A harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the

soundboard. As many other non-percussion instruments, it can also be used as a percussion

instrument. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have
a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to as open harps. Depending on its size
(which varies considerably), a harp may be played while held in the lap or while stood on the
floor. Harp strings can be made of nylon (sometimes wound around copper), gut (more
commonly used than nylon), wire, or silk. A person who plays the harp is called a harpist or a
harper. Folk and Celtic musicians often use the term "harper," whereas classical/pedal
musicians use "harpist."

Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North, and South America, and a few parts of
Asia. In antiquity harps and the closely related lyres were very prominent in nearly all musical
cultures, but they lost popularity in the early 19th century with Western music composers, being
thought of primarily as a woman's instrument after Marie Antoinette popularised it as an activity
for women.

The aeolian harp (wind harp), the autoharp, and all forms of the lyre and Kithara are not harps
because their strings are not perpendicular to the soundboard; they are part of the zither family of
instruments along with the piano and harpsichord. In blues music, the Harmonica is called a
"Blues harp" or "harp", but it is a free reed wind instrument, not a stringed instrument.

Harps were most likely independently invented in many parts of the world in remote prehistory.
It is often said that the harp's origins may lie in the sound of a plucked hunter's bow string; the
converse is considered possible. A type of harp called a 'bow harp' is nothing more than a bow
like a hunter's, with a resonating vessel such as a gourd fixed somewhere along its length. To
allow a greater number of strings, harps were later made from two pieces of wood attached at the
ends: this type is known as the 'angle harp'.

The oldest depictions of harps without a forepillar are from 4000 BC in Egypt
(see Music of Egypt) and 3000 BCE in Persia (see Music of Iran) While most English
translations of the Bible feature the word 'harp', especially in connection with King David, the
Hebrew word is nevel, a type of lyre with 10 strings and not a harp at all. The kanun is a
descendant of the ancient Egyptian harp and was introduced to Europe by the Moors during the
Middle Ages.

Harps are roughly triangular and are usually made primarily of wood. The lower ends of the
strings are fastened to the side closest to the player. This side is hollow and acts as a resonating
chamber, much like the body of a violin. The crossbar, or neck, contains the instant-tuning
mechanism to which the upper ends of the strings are attached. The longest side, the shaft,
encloses the rods controlling the tuning devices. At the base are seven pedals, which activate the
rods. The modern sophisticated instrument—spanning 6½ octaves in all keys—was perfected by
the 19th-century French maker Sébastien Érard.

Angle harps and bow harps continue to be used up to the present day. In Europe however a
further development took place: adding a third structural member, the pillar, to support the far
ends of the arch and sound box. The 'Triangular Frame harp' is depicted in manuscripts and
sculpture from about the 8th century CE, especially in North-West Europe, though specific
nationalistic claims to the invention of the triangular frame harp cannot be substantiated.

European harps in medieval and Renaissance times usually had a bray pin fitted to make a
buzzing sound when a string was plucked. By the baroque period in Italy and Spain more strings
were added to allow for chromatic notes; these were usually in a second line of strings. At the
same time single-row diatonic harps continued to be played.

In Germany in the second half of the 17th century, diatonic single-row harps were fitted with
manually-turned hooks which fretted individual strings to raise their pitch by a half step. In the
1700s, a link mechanism was developed connecting these hooks with pedals, leading to the
invention of the single-action pedal harp. Later, a second row of hooks was installed along the
neck to allow for the double-action pedal harp, capable of raising the pitch of a string by either
one or two half steps. The idea was even extended to triple-action harps but these were never
common. The double-action pedal harp remains the normal form of the instrument in the Western
classical orchestra.

In Latin America, there are Mexican, Andean, Venezuelan, and Paraguayan harps. They are
derived from the Baroque harps that were brought from Spain during the colonial period. They
have a wide and deep soundbox which tapers to the top. Like Baroque harps but unlike modern
Western harps they do not stand upright when unattended. The Paraguayan harp, Paraguay's
national instrument, is the most popular in South America. It has about 36 strings. Its spacing is
narrower and tension lighter than that of modern Western harps. It is played mostly with the
fingernails.

In Asia, there are very few harps today, though the instrument was popular in ancient times; in
that continent, zithers such as China's guzheng and guqin and Japan's koto predominate.
However, a few harps exist, the most notable being Burma's saung-gauk, which is considered the
national instrument in that country. There was an ancient Chinese harp called konghou; the name
is used for a modern Chinese instrument which is being revived. Turkey had a harp called the
çeng that has also fallen out of use. They have 9 strings.

Playing style of the European-derived instrument

Most European-derived harps have a single row of strings with strings for each note of the C
Major scale (over several octaves). Harpists can tell which strings they are playing because all F
strings are black or blue and all C strings are red or orange. The instrument rests between the
knees of the harpist and along their right shoulder. The Welsh triple harp and early Irish and
Scottish harps, however, are traditionally placed on the left shoulder (in order to have it over the
heart).

The first four fingers of each hand are used to pluck the strings; the little fingers are too short and
cannot reach the correct position without distorting the position of the other fingers, although on
some folk harps with light tension, closely spaced strings, they may occasionally be used. Also,
the little finger is not strong enough to pluck a string. Plucking with varying degrees of force
creates dynamics. Depending on finger position, different tones can be produced: a fleshy pluck
(near the middle of the first finger joint) will make a warm tone, while a pluck near the end of
the finger will make a loud, bright sound.

