The Harp is an acoustic musical instrument which is made up stings that are held stretched under tension, which will produce harmonics when plucked with the fingers, a pick or a similar device. There are two primary kinds of harps, bow and angle. Bow harps are so named after the discovery that bow strings would create sounds when plucked under tension. Soon, bow harps would be given the addition of multiple strings to create multiple notes and form a full melody. It became the case that more strings were desired, so the angle harp was created, which was made up of two angled pieces of wood, between which the stings were tied under pressure. Both harps would also feature a resonate cavity (similar in function to the body of an acoustic guitar) which would amplify the harp's sound.

Both harps have seen frequent usage up to the modern day. In Europe, the angle harp received the structural improvement of a support column placed at the ends of the two angled pieces of wood. This enables many more strings to be used, as each would have many pounds of tension straining the wooden frame. In the Baroque period harps were given a second row of strings tuned to a different scale to allow the combination of a harmony and melody. Concert harps have pedals installed which when pressed will apply pressure upon the strings in order to adjust the sound from a smooth to a sharp sound.

Playing the harp involves the complete use of the hand with the exception of the little finger, as it typically does not have the strength to fully engage the string the way that is necessary in order to generate the ideal sound for harp playing. Many techniques for playing the harp involve the use of alternating weak and strong finger techniques, as the thumb and first finger are significantly stronger than the second finger. The strings would then be tensioned appropriately to enable a full range of sound for the given strength of the finger.

Harps have found their place in ballads and classical music, and are especially utilized for special effects such as the arpeggios and glissando. 19th century ballet music can feature many harp solo scores. In the European region, the Irish had come up with the Celtic harp, or folk harp. These are small to medium instruments that are played either solo or in large groups, lending the sound of the harp to the traditional Celtic music of the Irish. Since then, the Irish would use the harp as a political and civil symbol, on currency and the coat of arms.

Today, harps have found usage in Jazz and folk music, along with performers providing classical treatments. As the music culture evolves, many artists are beginning to use the instrument in new and creative ways in order to bolster the quality of work that the artist puts out.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-02-02 05:49:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

• Introduction to the Banjo Instrument The term banjo actually refers to a family of instruments rather than just a single instrument that fits into another family. The banjo instrument family makes use of a membrane made of hide or vellum that is used as a sound board. The first banjo instruments were brought to the......
• Accordion 101 The accordion is closely related to another instrument, the concertina. Both of these instruments are essentially glorified mouth organs that utilize reeds that are generally made out of tempered steel. These tempered steel reeds are set in vibration using a rectangular shaped bellows. The bellows are operated using the left......
• Wind Instruments Guide 101 pt 1 Wind instruments are actually known more technically as being aero phones. Wind instruments are capable of producing a sound when the column of air within them is set into motion or vibration by way of either a reed or the lips of the player. The tuning of these instruments is......
• Introduction to Stringed Instruments, pt 1 Stringed instruments are musical instruments that produce sound when strings on the instrument are excited or vibrated. Stringed instruments are also regarded as chordophones when following the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification. Some of the most well known and most common stringed instruments in this family as the cello,......
• World Horns 101 pt 1 Virtually any type of tube, some even without having sustained any modification can be used as a music instrument simply by sounding it as a horn. A series of notes can be produced in this way through the use of the harmonic series. Here is a look at some of......

Related Websites

• Eminem - Beautiful (Official Music Video) Full (HD) Eminem - Beautiful (Official Music Video) Full (HD) Eminem - Beautiful (Official Music Video) Full (HD) Eminem - Beautiful (Official Music Video) Full (HD) DOWNLOAD : www.zshare.net .............This is the full Official Video for Eminems new Song Beautiful without no skiping in sound and in HD. alot of the......
• Keith Richards Favorite Guitar Riffs Keith Richards tells the stories behind his 10 all-time-favorite Rolling Stones riffs: Satisfaction When I wrote the song, I didn't think of that particular riff as the big guitar riff. That all fell into place at RCA [recording studio in L.A.] when Gibson dumped on me one of those first......
• The Decline and Potential Rise of the Bass Saxophone Bass instruments are typically the largest of instruments, and the bass saxophone is not exception. This sometimes forgotten instrument can be awkward to move about, and it suffers from little love in the music department in terms of songs and pieces written for the instrument. It is frequently replaced by......
• Musical Instruments: The Drum, the Heart Beat of Music Many individuals enjoy drums as an instrument that is fun to play and exciting to get to heart but many music lovers truly believe that drums are the heart of music due to the way that they keep time and rhythm for the rest of the instruments or for other......
• Bass Instruments: The History of the Bass Guitar Instruments teach the people who use them a great deal. For playing an instrument, you can have your first example of love without need of love in return from a person loving their instrument, you can learn notes and patience and many other valuable lessons, some of which have to......

Online Stores

• Takamine Acoustic Electric Guitar Musical Instruments
• Chamber Classical Sheet Music Sheet Music Song Books
• Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• Posters Classical, Opera, Ballet Music Memorabilia Entertainment Memorabilia
• Acoustic Guitar Cases Musical Instruments

If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.



Categories:

Acoustic Musical Instruments, Harps, Instrument History

Tags:

acoustic guitar, ballads, baroque period, bow strings, cavity, classical music, discovery, finger techniques, fingers, frequent usage, harmony and melody, little finger, musical instrument, pieces of wood, playing the harp, sharp sound, support column, tension, thumb, wooden frame