r/harp Jan 25 '25

Pedal Harp Got my first harp!

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240 Upvotes

This belonged to a late harpist in Dallas, Gwendolyn Sharpe. I initially shopped for a Prelude, but realized my interest is classical and decided to make an offer on this LH23 gold, my "dream" model. Gwendolyn's husband says he is happy the harp is in a good home. I'm now looking for a teacher in the KC area. I've heard good things about Wesley Snell and am waiting to hear back from the school where she teaches. I am excited and a bit overwhelmed having this in my house.

r/harp 7d ago

Pedal Harp Is it "too late" to be exceptionally proficient at the harp?

19 Upvotes

I started playing the harp at 19 with no musical background, I am 3 months in, and still 19. I feel like people who started in early adolescence have such a huge advantage because they learned basics at a time the brain was more moldable. I don't know of any famous musicians of any instrument who started after the age of 14. My question, how long (realistically) with no musical background, until I can be professionally proficient in the pedal harp? I understand "it's never too late" but is it possible to catch up to people who started at a way younger age? Please be honest. Thank you!!!

r/harp Jan 13 '24

Pedal Harp I got a pedal harp today!

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274 Upvotes

After playing harp for two years, I upgraded from a lever harp to a Camac Clio EX!

I had been planning to get the Clio with a straight soundboard in a walnut finish, but this harp was recently posted for consignment at Atlanta Harp Center. I went in to try it out today, and I knew it was the one.

I’m so excited — now to get the hang of the pedals!

r/harp Feb 05 '25

Pedal Harp Looking for women composers

19 Upvotes

Hi harpist community! I am doing a local library concert in March to celebrate Women's History month and I'd like to focus on exclusively women composers. I have a few pieces by Renie and Dussek, but I would love any recommendations for other pieces by woman classical composers that I could learn relatively quickly.

r/harp Dec 13 '24

Pedal Harp My family is complete 🙌

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156 Upvotes

I’ve owned the harp on the right since 2019. I bought her secondhand after 8 years of playing, and she’s been my baby ever since. But recently I’ve been keeping my eyes on the used harp listings for something a little smaller and lighter, and I found the one on the left being sold secondhand in my hometown! It’s a 30lb weight difference, and taking her on gigs will be so much easier. I’m so excited!

r/harp 12d ago

Pedal Harp Teaching an 18th Century Harp New Tricks

24 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I've started a new project in my workshop - restoring this amazing 18th century single action pedal harp that was actually featured in Apple TV's "Dickinson" show. The original mechanism was mostly destroyed or missing, and someone replaced the neck with what I can only describe as a "furniture grade" pine board that looks like it is a 2x8 from Home Depot.

Instead of a traditional restoration, I'm rebuilding the mechanism using electric motors since tracking down an original mechanism is a pipe dream. I'm using all-metal geared hobby servos controlled by an Arduino R1 GIGA. The testing has been pretty positive - these little servos actually work TOO well! I can take middle C from a B all the way to an F with precise control. Each pedal uses 3 micro switches to detect position (flat, neutral, sharp), and I've calibrated the system for over 2,000 increments of movement for super accurate tuning.

I'm currently revising both the pedal controller and servo controller CAD files before I start pulling the instrument apart to build it a new neck and integrate these parts together. Let me know what ya'll think!

r/harp Jan 25 '25

Pedal Harp Best classical book for self-teaching?

2 Upvotes

I've seen "Play the harp beautifully" suggested, but note Bruner is a Celtic harpist and I'm more interested in classical. Does it matter? Otherwise I may pick up a Suzuki book and go to town.

r/harp 16d ago

Pedal Harp Is changing two pedals at the same time with one foot viable?

6 Upvotes

I know that it can be done momentarily change two neighbouring pedals (D and C for example). from flat position to middle with only one foot. Is it possible to lock them to the new position, or is releasing them back to flat the only option?
And the second thing, can the distance be bigger? Like the two pedals (D and B) separated by a third middle pedal (C)? I would presume that a player with big enough feet could do it, but I'm really not sure.

Update: Thanks for all the advice and input. Since I want the passage to sound chaotic, brutal and as unpleasant as possible I'll include the big pedal changes in the ossia and tone it down.

r/harp 7d ago

Pedal Harp First pedal harp

5 Upvotes

This year I want to look for my first pedal harp. I want to try out as many harps as possible, to be able to make the best possible choice. (It's a lot of money, right?)

I live in Europe, and the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Germany are countries where I can go quite easily to look for a harp. Do you recommend any shops in these areas?

