Types of #harps: They are not all the same! #harpist

Hi everyone!  A lot of people ask me about my harp or what kind of harp do I play, so I decided to blog about types of harps since they are not all the same.  Well, there is some similarities:  all harps are triangular in shape.  But, they come in many varieties and sizes.  The five harps illustrated below are some of the most common types.  They are:

1.  Irish lap harp.
2.  Gothic lap harp.
3.  Medium-size folk harp.
4.  Irish high-headed harp.
5.  Concert Grand Pedal harp - My Harp!

Most of these harps have one set of strings in the order of the piano’s white keys: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.  Check out this blog for more info on the color of the strings.

My harp has 47 strings, or six-and-one-half octaves, almost the full range of the piano.  The bottom string is C, three notes above the piano’s lowest A.  The top string is G, four notes below the piano’s highest C.  The Pedal Harp also has seven pedals, one for each note in the scale, that are attached mechanically to discs at the top of the strings and are used to change all octaves of each note by two half-tones, flat to natural to sharp. 

To learn more about each of these harps, check out this FAQ            from the Harp Connection.

References:  Harp Spectrum and Harp connection.