Dear Friends,

Here is some information on choosing harps and recorders. We welcome ideas on choosing other instruments. Please e-mail us with your ideas - melody@folkharp.com.

Choosing a Harp

The harp can seem very mysterious to a person not familiar with it. Unlike a piano or violin, the harp is not standardized and can vary greatly in size, range and style.
Usually, a first time harp buyer is someone who knows little about the harp other than they love the music and want to play for themselves. How does one decide which is the best instrument for them? Talk to ten different harp players and you will probably get ten different opinions — and they are all correct! Like a good suit of clothes, the right harp should “fit” the music you want to play, have a pleasing tone to your ears, feel comfortable against your body and “fit” within your budget. All of the harps listed in our catalog are of excellent quality. We offer a variety from many different builders to help each person find their own perfect harp! Here are a few things to consider in making a decision…

Range

Harps can have from 9 to 47 strings, and everywhere in between! The harps we sell have at least 22 strings. Small harps, we call them travel harps, usually have a range of 22 to 23 strings. More and more music becomes available for these harps all the time. This was not the case 10 years ago, times have changed! These harps are very useful to those who travel, or for those wanting to start playing at a more affordable price. They are also known as lap harps, but really it is preferable to set them on a stand in front of you rather than on your lap, which can be a balancing act in itself. Harps with 26 strings fit between the travel harps and the floor harps in terms of size and range. They are still very portable; some have legs and some require a stand. Much of the standard music is workable on these harps or is adaptable. Smaller “floor harps” with 29 to 32 strings are usually free standing with a slightly wider range and still quite portable. Harps with 34 to 38 strings fall into the “full range” lever harp category if they include the Low C (2 octaves below Middle C). With few limitations, this size is where most serious players end up due to the wider variety of music available. Pedal harps generally have at least 40 strings. The pedal mechanism makes it possible to play music that is more chromatic in nature, and to change keys quickly. Orchestral music is almost always written with the pedal harp in mind, as is Romantic, French Impressionistic and some modern music. College and University programs are generally geared toward pedal harp; but hark! There is a program for a major in lever harp at the U of Oregon headed by Laura Zaerr, professor of harp.

Sound

A good sounding instrument invites you to play! Every aspect of harp design has an effect on the overall volume and tone quality of the instrument. From the woods utilized to the shape and size of the soundbox, each builder combines different elements to achieve their idea of good sound. Whether they have succeeded or not is a matter of personal taste and opinion. The elements listed below are general guidelines:

Size

The more strings, the bigger the harp. The bigger the harp, the bigger the sound. (This is a very general rule as I have heard small 22 string lap harps put out more volume than much bigger full-range harps)

Harp Body

The body consists of the sides and back of the soundbox. Standard shapes are round back, slab (either square or rectangular) and stave (5-7 sided). Round backs are made from high quality plywood or laminated wood. (Solid wood will not bend enough). Though strong and comfortable, the round backs may not resonate as freely as the solid wood square or stave backs due to the multi-layers of wood and glue. Square back designs have the most air space allowing more amplification of the string vibrations (i.e. “bigger sound”). In addition, the solid woods transmit sound vibrations more freely than the laminates. The stave back is a very popular design because it combines the sound quality of solid wood with the body-fitting comfort of the round backs.

Wood

As mentioned above, round back harps are made from laminates so the different finishes available are stains which don’t affect the sound. With harps of solid wood for the soundbox, the type of wood selected will make a difference. The most common woods are walnut, mahogany, cherry and maple. The walnut gives a blending, full-bodied richness to the sound while maple tends toward a crisp, bright and clean flavor. Cherry and mahogany fall pretty much in between. Hardwoods which are consider exotic such as wenge and bubinga are also popular choices for their tonal quality and appearance. They may carry a hefty premium in price due to the scarcity of the wood and the toll that the texture of the wood may take on the manufacturer’s tools.

Soundboard

The main function of the soundboard is to amplify the vibrations of the plucked strings. Since the strings are under tension, the soundboard must be strong to keep from ripping apart while at the same time, thin enough to vibrate. For economical small harps, birch plywood is often used. It is easy to work with, strong and has very good sound at 1/8 inch or thinner. On larger harps, this material must be thicker to hold the extra tension of more strings and starts to muffle instead of enhancing the sound. The best harps use solid spruce (and with one builder, a combination of spruce and mahogany) for their soundboards because of its excellent strength-to-resonate sound qualities. These boards are painstakingly assembled and as such, add significantly to a harp’s price. Also, many builders will put a layer of veneer over the soundboard. This is a very thin layer of wood added mainly for decorative reasons.

