Harp & Keyboards · Harp
Harp
The concert pedal harp has 47 strings tuned to a diatonic scale. Seven pedals, one for each note name, raise or lower every string of that name by a semitone.
- Section
- Harp & Keyboards
- Family
- Harp
- Classification
- Chordophone · frame harp
- Transposition
- None (concert pitch)
- Clefs
- Grand staff (treble and bass)
- Sounding range
- C♭1 – G♯7
Parts of the harp
Photo: N.S.M. s.p.a., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Labels added by Musicians Tools.
Range
C1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8
C♭1 to G♯7. The lowest and highest strings are weaker and less resonant. Playback uses a neutral tone, not the instrument's own sound.
Writing for the harp
- Write the pedal setting at the start (for example D C B | E F G A) and leave time for pedal changes. Chromatic passages are hard.
- Glissandi are idiomatic; give the pedal setting so the notes are clear.
- Harmonics, marked with a small circle, sound an octave higher than written and are soft and bell-like.
- The harp is easily covered. Thin the orchestra around it or double it lightly.
History
Harps are among the oldest instruments, known from Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. The double-action pedal harp, patented by Sébastien Érard in 1810, made it possible to play in every key and is the orchestral standard today.
Listen
Key works featuring the harp. Each link opens a YouTube search, so you can pick the recording you like.
- Smetana – Má vlast, Vyšehrad (opening)
- Debussy – Danses sacrée et profane
- Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker, Waltz of the Flowers
- Mozart – Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299
Useful tools
Harp
Also in the family (pages coming):Lever harpIrish harp
Ancestors:Single-action pedal harp