So You Want To Buy A Harp!
Choosing a harp can be wildly confusing.
Often, the first temptation is to jump on the internet and search “harps for sale”.
This is generally a bad idea. Before you can “shop” for an instrument you need to consider a few things:
- What kind of harp sound do I like?
- Do I love Celtic music and folk harps?
- Do I prefer big bold concert harps?
- How fancy do I want it to look?
- Will I be playing for my own enjoyment only?
- Do I want to play in an orchestra some day?
- What can I afford?
Let’s unpack these questions in order.
“What kind of harp sound do I like?”
I’ve put this first because, while you might think your budget and how fancy you want a harp to be would be a good place to start, it is really much more important to ask yourself what kind of harp music are you most drawn to.
Harps with pedals , often called grand concert or semi-grand, are larger, have a very specific kind of sound, and are fully chromatic – capable of playing in any key. If you love classical music or jazz, pedal harps are usually going to give you those options more easily than smaller folk harps, while also being able to play Celtic music. A pedal harp is an absolute “must” if you hope to play in an orchestra some day. But pedal harps are generally the most expensive option and also the least portable and they are not for everyone.
Harps without pedals, sometimes called “lever harps” or “folk harps” come in a much wider variety of sizes and stringing types. If you love Celtic and/or Renaissance music and a brighter tone from the strings, these harps might be a good fit for you.
They can be much more affordable but, because of their smaller size and simpler engineering, it’s easy to find very, very bad ones. Often anything under $1000 (yes, I said $1000) is generally not worth considering. You might think it is a good idea, if you are unsure just how serious you will be about playing harp, that a small cheap instrument would be best to start with. Nothing could be more problematic. Cheap lever harps sometimes have weird string spacing, problematic tension, levers that do not function properly and strings that cannot easily be replaced when they break. I equate most of these harps with the little red pianos you see in toy shops.
“How fancy do I want it to look?”
I must admit, I, like most people, love beautifully decorated harps and have my own taste when it comes to harp wood colors. But to really get an instrument you will be happy with you should always consider how it sounds and how it feels first and think about the way it looks last.
The very best way to choose a harp is to play anything you are interested in if you can. When possible, buying an existing harp from showroom stock – that you have played personally, is preferable to ordering. This does not mean you will get a “bad” harp if you order one. It just means you might get something that is different than the one you played.
“Will I be playing for my own enjoyment only?”
I get asked this question a lot – it can be very, very hard to justify the possibly big expense of a fancy harp if you are never going to take it out of the house or play professionally. The advice I give is “buy the best harp you can afford that will bring you joy to play”. This is why the previous questions are so important – once you know what kind of harp sound you like and what kind of music you wish to play, you can make a better decision about investing in an instrument that might never do more than bring you happiness while playing it.
“Do I want to play in an orchestra some day?”
If the answer to this question is “yes” your choices are more limited. An orchestral harpist must not only own a pedal harp, it should be at least a “semi-grand” and not a student model. Largely because the instrument needs to be big enough to produce enough sound to be heard when combined with lots of other instruments. The pedals are necessary because orchestral harp parts are generally extremely chromatic and use all seven octaves of strings present on a pedal harp. Pedals are also required for the beautiful glissandos that are present in many orchestra parts.
*If you plan to play in orchestra, you need to consider, not only the harp you will buy, but the vehicle you will need in which to transport it.
“What can I afford?”
Finally, we can address this question because the answers to the previous questions impact this one a lot. Rather than starting from “what is my budget” you should first know what you want, what you need, and what is available. If you cannot find anything in your hoped for price range, it is better to start saving up a harp fund than to buy something inexpensive that will not sound good or get you off to a good start on the instrument.
For instance, you might want to play a pedal harp eventually, but just cannot afford one right now. If this is the case you should only be looking at lever harps that have at least 36 strings, sit on the floor, and have pedal harp string spacing and pedal harp tension. Investing in a small harp that has no levers or sits on your lap and has “light” tension will only give you small a head start. You will still have to learn different techniques when you change to a pedal harp.
Hopefully this page has helped you zero in on what kind of harp you will be looking for if you decided to go harp shopping.
If so you are ready to go to this page: Harp Shopping.