Harp Column Blogs: Samuel MilliganArchive

A local harpist who recently bought a new harp called me to ask what she should use to clean her bass wire strings when they eventually "get dirty."  I told her that I had no idea, since I don't clean my wire strings.  Long before they might need such treatment, I throw them in the trash where they belong.  (Recycling bin, actually.)

Because no cleaning can ever restore the original brightness of sound.

String sound, particularly that of the compound wire strings, is a very complex affair, in that there are several pitches involved--the fundamental, which the ear most readily hears, plus many upper partials, all the way up the harmonic series which add brilliance to the fundamental.

Now while these wire-string partials are not very audible, they also reinforce the sound of the upper octaves.  For example, if I play a III-C, it will cause an upper pari ial on the VI-C string to vibrate slightly in sympathy, adding to the resonance.  And since the III-C pitch is found in the partials of other wire strings, they too contribute reinforcement.

NO PRESENCE

If you would like to hear how much the wires contribute to the rest of the harp, try winding a piece of cloth through them to prevent them from sounding, then play on the unmuted octaves.  A large part of the resonance will have disappeared, leaving the sound lifeless.  The sound has no "presence," as Laura Newell used to say. 

But those partials on the wire strings disappear with age, and no cleaning will ever totally restore them.  Partly because dirt and tarnish are only parts of the problem--once strings are put under tension, the deterioration of the sound begins.  So as the wires age, the harp loses brilliance.  Of course, it happens so gradually that we fail to notice it and only when replacing the wires does the difference become obvious.

Moreover, new wires contribute materially to the audibility of the instrument, something that the orchestral harpist might take into account when battling the trombones to be heard.

Anyhow, forget cleaning.  It's a false economy.

DO AS THE FRENCH DO

Both Grandjany and Salzedo were examples of French thrift, in that neither spent money needlessly.  Yet Salzedo changed the wire strings completely in September, before the concert season began, then changed the upper five wires, G to C, again six months later.

Grandjany totally restrung the whole harp, top to bottom in September, plus new wires and new first, second and third octave guts shortly before any recital or concert, depending of course on how old they were.  (Not only do new gut strings sound better, having had no time to become false, but are less apt to break in the middle of a concert.)  But there's little need to replace September's strings in October, wire or  gut.

All this restringing was a matter of regular maintenance for both these men for one simple reason.  It was important that they sound their best in public.

TAKING CARE OF MY FRIENDS

I agree. I only keep one pedal harp these days, but I replace all the wires twice a year, to assure my harp being at its best and brightest and making me less likely to endanger my immortal soul by cursing the hapless trombone players.  I redo the top three octave (all gut) once a year and the topmost strings (down to I-F) twice a year.

I have two lever harps--a Swanson (five wires) and a Lyon & Healy Lyric (ten wires). The wires are changed once a year on both.  The upper strings (all gut) get changed whenever I feel that they are about due, which is to say whenever I start having some breakage.

Am I extravagant?  No.  I dont think so.  The harp is a very important part of my life--in fact, it rather defines me as a person--and so deserves the best care that I can afford.  In a way my harps are my good friends, and good friends are entitled to the finest, I think.

Consider this.  The harp is a tool for making music, and any craftsman worth his daily beans and hamhock knows the importance of keeping his tools in the best shape possible. 

Remember--a harp is no better than the strings that are on it.  Moreover, I paid thousands of dollars for the instruments, and I wouldn't insult them (or my audience) by letting the strings get ratty. 

Brooklyn, NY

July 4, 2007