Faqs

HOW MUCH DOES THAT HARP COST? My own harp is over 30 years old, and as a used harp I don't know how much it is worth. It is certainly worth plenty in sentimental value!! I've played/owned this one for almost all of its life. However, if you bought this same model new, today, you'd pay over $22,000. THE HARP HAS PEDALS!? WHAT ARE THEY FOR? Yep, the harp has seven pedals. They are very different in function from the pedals on a piano. The seven pedals correspond to the seven notes in the musical alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Each pedal has three positions. When the A pedal is all the way up, all the A strings sound as A-flat. Move the pedal into the middle position, and all the A strings sound as A natural. Put the A pedal down all the way and all the A strings sound as A-sharp. Same goes for moving any of the other pedals: it makes the corresponding strings all sound flat, natural, or sharp. I move my feet and make changes while I'm playing with my hands all the time. Sort of like driving a stick shift car. WHY ARE THERE DIFFERENT COLORED STRINGS? ARE ALL HARPS LIKE THAT? The different colors are basically landmarks so that we harpists know where we are. All the C strings are red; all the dark strings (blue, purple, black...) are F. The rest are white (or white-ish). Virtually all harps nowadays have this same color scheme, although historically it wasn't always so. CAN YOU PLAY "STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN?" C'mon, guys, I get this all the time!! Yeah, I can play it. DON'T YOU WISH YOU PLAYED THE FLUTE, WHEN YOU MOVE THAT BIG HARP AROUND? But I wouldn't have been invited to play so many weddings with only a flute! HOW DO YOU GET IT AROUND? AND WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? I have a good system, and LOTS of practice! I have a hand truck that makes moving the harp easy. I used to drive a Ford Taurus station wagon; now I have a Toyota Matrix, and I'm still amazed that the harp fits in the Matrix. The harp lies flat on a baby mattress in the back, and slides right in. No, it doesn't come apart for transport – heaven forbid! IS IT HARD TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY? That varies from student to student, but it is easy for everyone to make a beautiful sound on the harp. You just brush your hand across the strings and it sound beautiful. Try it!

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