The harp instrument has been around for centuries. It is one of the oldest instruments around. It is also produces of the most beautiful and soothing sounds around. No matter what type of music, a harp can bring a certain amount of elegance and class to any song. The history of the harp is one that goes back several hundreds of years.

The Ancient Harp
The ancient harp first appeared back in 1900 BC. It first came about in Mesopotamia. They were referred to as open harps. This is because they lack a fore pillar of wood that is after the long strings. This is here for frame support. Eventually these types of harps found their way over to Africa as well as Asia.

The Medieval Harp
The frame of this harp was made back in the middle ages. Harps came in three different types. There was the Irish harp that is actually very much like the Celtic harp. The Gothic harp contained a curved fore pillar. There was also a lighter harp that contained a shorter fore pillar. These were the predecessors to the modern concert harps that you see today.

Chromatic Harps
Around the seventeenth century, polyphonic music began to get developed. This meant that instruments would need to be made that could lower and raise notes with ease. This is when an additional row of new strings was then added onto the harp. This is what helped to tune to notes to make them flat or sharp. They began to call it the double harp.

The Hook Harp
In the seventeenth century, the Germans made a harp that had hooks on it. The hooks moved and it would help to either lower or raise the pitch of the strings. This helped to make the harp lighter. The harp also needed much fewer strings with the hooks attached. The only downside to this harp was that the harpist had to have their hands free long enough so that they could adjust the hook.

Pedal Harps
In the eighteenth century, the harp makers in Bavaria and France made a harp with pedals that connected to the aforementioned hooks. This was so the harpist was able to keep their hands on the harp as their feet were able to change the overall string pitch.

The Modern Harp
The modern harps that are still used today still have pedals that are used. The difference is that today a harpist will pluck the strings that are located towards the middle as opposed to near the soundboards like they used to do with the older versions of harps. There are several different types of modern harps, some are lighter and some have more strings. Over the years, they have done what they could to make the harp easier to play as well as easier to travel.
The harp has come a long way since 1900 BC and it still continues to make changes and improvements. These beautiful and soothing instruments will continue to change and progress as the years go by.

It can be very overwhelming whenever you are going out to try to find the right harp for you. There are several different brands of harps and several different types. It is important that you are aware of the best type of harp that will suit your needs. Once you know what to look for, find the right harp for you can be very simple.

Experience
It is so important that your experience is something that you consider. Lever harps are less expensive and are typically the best when it comes to someone that is not as experienced. A pedal harp is for someone that has plenty of money and experience. These harps can be very complex as well as very expensive. When you are just starting out, a lap harp is usually the best way to go. They are small and can easily travel as well as be played. They are also good to fit any type of budget.
Regardless of the type of harp that you get, you will need to be sure that you get a brand that has everything that you are looking for. There are several different brands out there, to get an idea of what to expect, here is information on the main three brands to look out for.

Leon & Healy
This is the oldest harp maker around. Since 1885, they have been making quality harps. They have excellent quality with their harps. To give an example, the second harp of theirs that was ever made is over one hundred years old and still gets used daily.
These harps are built to last, with the right kind of care you will be able to pass this harp down for generations to come. They can provide you with years of sturdiness and reliability.

Salvi
Salvi has dedicated themselves to making sure that each and every harp has an excellent sound. They have spent years researching to make sure that each and every harp is made with excellent construction to help with the warm and unmatched sound. With these harps, you can focus more on playing and less on tuning.
With these harps, they have a very distinct and warm sound that they are famous for. They are easily discernable among all of the other brands of harps. This brand will help you to play each and every note more beautifully.

Dusty Strings
Dusty Strings harps are excellently made and will provide the harpist with a level of consistency that they will come to love. You will always know when you are playing a Dusty Strings harp. They have a distinct feel and look that help them to stand out among all of the other brands of harps out there.
This particular brand uses CADD, which is computer aided design and drafting. What this means is that they are able to provide top quality fixtures as well as precision jigs. You can also count on the accuracy of these harps with their CNC, or their computer numerical controlled router.

There are several different types of harps. They have been around for thousands of years and are a beautiful instrument that produces a peaceful and beautiful sound. For each harp, there are several different forms of tones as well as different levels of difficulty. It is important to know what type of harp will best suit you.

Lever Harp
The lever harp is a harp that can be played in more than one key. You will be able to play this type of harp in both flats as well as sharps. You will be able to adjust anything you need to with this harp with your left hand. There is a lever that can be pulled up, when this happens the strings will get shorter which will make the pitch about a half of a step higher. The lever does not have to be on every string. You may put it only on the strings that you adjust the most. You will most often find this type of harp on more complex pieces. This is because tuning can easily be done in between musical selections.

Pedal Harp
A pedal harp consists of seven pedals that will be operated with both of your feet as opposed to the aforementioned lever. With four pedals on the right and three on the left, you will find that each pedal is for the strings A, B, C, D, E, F and finally, G. The strings on a harp are A through G repeated over and over again. To give an example on how the pedal works, the A pedal will change the pitch on all of the A strings. There are three positions for each pedal, one will control flat notes, one will control sharps and one will control natural.

Lap Harp
The lap harp is the smallest of the harps that have been mentioned so far. It typically has twenty two to twenty six strings. It will typically weigh no more than ten pounds. Although these harps are easy to take around with you and are the most affordable type, they are very limited on the types of songs that can be played. They occasionally will come with levers.

Wire Harp
These types of harps are strung with wire as opposed to nylon strings or gut. These types of harps came from Scotland and Ireland in the 1100s and are usually known as Celtic harps. With the wire, you will get a more bell like quality of tone. Typically, the wire that is used is brass, sometimes steel and phosphor bronze as well. The strings on these harps are generally very close together and therefore have to be kept at a very high tension. This in turn will create more stress on the actual instrument than on the strings. This makes these types of harps smaller and much sturdier. Levers are not used on this type of harp because it could easily snap the wires. Blades are used instead. They look like small paddles that are next to each of the strings. As the paddle turns, the tone will get higher.