The concert harp is large and technically modern, designed for classical music and played solo,
as part of chamber ensembles, and in symphony orchestras. It typically has six and a half octaves
(46 or 47 strings), weighs about 80lb (36 kg), is approximately 1.8 m (6 ft) high, has a depth of
1.2 m (4 ft), and is 55 cm (21.5 in) wide at the bass end of the soundboard. The notes range from
three octaves below middle C (or the D above) to three and a half octaves above, usually ending
on G. Using octave designations, the range is C1 or D1 to G7.
The concert harp is a pedal harp. Pedal harps use the mechanical action of pedals to change the
pitches of the strings. There are seven pedals, each affecting the tuning of all strings of one letter-
name, and each pedal is attached to a rod or cable within the column of the harp, which then
connects with a mechanism within the neck. When a pedal is moved with the foot, small discs at
the top of the harp rotate. The discs are studded with two pegs that pinch the string as they turn,
shortening the vibrating length of the string. The pedal has three positions. In the top position no
pegs are in contact with the string and all notes are flat; thus the harp's native tuning is to the
scale of C-flat major.

In the middle position the top wheel pinches the string, resulting in a natural, giving the scale of
C major if all pedals are set in the middle position. In the bottom position another wheel is
turned, shortening the string again to create a sharp, giving the scale of C-sharp major if all
pedals are set in the bottom position. Many other scales, both diatonic and synthetic, can be
obtained by adjusting the pedals differently from each other; also, many chords in traditional
harmony can be obtained by adjusting pedals so that some notes are enharmonic equivalents of
others, and this is central to harp technique. In each position the pedal can be secured in a notch
so that the foot does not have to keep holding it in the correct position.

This mechanism is called the double-action pedal system, invented by Sébastien Érard in 1810.
Earlier pedal harps had a single-action mechanism that allowed strings to play sharpened notes.
Lyon and Healy, Camac Harps, Venus Harps, and other manufacturers also make electric pedal
harps. The electric harp is a concert harp with piezoelectric pickups at the base of each string
and an amplifier. Electric harps can be a blend of electric and acoustic, with the option of using
an amplifier or playing the harp just like a normal pedal harp, or can be entirely electric, lacking
a soundbox and being mute without an amplifier.

The tension of the strings on the sound board is roughly equal to 10 kN (a ton-force). The lowest
strings are made of copper or steel-wound nylon, the middle strings of gut and the highest of
nylon. This is not to say that strings in the higher register are not produced in gut or that middle
strings are not produced in nylon. The middle gut string and high nylon string setting is mainly
because gut strings usually carry a higher price than nylon strings; they also fray and break more
frequently than nylon strings. Gut strings produce fuller sounds than nylon strings do, whereas
nylon strings produce a brighter, more sparkling tone, particularly in the highest register. The
strings in the higher register are thinner and break more frequently. In the case of a broken string,
replacing it with the same type (gut or nylon) is recommended, for a change in the type can be
noticeable. For example, in a sequence of strings such as gut-gut-nylon-gut-gut, the nylon
string's sound may stand out from the gut strings' sounds. Also, changing the string's type makes
it necessary to "regulate" the action, changing the degree of force with which the pins of that
string's disc press against it. Otherwise the string will be out of tune when set to natural or sharp.

Harp playing uses all of the fingers except for the little finger, which is generally too short and
weak to effectively pluck a string. Most types of harp only require use of the hands, with the
exception of the pedal (concert) harp, in which the feet are also used to operate foot pedals.

The Salzedo method, developed by Carlos Salzedo, uses expressive gestures, and the performer
keeps his or her elbows parallel to the ground. The French method advocated by Marcel
Grandjany does not use expressive gestures; the elbows are held at an angle, and the wrists may
occasionally rest upon the soundboard. In both methods, the shoulders, neck, and back are
relaxed. On the wire-strung clarsach, a "thumb under" technique is also used.

Baroque harp, as in other Baroque instrumental techniques, uses strong and weak articulation.
The player only uses three fingers of each hand, and the thumb moves under the other fingers,
rather than being held very high as in modern harp technique. The thumb and third fingers are
"strong" fingers and the second finger is a "weak" finger. Scales are fingered with alternating
strong and weak fingers—that is, a scale fingering could be either 1 2 1 2 1 2 or 3 2 3 2 3 2. In
contrast, classical harp technique uses a fingering of 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 going up and 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
going down.

Another approach to "thumb under" technique as described above is to place the thumb so that it
passes over the second finger, rather than under it. There is equal evidence for both thumb over
and thumb under playing techniques on historical harps.

In this second approach it is important to note that the fingers are placed on the strings halfway
up the string from the soundboard. This may be as little as 5-8 inches on very lightly strung
harps. If you begin by making a circle with your thumb and second finger, placing both the
thumb and the second finger on the same string, open your thumb and place your thumb on the
string above, also placing the third (and fourth – if you choose to use it) on the neighboring
strings below the second finger. The fingertips placed on the strings should loosely form a
straight line parallel to the soundboard of the harp.