the loop without hunting for it each time. 

Apple: 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amazing-slow-downer/id308998718

Google Play: 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ronimusic.asd&hl=en_US

 

  1. PRACTICING WITH YOURSELF 

Once you have mastered working with the Amazing Slow Downer, it’s time to use yourself as the master. Using a simple Voice Memo app, you can record just your left hand, and then play the right hand with your recording. And vice-versa. It’s a great way to train your ears to hear correct rhythms while keeping the playing simple

Apple: 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voice-memos/id1069512134

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skl.voicememos&hl=en_US

 

What’s your favorite music learning app? Post a comment, and I’ll go test it with my students and let you know what we think. 

Keep practicing! 

 

What Type of Harp Do I Play?

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There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to harps, so I have many harps for the various kinds of gigs and recording I do. In order of size, smallest to largest, I have:

what types of harp do you play

 

Harpsicle Lever Fullsicles: These are great little harps that fit in an overhead bin on an airplane, so I travel with them a lot. My first one is black, which I thought would be very cool and jazzy. But it turned out that it was hard to see the F strings (they are dark blue), so I had to make some paint modifications to be able to see the strings. My second and third Fullsicles are made with cherry wood and sound amazing. These harps can be strapped on like a guitar, giving me the freedom to walk and dance around. With 26 strings, you get all the notes you need. I add an Octaver pedal between me and the amplifier to create the illusion of having more bass strings than I really have. 

 

Harpsicle Lever Grand: I love my Grand. The current one is ruby red, and I did an Unboxing Video recently when it arrived at my house. It’s just a little over 10 pounds, which makes it a wonderful performance harp. With 33 strings, there’s plenty of bass power. 

 

Paraguayan Harp: I built this harp myself from a kit made by John Kovac. I love the sound, and the lightweight design. It doesn’t have levers, so it’s limited to what keys it can play in. But the rich sound of the 36 strings more than makes up for it. 

 

Salvi Electroacoustic Lever Harp: This is my recording harp. It has a pick-up on every one of strings, and creates crystal clear recording sound. The 38 strings have an extraordinarily powerful sound, which more than makes up for the weight and difficulty carrying the harp around. 

 

Lyon & Healy 85E Pedal Harp: This is the high end of my harps, equivalent in price to a small to midsize car. Rather than adjusting the pitch with levers, as most of my other harps do, this harp changes pitch with pedals on the feet. 

 

Got questions about your harp, or wondering which one is right for you? Give me a call or shoot me an email, and I do my best to help! 

What Are Harp Strings Made Of?

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Have you ever wondered what makes the beautiful sound of the harp? A huge part of the gorgeous sound comes from all those strings. But have you ever stopped to wonder what are harp strings made of?

 

“In the past, harp makers and string makers used whatever they could find,” says Sue Raimond, one of the string makers at Robinson’s Harp Shop in Laguna, California. “Harp makers used cactus sinew, veggie braids, and gut sinews from cows (not cats).”

 

Today, far fewer animals and vegetables are sacrificed for strings. String makers today use modern materials including nylon, soft copper, and phosphor bronze.

 

A HARP IN EVERY COUNTRY
“Every country has a traditional harp for that country,” Sue says. “Every country has a different culture of sound that their people expect to hear, and that’s what they want to hear.”

 

Unlike with many other instruments (such as guitars, violins, and even pedal harps), there isn’t a standard set of strings for the lever harp. Although this gives the makers the ability to precisely tailor the size, sound and feel of each harp they design, it also means that harp strings are not easily interchangeable from one harp model to another.

 

COLOR CODED FOR EASY PLAYING
If you look closely at a harp, you will usually see three colors of strings: blue, red and white/clear. “Continental Stringing” means that red strings are the note C, blue strings are Fs, and the white strings are D, E, G, A, B. This makes is easy for the harper/harpist to see quickly where the notes are on the harp.

 

“But Paraguayan harps have the colors reversed, so that the note F is red, and the note C is blue. Alternatively, you might see a Paraguayan harp with red D strings and blue A strings,” Sue says. “But string colors vary by country and area.”

 

WHAT GOES INTO A STRING?
In the United States, the lower bass strings are made of two parts: a central core string, which is then wrapped with another material. The strings might have a nylon core with a nylon wrapping, which is common on Dusty Strings harps. Other wrapped strings might have phosphor bronze core, wrapped with nylon. The bottom strings might be a steel core and a soft copper wrapping.

 

The upper strings do not need a wrapper in order to sound correct, and these strings are referred to as “monofilament” strings.

 

In other countries, string makers may use different ways to manufacture strings, in order to achieve the cultural sound that they want. In Ireland, for example, string makers there will use a plant fiber core, wrapped with nylon or soft copper.

 

HOW STRINGS ARE MADE
To make a fiber core, wrapped string, Sue and her team start with fibers that are .002 of an inch thick, about the same diameter as a human hair. These strands of fiber are then stretched across two hooks (think of a tiny, super-tight hammock), back and forth, about 10 times, until the desired total thickness of the core material is created.

 

The fiber is then stretched even further, nearly to the breaking point. Then the wrapper string is hand-tied with six knots on one end (no glue!), and the wrapper is spun onto the core string. Once the wrapper is in place, 12 more hand-tied knots secure the wrapper in place. The wrapper material is cut, and the tension on the string is released. The string relaxes like a spring at rest.

 

THE PET PEEVES OF STRING MAKERS
Like every industry professional, there are things that string makers wish their customers knew. Here are a few:

 

  • Every single harp is unique. Every. Single. One. So please don’t call Sue and say, “I need an A string.” All harps have lots of A strings on them. You need to know which string you need to have Sue make for you. She can’t read your mind nor your harp’s mind.
  • Get a string chart for your harp. Your harp manufacturer usually has them available on their websites, or you can call and ask them to send you one. Then you can call Sue and tell her exactly what you need.
  • Learn how your harp manufacturer numbers the strings. On my Salvi Egan electro-acoustic, the very top, tiny string is No. 3. So if I’m ordering from Sue, I would count my strings starting at the top, and starting with No. 3. The string numbers on all my other harps is different, too.
  • If you are ordering custom strings, be sure to measure your string length from the soundboard to the BRIDGE PIN (not the tuning pin). If you are not sure where your bridge pins are located, you can contact me or Sue to help you. DO NOT give the measurement from the soundboard to the tuning pin because you won’t get the right string.

 

HAND-MADE, ONE AT A TIME, WITH LOVE
In a world where so much is mass-produced, Sue and her team make harp strings by hand, one at a time: “Because every harp is unique, we don’t just turn around and take strings off the shelf. We make individual strings for individual harps.”

 

Robinson’s Harp Shop