Thinking of buying a harp?
.... Its a big deal! Take your time, have a good look around, come to harp orchestra and have a listen to the wide variety we have in the orchestra.
If you pay peanuts - you get monkeys! In saying that cheap is not a bad way to start, but 'cheap' and 'harp' are not words that often go together, and cheap often doesn't sound much good, or last you that long, so be prepared to want a better tone, more strings or levers from a more expensive/better harp once you really get in to it.
Parents! I know harping is an expensive hobby - that's why I encourage hiring a harp while your child decides if it is their instrument or not! But when you buy, please consider that many of my students who started as a child, and are now adults, still have, and play their beloved harp - it was a great investment for them to learn on, and now to use as a relaxing, de-stressor, and something they love to keep playing for their own enjoyment. You do the maths .... even if you spent $6000 on a beautiful instrument and they had lessons for ten years, then played for years beyond that .... its averaged out to less than $600 a year for the first ten years - you can't hire a decent instrument for that!! Buying a really lovely instrument will give them the potential of a life time of enjoying their music. Even young kids can hear the difference between a beautiful tone, and an average tone and the better the tone, the better we feel about what we are playing. My first harp (which I still use ALL. THE. TIME) was given to me by my parents as several birthday and Christmas presents for several years running - I didn't feel at all hard done by - I got exactly what I wanted and appreciate it to this day!
Where do you start?
Don’t be afraid to ask a more experienced harpist or your teacher for advice – not every harp is suited to every harpist and if you purchase the right one, you can have many, many years of joy from the instrument.
I have fallen into the trap again and again of saying to harpists’ parents that “this will last her another 5 years” … I’ve learnt now to say “it’s a student harp, if she practices hard she will need a bigger/better/louder (whatever) harp when she reaches the upper grades of her harping”. It's very hard to determine what a student should buy as their first harp. NZ has a very small second hand harp market which disadvantages the buyer, but is an advantage to the seller – second hand harps aren’t often on the market for long! Especially if they were a good harp to begin with, and have been well looked after.
Price and value for money
You need to be realistic about the price of different-sized harps. The prices will vary within each size of harp – lap harp (22-26 strings), small floor harp (29-30 strings), large floor harp (34-36 strings), and pedal harps (40-47 strings). For each of these sizes there will be the “cheap and chirpy” model, the “student” model and the “professional” model.
Our needs are not all the same - there is a harp suitable for every harpist. Not all harp makers are equal and I think it would be a very interesting experiment to have a number of the same model of harp made by a range of different harp makers – what would the result be?
But let’s get my loose definitions defined a little further…
“Cheap and chirpy” and “student” harps are great for beginners and onwards for some students who are not looking to sit advanced exams. But don’t be surprised if you find a “student” harp that fulfils all your requirements for ever and ever – my 30 string lever harp is my favourite for taking out to gigs as it has a great sound and is compact. It wasn’t too expensive (25 years ago!) but is fabulous.
The “professional” title does not limit the harp to those advanced harpists who play gigs … I use it (as some of the harp retailers do) to describe a harp that is of a high standard, using solid wood, and better quality materials (pins and strings). A harp of this quality allows us to get the best sound from all the different techniques we use and is capable of a full range of dynamic contrast - not all harps are capable of that, some are not built to get clear harmonics, and others might buzz or twang when you really work them hard.
Size and number of strings
The 34 string harp which I use to teach with, I never intended to buy…. but I fell in love with its sound, and it was the same price as other 34 string harps which were of lesser quality. But … it’s too tall and heavy for the average student - definitely too big and intimidating for little beginners. In saying that it makes the perfect teaching studio harp as it won’t get knocked over by a student (if it did I think they would suffer more permanent damage than the harp!) and I always have a smaller harp in the studio for my belles.
I start all my beginners (regardless of age or ability) on “cheap and chirpy” harps. Within six months or a year some have purchased a bigger harp and for some, four or five years later, they are still perfectly happy on a wee harp. It's their choice ultimately!
For a small child I try to encourage buying a harp that they can sit comfortably behind – that they don’t have to spread their knees uncomfortably wide to get one either side of the harp (otherwise they sit side-saddle when you’re not there!) They also need to have the right sized harp, or chair, to sit so they aren’t too low or too high. If they sit too low or high, they can’t easily play in the middle of the strings where the best tone of the strings is found.
Who is going to carry this harp around?? Do they need to take it in to school for ensemble rehearsals? Is a parent going to be available to be the harp-lugger? Many of my students purchased their “cheap and chirpy” harp in the early days of lessons and now have a bigger harp that stays at home. They can carry their own wee harp in and out of school, and on buses and trains, and they have become experts at adapting the music between their harps.
Want a light-weight harp? Make sure you try to lift it before you buy it and remember that the weight of the carry case will add more kilos to the overall weight.
