Hi harpists! I started taking pedal harp lessons at the beginning of the year and just bit the bullet and bought my own instrument! I will be receiving a used L&H style 100 next week. It’s being shipped in a hard travel case, pictured here. The only issue is that my teacher will be traveling at time of delivery and so not able to help me receive it. This is a total newbie question, but how do I open the case and safely remove the harp? Will it be obvious? Anything to watch out for?

Hi Could I ask for your comment on better left hand fingering for this bar please?
This is Handel Concerto in B flat for Harp & Orchestra easy version. Thanks in advance.

Hello,

My and my wife are currently in Germany for one year.

My wife is whole life harpist, teacher,…

We were not abble to take her harp with us .

Does any one know if there is any chance of borrowing a pedal harp here ?

We tried to find it but without success.

Thank you a lot !

Hello, harpists! I'm an adult learner, getting into the world of harping. I've looking for an instrument to sink my teeth into and decided on the harp after listening to Dorothy Ashby and Brandee Younger. I'd never known about these musicians and their playing opened not only my eyes and ears to the true beauty of the instrument, but also my mind to possibility. Growing up, exposure to the harp was limited to the background in songs. Now, after learning about those two, I'm excited to experience and engage with music in a way I'd never even conceived!

While I have a classically trained instructor, they lean heavily into jazz harp (my currently planned trajectory). Do any of you have any tips for a new adult learner like myself? My goal is to gig at some of the many (many, many) wineries near me for fun and free wine!

I look forward to diving into all of this!

Hi all! I was wondering if there were any harpists on here that could describe a typical day/week in your life as a wedding harpist!

Do you have a second job/day job or is your harp business your full time job? Any helpful tips in getting a wedding harpist business up and running would be much appreciated too 🥰

I am hoping to start playing small weddings/events in the near time future, but will have to slowly transition from working my regular full time nursing job into hopefully working as a wedding harpist full time with per diem nursing jobs one day.

Would love to hear from you all and what your typical weekly schedule is like as a wedding harpist!

hi everyone! super new here - have always wanted to play the harp and finally picked up a second-hand Stoney end even song 26 off reverb. however, the sound is super dull/muddy despite trying to tune it. any help would be so, so appreciate!

Does anyone have any local recommendations or tips on where to get my 32-string lever harp re-strung and serviced?

I live in Belfast and it seems that the only options are to fly a technician over from England or to trek all the way to Galway or Killarney!

TIA!

Hey all, my wife and I are currently looking for a harp to begin learning with - I have found some few locally and these are currently two of the best options I've found. My wife knows she's more interested in a warmer tone over "bright" (I'm still trying to figure out the difference, so if you have a good explanation in layman terms I'd be much appreciative)

The Aoyama is older, based on the serial number. I can't tell for sure what levers are on it, and it's not been kept by a musician and has only been for decoration for awhile. A couple strings are broken in the higher octaves, but overall from pictures seems in great shape. What few videos I can find in YouTube, it seems to have the brighter? Tone that seems more suited to folk songs and such? Anyone have personal experience with one and can comment?

I think I don't need to say too much about the Dusty Strings except it's been kept by an active musician and they are upgrading to something else more suited to their needs of travel and therapy harp. The other thing is the asking price is a bit over double the Aoyama above.

I would love for anyone to comment on which they would recommend, any experience with either, etc

edit. one other option I have found is a 34 string harp made by Bob Cunningham as well, but this one is also in the higher price bracket like the dusty above.

Thank you!

Pictures I have of the levers, Elysian is the Aoyama, the lighted strings are from the Ravenna

Hey all, I started playing harp about 4 months ago as a first instrument with no musical history. I always thought solo pieces would be the most fun, but when I play duets with my teacher, it’s a lot of fun. I was wondering if there are some low level group things to play music with, where the expectation isn’t too high. For context, I’m 20, live in Charlotte NC, and my day are occupied with work. Weekend activities would be best. Any ideas?

Also concerned about future maintenance and the lack of domestic availability.

I’ve never written for harp before so if someone who plays harp can tell me if this is written correctly or if anything is impossible I’d appreciate it. If you also have any tips for writing harp in the future I’d also appreciate it because i really like the sound of the harp and would like writing for it more often.

