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Harps
A harp is a multi-stringed musical instrument. The harp is believed to date back to 3500 BC. It was originally from the Mesopotamia area.
265 Questions
We really don't know! Harps are referenced in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, so apparently they were in common use 6,000 years ago. We also find pictures of harps and harpists in the ancient Egyptian pyramids.
Considering the fact that Neanderthals used bone flutes, they obviously enjoyed instrumental music-making. They probably used some sort of plucked strings as well. The harp, in one form or another, may well have existed as much as 100,000 years ago, or more!
Chinese and Egyptian early art, about 3,000 BC, depict sophisticated harps with as many as twenty-seven strings! Some such pictures depict the harpist plucking as many as 3 strings at once. (So much for our prejudiced Western theories, that harmony evolved in Europe, around 1,000 A.D.!)
The Welsh bards also used harps. The origin of the Welsh bards predates the formation of the English Channel, as late as 180,000 years ago. However, there is no recorded history to verify their use of the harp in such early periods. (Modern humans first appeared in Africa, about 200,000 years ago...and had about 20,000 years to roam to Britain by land, while it was still connected to continental Europe, before the English Channel existed. Since early humans were nomadic, it seems likely that they traveled as far as modern Wales.)
The harp, along with the flute and drums, predate recorded history. My supposition is that modern man (homo sapiens sapiens) learned much about music from the Neanderthals, whose habitation of this planet overlaps that of modern man.
So, the final answer to your question is: The first harp probably predates modern man. It was likely in use long before history was ever recorded!
What instrument family does the harp belong to?
The harp is a unique member of the stringed instrument family. Like other members of the string family, the harp's sound is produced by vibrating strings stretched between parts of a wooden frame or box. On a harp, the strings' vibrations are produced by being plucked by hand, while seven pedals at the bottom of the harp adjust the length of the strings to produce more notes.
Do you need to tune the harp guitar?
yes because if you don't it will sound wierd and all guitar need to be tuned
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What kind of wood is a harp made from?
The Body of the Harp is made out of Maple - a wood, Beech - another wood, Brass, Gold, Stainless Steel, Plastic and Nylon. The Strings are made of Steel, Gut (Usually Sheep intestines) and nylon. The Surface of the Harp includes, ebony of mahogany coloured wood stains (yellow colours) 24k Gold leaf. Soundboard is usually painted or decorated in gold decals.
Where do harp instruments come from?
The harp originated in Egypt
but the Lap Harp originated in France when
The harp was invented by the ancient Assyrians som 2000 years BC in Sumer.
The oldest harps found thus far have been uncovered in ruins from ancient Sumer.
What is the sound quality of a harp?
The decibels depends how close you measure to the harp. The closer - the louder! And the louder you play the more decibels you get. The distance is very important if you measure with a sound pressure level meter.
Why is the harp a stringed instrument?
The purpose of a harp instrument is to calm yourself or someone down. The harp has a very soft sound and is played by plucking your fingers on the strings. It could easily calm someone down or put someone to sleep.
No, a harp is not a guitar. It's more like the inside of a piano played at a right angle. In history it bear a resemblance to the lyre. The guitar and harp are even played differently, harp is played by plucking the strings while a guitar is strummed and fretted.
What is another name for the harp?
A lyre.
Another answer:Another word for harp is "clarsach".A lyre is not a member of the harp family.
By definition, harps have strings running away from the soundboard, exposed on both sides.
A lyre has strings running across the soundboard, frequently with a bridge.
How does a harp change its pitch?
the pitch of a harp is changed by loosening or tightning the strings like many other string instruments
Another answer:Actually, the pitch of a harp string is changed by changing the vibrating length of the string, not the tension.Pedal harps have metal pins mounted on rotating disks, which grab the string at the right points to shorten the vibrating length of each string, raising the pitch by one or two semitones. The disks are rotated by a system of rods connected to pedals in the base of the harp, so that the player can change key or play accidentals by moving the pedals.
Lever harps have a cam, operated by a lever, on each string. The cam presses the string against a metal pin at the right point to shorten the vibrating length and raise the pitch by one semitone. The levers are operated by the player's left hand.
In both cases, it's like pressing the string against a fret.
Who is the creator of the harp?
Harps are older than most recorded history, so we do not know who created the first one. There is evidence that harps existed 7,000 years ago.
The usual color coding for a traditional harp is Red for the C-strings and Blue for the F-strings.
(I'm not sure there is a strict color code and) I have seen harps with string of gold, silver and black too.
Why is a harp shaped how it is?
The construction and playing method of these instruments are quite different:
* Harp: Strings are plucked by the player
* Violin: Strings are bowed by the player * Piano: Mechanical hammers hit the strings, played by the player
What where harp strings made of in bible times?
Yes- The harp is an instrument for which the hieroglyphs can be seen on the wall in certain monuments in Egypt. I would say that with the pyramids being over 5,000 years old that would make the harp a very old instrument as well.
Are there any unusual or special features about the harp?
The distinctive feature of the harp family, which sets harps apart from all other instruments, is the fact that the strings run perpendicular to (away from) the soundboard, rather than parallel to the soundboard.
Another unusual feature of harps is that the strings are tuned to a diatonic scale, and various mechanisms are used to change the length of the strings so that all the notes of the chromatic scale can be played.
Unlike most string instruments, harps have no frets or fingerboard.
It sounds like a guitar but it is more gentle and calm.It is also like a piano because it has high and low sound.
Why does the harp belong to the string instrument family?
A chordophone is any musical instrument which makes sounds by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between 2 points.
A stringed instrument is any musical instrument that has a string.
How many strings do harps have?
The Strings
The harp has a set of strings of varying length, tension, and density. My large pedal harp has 47 strings. These strings correspond to the white keys on a piano. The black keys are not represented! (Their sounds are made by changing the pedals.) The strings corresponding to C are colored red, and the Fs are black or blue. All the other strings are white. The harp is tuned by adjusting the tension on each string (using a tuning key that turns a pin going through the neck) until the string's pitch matches the desired pitch.
Where was the first harp made?
wood bodies; usually have nylon, cat gut, and wire strings; in harp history there have been glass harps, but are dangerous and will kill you because of the sound waves dissrupt your nervous system or something....
What clef is harps written in?
Small harps (less than 26 strings) only have to read treble (G) clef.
Larger lever harps (27 to 38 strings) and pedal harps (40 to 48 strings) read the grand staff, just like a piano. Concert pedal harps have a range of six and a half octaves.
How many keys does a harp have?
Not sure what this question means...
A harp does not have keys like a keyboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers.
If you mean, "How many musical keys can you play on a harp", there are three answers:
- A pedal harp can play in all twelve keys.
- A lever harp with a full set of levers can play in eight keys without retuning.
- A harp with no levers can only play in one key without retuning.
