Choosing A Harp - Harp Spectrum

Getting Started

Sylvia Woods, one of those responsible for the amazing resurgence of the folk harp in the last 40 years, used to give introductory workshops at her store in Glendale, CA, called “I’ve Always Wanted to Play the Harp”. Are you someone who has always wanted to play the harp but doesn’t know where to start? It can be bewildering because harps come in more sizes and varieties than any other instrument I can think of: they can be from about 25” to 76” tall and have from 15 to 47 strings; they also can be very plain or extremely ornate with 24 carat gold leaf, painted sounding boards and you can even be “plugged” in (electric); they may have no sharping mechanisms, or have hand-operated levers or foot-operated pedals for making accidentals. If you are brand new to the harp, it might be helpful to you to check out Wikipedia’s quite complete history of the European-derived harp and Catrin Finch’s several-part series on YouTube called “The History of the Harp”.

People buy harps in different ways. For example, as a young adult I bought a used Wurlitzer Starke model pedal harp from Lyon & Healy sight unseen and over the phone, and loved and played it my whole professional life. My second purchase was a custom-made but inexpensive 22-string gothic-style Westover harp, whose correct size for me was determined by Harold Westover in his New Hampshire shop. The third was a Dusty Strings lever harp, which I bought after working in Sylvia Woods’ store and tuning and comparing 55 harps.

What can we learn from my experience?

• Sometimes you’re just lucky (Wurlitzer).

• Working with the maker can get you just what you want. (Westover).

• Playing and comparing several harps can help you find the right one for you. (Dusty Strings)

If you really want to be methodical in your search for a harp for yourself or for a student, there are some things to think about or do. Mary Radspinner at Melody’s Traditional Music & Harp Shoppe says, “Like a good suit of clothes, the right harp should ‘fit’ the music you want to play…feel comfortable against your body and ‘fit’ within your budget. Harp making is very labor-intensive work and the prices are quite reasonable when compared to other handcrafted musical instruments. Anything worth investing time and energy into is worth investing money into as well. Evaluate your situation and determine what part the harp will play in your life both now and in the future. If you see that the harp will be of importance to you, then go from there to determine how much you are willing to invest.”