harp

HARP

Type of instrument: plucked string instrument

Materials used to make it: Wood, gut strings

How it's made:In remote civilizations turtle shells and vegetable ropes were used and they underwent mutations (appearance of a mast and more ropes), with the use of trunks hollowed leather skins, etc. The Uraloaltaic peoples, Turks, Tartars, Indo-European, Eastern Africa, etc., knew and cultivated this instrument. In its construction, wood, bronze, gold, beaten metal, ivory, etc. were used. Remaining in time of its traditional triangular physiognomy. Cedar is the wood that was usually used for the sound box. For the top or top of the box, it is invariably used pine, harmonically spruce well parked. In rural areas they use cedar "tapas" given their modest possibilities. The pegs are of wood in continuous or alternated form, also they are used of bone and in recent times the aluminum ones have been incorporated. The strings have been modified: steel, casing and nylon. For the head of the console must use extremely hard wood, due to the climatic variation and stringing pressure.

How we tune it: 1.-A very practical method is to have another harp already tuned and go by pressing string by string, giving the tension and tuning until you get each sound.

2.-Another method would be with a piano and / or keyboard, press each note of the major musical scale, the white keys of the piano, corresponding to the tone of major = (C), and fine-tuning each sound until the instrument is tuned completely.

3.- Another way would be to ask the favor of a harpist who has his instrument correctly tuned, to record the sounds in sequence, each string at least 10 times, so that the aspirant can listen carefully and tune each string correctly.

4.-If you do not have the above, you should at least do what you can to get a whistle or a tuning fork with the note La natural. You can buy it in the houses dedicated to the sale of musical instruments.

how to tune the harp

Important composers and works

•  Lily Laskine
• Nicanor Zabaleta
• Xavier de Maistre

how to play the harp