Measure the car space it will be travelling in – nothing worse than finding the harp doesn’t fit!
PLAY.EVERY.SINGLE.STRING. – with levers engaged and not engaged – check there are no buzzes or funky strings. What about when you play the strings really firmly – do they sound ok?
Do you like the sound of the harp across the whole range? Is the volume even when you pluck each string the same way – is it softer or louder in some parts of the range? Do you like that or not?
What kind of strings does it have – nylon or gut? Lever harps are more commonly strung with nylon these days, but there are still some gut strung harps. The gut strings have a slightly drier tone, and they can be harder on your fingers until your fingers toughen up a bit and you get used to the feel of the gut string. We also have silk gut and nylgut strings - man-made versions of the gut string. Find out what the harp you are looking at has on it, and where you will get strings.
The string spacing is different on different makes of harps – try them out to find out what suits you. If you really love the harp but the spacing is different, I think it’s pretty safe to say that your fingers will adjust to different string spacing.
What does the harp maker offer in the way of a guarantee for his workmanship – make sure you have read his fine print – does he guarantee his work for a period of time? Where can you buy replacement strings for his harps, and will he regulate the harp after you have played it in?
The look of the instrument is very important to some people – I like my harps plain and unadorned – make sure you are happy with the look, the sound, the size and the price – this is an expensive purchase and you need to make sure you have done plenty of research before you buy.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!!!! Don't order something online - buy it in person so you can play it first. If you buy a harp that is not up to scratch it is VERY hard to get rid of in NZ. Most teachers encourage their students to involve them in trying out a harp that you may wish to purchase, and it's a pretty small harp world if you are trying to get ride of a sub-standard instrument at the huge price you paid for it!!!
Particularly for second hand harps you need to check:
The belly of the harp (sound box) doesn’t look too raised.
That there are no cracks in wood or varnish. No cracks in the neck joint.
Looking from the front: Does the neck and pillar look straight
My best advice is that you ask your teacher to look at the harp and consider if it is suitable as a harp for you.
Check out the NZHS website for a list of NZ harp makers and their websites. The NZHS sometimes lists harps for sale both on the website and in their journal. Also look on Trade Me for second hand harps (make sure you try before you buy!), and find out more about the harps made overseas to get a realistic idea of what a harp really costs. You must try playing different harps before you buy – otherwise you have no way of knowing whether it has a good sound or if it is the right shape and size for you and your fingers.
.... Its a big deal! Take your time, have a good look around, come to harp orchestra and have a listen to the wide variety we have in the orchestra.
If you pay peanuts - you get monkeys! In saying that cheap is not a bad way to start, but 'cheap' and 'harp' are not words that often go together, and cheap often doesn't sound much good, or last you that long, so be prepared to want a better tone, more strings or levers from a more expensive/better harp once you really get in to it.
Parents! I know harping is an expensive hobby - that's why I encourage hiring a harp while your child decides if it is their instrument or not! But when you buy, please consider that many of my students who started as a child, and are now adults, still have, and play their beloved harp - it was a great investment for them to learn on, and now to use as a relaxing, de-stressor, and something they love to keep playing for their own enjoyment. You do the maths .... even if you spent $6000 on a beautiful instrument and they had lessons for ten years, then played for years beyond that .... its averaged out to less than $600 a year for the first ten years - you can't hire a decent instrument for that!! Buying a really lovely instrument will give them the potential of a life time of enjoying their music. Even young kids can hear the difference between a beautiful tone, and an average tone and the better the tone, the better we feel about what we are playing. My first harp (which I still use ALL. THE. TIME) was given to me by my parents as several birthday and Christmas presents for several years running - I didn't feel at all hard done by - I got exactly what I wanted and appreciate it to this day!
Where do you start?
Don’t be afraid to ask a more experienced harpist or your teacher for advice – not every harp is suited to every harpist and if you purchase the right one, you can have many, many years of joy from the instrument.
I have fallen into the trap again and again of saying to harpists’ parents that “this will last her another 5 years” … I’ve learnt now to say “it’s a student harp, if she practices hard she will need a bigger/better/louder (whatever) harp when she reaches the upper grades of her harping”. It's very hard to determine what a student should buy as their first harp. NZ has a very small second hand harp market which disadvantages the buyer, but is an advantage to the seller – second hand harps aren’t often on the market for long! Especially if they were a good harp to begin with, and have been well looked after.
Price and value for money
You need to be realistic about the price of different-sized harps. The prices will vary within each size of harp – lap harp (22-26 strings), small floor harp (29-30 strings), large floor harp (34-36 strings), and pedal harps (40-47 strings). For each of these sizes there will be the “cheap and chirpy” model, the “student” model and the “professional” model.