I’d love to get an LED lighting system for my Salvi pedal. I play in orchestras and often the lighting is low/poor and it’s a struggle to see the strings. I also really like the look of a lit up harp!
LEDharp on Instagram don’t ship to EU and the only other setups I can find to purchase are for lever/lap harps. It seems I need to custom build it myself but I have no idea what to buy or where to start.
Does anyone have any recommendations?

hi! i have a lyon & healy prelude 40 which i absolutely adore, but naturally it lives at home. i’d love to be able to go into nature and play or see friends and jam with them.

tbh, im not super worried about quality. since i have a nice harp, this would be just for fun so im not opposed to getting a harp shaped object instead of a harp lol if the price and portability make sense. definitely not interested in spending more than 1k, and even 1k is quite a bit for something i dont want to worry about treating with the care i do my prelude.

does anyone have recommendations?

Could someone tell me what fingering should I use for the right hand? I was thinking:

1-2, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-4, 1-3 and 1-3?

Or 1-2 for the first 3 notes and 1-3 for the rest?

I wonder if I overthink intervals and fingering sometimes....

So I just wanted to show me playing the same piece before I started with a harp teacher and was teaching myself and after I started with a harp teacher (two lessons in). I’d love to hear some feedback on the difference and any thoughts as well as what I did well and what I can do better. Please be nice because I am a beginner!

I can’t post two videos at once so I’m giving YouTube links. Hope that’s ok.

https://youtube.com/shorts/xWBiCfIr6gI?is=lLoCKx7qwVk6mYvN

https://youtube.com/shorts/-sDGbkFcFto?is=9YN7m07ngCKi61_A

I got this from the library because I realized I didn’t know much about the evolution of the pedal mechanism and was curious (I’m a folk harper and, although I understand how pedal harps work, I’m not well-versed in their history.). Mostly it’s pretty dry, but the highlighted sentence here made me CACKLE out loud. Rensch has a few pretty amusing asides.

I usually play flute (I’ve played it for 4 yrs roughly and I’m currently 19) and I really love it and still continue it to this day.

Ive always wanted to play another instrument alongside so I can learn more skills and gain a bit of inspiration. I really love the harp as it’s so beautiful and I heard you can get smaller ones (often called Celtic harps I think or lever harps? Sorry I’m such a newbie 😭😭😭) that are functional and you can play pieces on them.

I’m not sure if it’s bad however because I’ve heard learning two instruments is considered a no no. I’m not a serious musician tbh, I mainly play music as a hobby to help me soothe my mental health as I’m on antidepressants atm and I thought learning new hobbies would help a bit. I was also thinking a harp could be handy so I can get more used to reading bass clefs instead of just treble clefs as flute music sheets don‘t ever use bass clefs. I will still develop my skills in flute playing obviously I just like the idea of learning the harp too I’m not really aiming to master anything as again I’m not too serious about music as I’m more of a hobbyist. Should I get a harp or not I’m not sure?
idk what do u guys think I should do? thought I would ask the experts lol

Also yes I do practice regularly lmao

I really like new pick-up for this harp. It makes the harpsicle sound warm, and i think i will not use additional EQ after recording sound

Hi, I'm kind of struggling to find a gift for my sister that loves to play the harp. I was thinking of maybe getting her a physical tuner, since right now she's stuck with using apps on her phone. Is there any you could recommend, or what I should look for to find a good one?

Total beginner and have something on your mind? Or you've been playing your whole life but need a refresher? Judgement free zone to post questions!

Please help. I just noticed it today. I noticed, hmm that is odd, what are these black flecks on my harp? it turned out to be pieces from the wood. I have no idea what happened although I have been moving my harp around a bit between different floors of my apartment. Please help

I have completed the body portion of the harp I will upload the drawing and measurements I used it’s in its very raw shape and working on tweaking some technique

I am an avid performer, have been doing weddings for years and also play festivals and events with my band. However, there have been a couple of times I know I shouldn’t have played because of the weather. I refuse to play in the 40s, and now I’m thinking it needs to be at least 55F or so to play outside. I also require shade if it’s 80F. I’m guessing my requirements are a little more lax than some of you, but I like perform as much as I can. What are your weather stipulations? (Of course I also require a cover if it’s raining, and will not play if it’s pouring because that can still get under the cover).