Comfort

Playing the harp well, like any instrument, takes practice. The more you practice, the better you get. This means you are going to spend a lot of time with the harp resting between your arms nestled against your body. Your body shape and size will determine which harp is comfortable for you. If you have past injuries causing arthritis or pain, it is best to try harps before purchasing. Generally, square back harps are quite small at the top and pose little trouble for the arms to reach around although some rectangular boxes prove difficult for shorter or heavier players. Round backs and stave back models are by far the most comfortable shapes for the widest variety of people.

Style

There are many different styles of harps. Someone aspiring to play in church or at weddings may prefer a “Classic” looking harp. Another who plays Irish music will be more interested in a traditional “Celtic” instrument. We have had people select harps to match their furniture! Hopefully, the pictures we have included in the catalog will help decide the “look” that’s right for you.

Price

After deciding on the range and size of harp right for you, it’s time to consider the budget. Small harps are very economical. As the range increases, so does the cost. 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.

Levers

The smaller harps we stock arrive here without levers. This gives you an opportunity to figure out what keys you will be playing in most of the time to determine how to invest your levering money. John does the levering and some repair work. Many times the lap harps only require F’s and C’s — sometimes B’s. Since many people who purchase lap harps use them for “keeping their chops up” while traveling, we don’t normally recommend a full set of levers on them, because you probably won’t use them all. Another thing to consider, will you be singing while you play, and what key is best for your voice? If you are comfortable singing in the key of Bb, then you will need the B and E levers. If you should change your mind and need more keys to play in, sending lap harps back to us for installation of more levers via UPS is an option. Be sure to save the box it came in. Speaking of those boxes — they are reinforced with styrofoam insulation. You can use them over and over again. You might even consider covering them with fabric and using them for your airplane travel.

In conclusion, my wife Mary has been playing harp for almost 30 years. That represents thousands of hours with a harp cradled against her body. Though happily married, I see no way I will ever catch up to the harp for time spent in her arms. My best advice is choose a harp very carefully — you will be together a lot!
— John Gill

Choosing a Recorder

Firstly I must tell you that I am not an expert, or professional recorder player. I’m a professional harpist, but when I was growing up I was enamored with all instruments. An extensive keyboard background starting when I was 7 (thanks Mom) made taking up a new instrument easy and fun. When I was a kid in Milwaukee I used to take the bus downtown to a store on 3rd street that sold organ music and recorders, among other things I’m sure, none of which I was interested in at the time. I bought myself a wood soprano recorder and a plastic alto. Long story short, I’ve played the recorder (not well) ever since I was old enough to take the bus downtown and spend my babysitting money.

Now that we sell them in the store people ask, “which one should I get?” Here are a few things to take into consideration. The first thing is that wooden recorders have a break-in period. Play them for about 5 minutes a day the first week, 10 minutes a day the second week, and then it’s pretty well seasoned. You don’t want it to get too wet as a new instrument. Wood recorders, after being played for maybe 30 minutes, become quite moist, so when the instrument begins to get clogged and no longer speaks well, you have to swab it out and let it dry, usually for about 24 hours. So think about having a back-up instrument if you plan to play for long periods at a time. What’s the difference between wood and plastic for recorder material? Since a player’s breath contains moisture and wood tends to expand with moisture and humidity, one can continue playing longer on a plastic instrument, especially someone who might be playing outside in muggy conditions. As for tone, whatever sounds good to your ears is what you should go with. Don’t assume that plastic instruments will always sound inferior to wood. Which wood? Maple is hard, fine grained, porous and resilient. Pearwood is hard, very even density and fine texture. Bubinga is hard, heavy, and attractively grained with a reddish hue. The pearwood and maple recorders are paraffined. Oiling them will clog them rather than help, except every once in a while after long playing. The rest of the woods should be oiled. As with all fine instruments, they are vulnerable to sudden temperature changes, especially excessive heat.

SATB – should I get a soprano, alto, tenor or bass? Soprano recorders have the highest pitch, their lowest note being middle C but sounding an octave higher. Many people get the soprano as their first instrument because of the availability of the instrument and its instruction books, as well as books with piano accompaniment. Personally I think the recorder that sounds best with harp or other instruments is the alto recorder; the alto quality is appealing to me. The lowest note on the alto and bass recorders is F. When looking for music for alto recorder, the lowest note should be the F “above” middle C. The fingering for the alto recorder is different from the soprano. Soprano and tenor use the same fingering, as do alto and bass. That’s why the soprano/tenor books are one in the same, as are the alto/bass books. Tenor recorders have a wonderful rich sound. They make it possible for you to play trios, and the tenor sounds rich when accompanied by piano, harp or guitar. Bass recorders complete the SATB recorder ensemble, and are usually purchased by members of recorder ensembles (consorts). Bass recorders are quite expensive in the wood form; we stock a very good plastic model, and can special order various wood bass recorders.