Our needs are not all the same - there is a harp suitable for every harpist. Not all harp makers are equal and I think it would be a very interesting experiment to have a number of the same model of harp made by a range of different harp makers – what would the result be?
But let’s get my loose definitions defined a little further…
“Cheap and chirpy” and “student” harps are great for beginners and onwards for some students who are not looking to sit advanced exams. But don’t be surprised if you find a “student” harp that fulfils all your requirements for ever and ever – my 30 string lever harp is my favourite for taking out to gigs as it has a great sound and is compact. It wasn’t too expensive (25 years ago!) but is fabulous.
The “professional” title does not limit the harp to those advanced harpists who play gigs … I use it (as some of the harp retailers do) to describe a harp that is of a high standard, using solid wood, and better quality materials (pins and strings). A harp of this quality allows us to get the best sound from all the different techniques we use and is capable of a full range of dynamic contrast - not all harps are capable of that, some are not built to get clear harmonics, and others might buzz or twang when you really work them hard.
Size and number of strings
The 34 string harp which I use to teach with, I never intended to buy…. but I fell in love with its sound, and it was the same price as other 34 string harps which were of lesser quality. But … it’s too tall and heavy for the average student - definitely too big and intimidating for little beginners. In saying that it makes the perfect teaching studio harp as it won’t get knocked over by a student (if it did I think they would suffer more permanent damage than the harp!) and I always have a smaller harp in the studio for my belles.
I start all my beginners (regardless of age or ability) on “cheap and chirpy” harps. Within six months or a year some have purchased a bigger harp and for some, four or five years later, they are still perfectly happy on a wee harp. It's their choice ultimately!
For a small child I try to encourage buying a harp that they can sit comfortably behind – that they don’t have to spread their knees uncomfortably wide to get one either side of the harp (otherwise they sit side-saddle when you’re not there!) They also need to have the right sized harp, or chair, to sit so they aren’t too low or too high. If they sit too low or high, they can’t easily play in the middle of the strings where the best tone of the strings is found.
Who is going to carry this harp around?? Do they need to take it in to school for ensemble rehearsals? Is a parent going to be available to be the harp-lugger? Many of my students purchased their “cheap and chirpy” harp in the early days of lessons and now have a bigger harp that stays at home. They can carry their own wee harp in and out of school, and on buses and trains, and they have become experts at adapting the music between their harps.
Want a light-weight harp? Make sure you try to lift it before you buy it and remember that the weight of the carry case will add more kilos to the overall weight.
Measure the car space it will be travelling in – nothing worse than finding the harp doesn’t fit!
PLAY.EVERY.SINGLE.STRING. – with levers engaged and not engaged – check there are no buzzes or funky strings. What about when you play the strings really firmly – do they sound ok?
Do you like the sound of the harp across the whole range? Is the volume even when you pluck each string the same way – is it softer or louder in some parts of the range? Do you like that or not?
What kind of strings does it have – nylon or gut? Lever harps are more commonly strung with nylon these days, but there are still some gut strung harps. The gut strings have a slightly drier tone, and they can be harder on your fingers until your fingers toughen up a bit and you get used to the feel of the gut string. We also have silk gut and nylgut strings - man-made versions of the gut string. Find out what the harp you are looking at has on it, and where you will get strings.
The string spacing is different on different makes of harps – try them out to find out what suits you. If you really love the harp but the spacing is different, I think it’s pretty safe to say that your fingers will adjust to different string spacing.
What does the harp maker offer in the way of a guarantee for his workmanship – make sure you have read his fine print – does he guarantee his work for a period of time? Where can you buy replacement strings for his harps, and will he regulate the harp after you have played it in?
The look of the instrument is very important to some people – I like my harps plain and unadorned – make sure you are happy with the look, the sound, the size and the price – this is an expensive purchase and you need to make sure you have done plenty of research before you buy.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!!!! Don't order something online - buy it in person so you can play it first. If you buy a harp that is not up to scratch it is VERY hard to get rid of in NZ. Most teachers encourage their students to involve them in trying out a harp that you may wish to purchase, and it's a pretty small harp world if you are trying to get ride of a sub-standard instrument at the huge price you paid for it!!!
Particularly for second hand harps you need to check:
The belly of the harp (sound box) doesn’t look too raised.
That there are no cracks in wood or varnish. No cracks in the neck joint.
Looking from the front: Does the neck and pillar look straight
My best advice is that you ask your teacher to look at the harp and consider if it is suitable as a harp for you.
Check out the NZHS website for a list of NZ harp makers and their websites. The NZHS sometimes lists harps for sale both on the website and in their journal. Also look on Trade Me for second hand harps (make sure you try before you buy!), and find out more about the harps made overseas to get a realistic idea of what a harp really costs. You must try playing different harps before you buy – otherwise you have no way of knowing whether it has a good sound or if it is the right shape and size for you and your fingers.