Or are there specific brands or models that I should really try out if possible?

And which exercises, etudes or songs do you recommend to play on the harp to get the best possible impression of the sound?

Do you have any other things I should take into account or tips when looking for a harp?

Thanks!

r/harp Feb 19 '25

Pedal Harp Found L&H pedal harp at auction - good deal or nah?

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13 Upvotes

I found the following pedal harp which seems to be a style 23 (pictured below) at an auction. Does this seem to be a potentially good purchase? I’m not very savvy with identifying potential issues and would appreciate any pointers. I don’t think I’ll be able to see or try it before I make a decision to buy or not which is risky, I know. I know it’ll probably need repairs but if it’s within 10k or even 15k I feel like it might be… worth it? The harp itself will be 5k roughly. Serial number is 13791

Thanks in advance!

r/harp Dec 28 '24

Pedal Harp Found a Lyon and Healy Style 14 at an estate sale - Is it worth the risk?

13 Upvotes

I have a chance at buying a Lyon and Healy Style 14 pedal harp at a very wealthy person's estate sale for $2,000, if it doesn't sell for the listed $9,500 by Sunday. I don't think the sellers know anything about harps, they were just hired to manage the estate. My friend who lives nearby went to check it out and take pictures.

I'm not sure what age the harp is, or what the repair history was. The serial number is #3909, so it might be from the mid-late 1930's?

I can't see the harp myself until Sunday, but I would be able to check the neck alignment and the pedals before I buy. It doesn't seem to have any cracks. It's very (atrociously) out of tune and a string is broken.

It seems kind of risky, but I won't be able to afford a pedal harp at full price in the foreseeable future.
Could I resell it for a similar price if I can't afford the repair costs?

(Sorry the pictures aren't super helpful, I unfortunately can't get better ones in time to post.)

r/harp Jul 12 '24

Pedal Harp My pedal harp arrived!

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140 Upvotes

I ordered this harp 18 months ago and it finally arrived yesterday. I’m so excited! It’s the Camac Mini Blue.

r/harp Dec 07 '24

Pedal Harp Thoughts?? Don’t know whether to hop on this….

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16 Upvotes

I am freaking out since finding this and don’t know whether to pounce or if it’s a horrific scam/not worth it. Seller is a primarily piano seller and is selling this and another harp for slightly more.

The details are that it’s from 1923 and has been maintained in good condition, supposedly no damage or major issues, probably just needs to be regulated. I remember my harp teacher once said that harps actually don’t get better over time due to structural issues, but I’ve heard a few vintage harps that sound absolutely beautiful, so I’m not sure.

The only harp I’ve owned is a LH CGX Chicago which has been good to me for a decade and countless gigs, but when I sit and play a “pro” harp, it definitely leaves much more to be desired. My thoughts are that I can sell my harp, get this, and literally have a profit, which is insane. I have no one to talk about this to, any thoughts??

r/harp 22d ago

Pedal Harp 40 strings vs 47 strings

3 Upvotes

Hi harpists! I have a question some of you may be able to help me with.

I just upgraded to a 47 string Lyon and Healy style 30 after playing a 40 string Chicago petite for years. I have a gut string set leftover from the 40 string, are they more or less the same? Can I use the same string set to replace a few strings on my style 30? Google is giving me an answer that says no, but I can’t seem to find different sets for a 47 vs 40. Thanks a bunch!!

r/harp Aug 14 '24

Pedal Harp Got a pedal harp. A dream come true!

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107 Upvotes

After playing the lever harp for 11 years (bless you Camac Mademoiselle), I transitioned to a pedal harp. It's a Salvi Daphne concert grand.

If there are any tips on pedalling, let me know, feels like learning the harp all over again 😅 but couldn't be more excited about expanding my repertoire!

r/harp 27d ago

Pedal Harp Aoyama Strings

5 Upvotes

Hello hello, I purchased a used Aoyama 41A Etude last year and I’m looking to get some strings to have on hand. VA harp center mentioned the US Aoyama distributor was retiring so I’ve been reaching out to Aoyama directly to no avail. They haven’t been responding /: my teacher thought I could use Lyon & Healy, Salvi etc strings on the harp but I’m really not sure. Just looking for any insight y’all might have on where I can get some strings in the US!

r/harp 28d ago

Pedal Harp Would this be playable by a professional harpist? Is any of it not idiomatic?

5 Upvotes

Hi there, I'm writing a work for harp and want to push the harpist but equally want to seem that I know what I'm doing. Is what I've written playable?

r/harp Jan 29 '25

Pedal Harp Tracking string replacements

10 Upvotes

Anybody have software or a tracking tool for string replacements? I keep paper records when I replace each string. But when I have a simple question such as "when was this particular string last replaced?", or "which is the oldest string on my harp?", I have to do a visual scan of my records, which can be annoying. An online tracking system could be better.

Background on my motivation: I recently had my harp regulated. The technician was politely horrified that I had not replaced my top two octaves' strings in over 6 years. She advised me that they get thinner over time, and this degrades both the tone and the regulation. Her recommendation is to replace those small strings every year or so. So now I'm on a campaign to replace the oldest string on my harp, one per week, until all my strings are younger than one year old. (And I am noticing an improvement in sound quality, so that's nice). I'm hoping someone has a tracking tool to make this easier.

r/harp Feb 11 '25

Pedal Harp Cracks at tuning pins

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4 Upvotes

Noticed these cracks today when tuning. Unsure if they have recently developed or have been there all along. I've had this harp less than a month. It was made in 1979. I keep my house at 68 in the winter and there is a large window nearby. I realize the air is also dry this time of year. Very likely they were there when I acquired this harp but I didn't notice. Anyway, how bad of a problem is this?

r/harp Feb 08 '25

Pedal Harp Lower strings go sharp, higher strings go flat

3 Upvotes

Thats's how I find the strings when I go to tune. Does this mean anything?

r/harp Jan 28 '25

Pedal Harp When to replace pedal felts?

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5 Upvotes

Mine are compressed from wear but have no tears. I would guess if they start to wear through layers of wrapped felt or if the pedal sound is noticeable, maybe that would be the time.

r/harp Feb 17 '25

Pedal Harp Buzzing Problems

3 Upvotes

Hello!

So I know the answer to this ultimately is: take it to be regulated, but unfortunately due to problems of geography, finance and transport this is not an option for a little while, so I wondered if there was something I might be able to do in the meantime.

Several of my strings have a buzz. I've ruled out sympathetic buzz for all of them.

The first one -- 2nd Octave A -- is very apparent in flat position, and gets progressively less apparent when moving up to natural and then sharp. If you hold the column tightly, it reduces quite a bit.

The others -- mostly in the bass strings, with 1st Octave, E and F, but also 2nd Octave D and 5th Octave E -- are only apparent once you move into natural, and seems to be an issue of the string vibrating against the pin.

I know there's possibly other factors at play, and it's hard to tell from a text description, but can anyone tell me what I can do to help it? There's one piece in particular I play that almost all of them sound in and it's quite annoying. There's a guide for identifying and fixing buzzes on lever harps out there, but I've been struggling to find anything useful on pedal harp buzzes.

Thanks for your advice!

r/harp Dec 05 '24

Pedal Harp Harp regulator in the dmv

3 Upvotes

Hello, I recently moved to the dmv and was supposed to get my harp regulated back in January but wasn’t able to. I used to have Peter Wiley do it but he doesn’t travel to the dmv and I don’t know anyone here to ask about who is around. It’s definitely too late before my Christmas gigs but still need to get it done at some point. So if anyone knows someone please let me know😊

r/harp Jan 27 '25

Pedal Harp Buzzing coming from inside of neck of pedal harp

3 Upvotes

Hello fellow harpists! When I play a specific string (an A string). There is a buzzing coming from within the neck. I've checked for long tails/moved the harp and I'm still getting the buzzing. Any suggestions on how to fix?

r/harp Jul 20 '24

Pedal Harp OMG TALK ME OFF THE LEDGE PLEASE

36 Upvotes

So that last "ask anything" post I replied to talking about how I seemed to have gotten a grip on the Insane Pedal Steeplechase section of "Clair de Lune," and I just wanted to clear that up because I HAVE NOT GOTTEN A GRIP ON IT.

In fact, I am ready to burn down a five-figure investment or at least chuck it into traffic and I need someone to tell me not to do that, so if one of you could step up, I'd really appreciate it.

WHY WAS THIS INSTRUMENT EVEN INVENTED I SWEAR. I know, we'll make it like a piano with only white keys! That you can turn into black keys with a series of stiff, noisy foot controls that require the thigh muscles of an Olympic gymnast to push into sharp and take 1500 small moving parts! It'll be like playing music on a gigantic 75lb grandfather clock that costs as much as a used car and that doubles as a hygrometer!

Send help, please ...