Forum Amateur Harpists: what to buy?

Just a thought from a life long musician (certified in music ed) who started lessons with an excellent teacher 3 years ago.

As you have observed, the three types of harp are very different. But also, you must take into account that the harp itself is VERY different from all other instruments, and having taught all of them except harp, I can tell you that it is definitely the easiest instrument on which to develop fiendishly bad habits quickly.

If you want the same joy that you have from the harp as you have from other instruments, find a teacher and rent. I didn't rent first and if I had, I would have purchased my lever harp from the same maker (Thormahlen) but bought the Swan instead of the Serenade.

I am now taking lessons on pedal harp and love it, so no regrets at all about my Serenade, which sounds wonderful.

I have been frustrated along the way because I've considered my progress to be slow, but I am getting to the point where there are sonderful pieces within my reach. You are not too old to do the same. There are some very good tutorials out there, but I'd bet that even the people who developed and published them would tell you that teaching yourself is not the same as being taught in the presence of a living teacher.

Do what you love!

I agree with the advice about finding a teacher and renting at first.

You also should give some thought to what kind of music you want to play.  If you're into folk/traditional music, hymns, that sort of thing, you really don't need a fully chromatic instrument, and a lever harp should do fine for you.  Even a great many classical pieces can be played on lever harp, depending on how you choose to tune it and what kind of lever configuration you have.

It really shouldn't take all that long to reset levers between pieces (and often it's not even required...depends on the music).  Unless there's an absolute need for a continuous flow of music, rather than allowing for a pause between pieces (in which case a good lever harper will either stick to pieces in the same key or choose those that don't require extensive lever changes, so he/she can change on the fly), it's really not an issue.

Audrey

Noella,
I play cross-strung, pretty well exclusively these days.  I have a multi-instrumental background.  I'm playing the harp since around 11/07, and the cross-strung since around 7/09.  Completely self-taught, but that's including watching many harpists play, and reading whatever I can on the subject.  I can read, but I play a lot by ear - generally, if I know how a song goes, I can play it.  I enjoy coming up with new ways of playing tunes.  I'm very empirically oriented, and I've experimented a great deal with how best to position myself when I play the harp.

My advice - start with a cheap basic harp with a single row of strings, say with 26 to 29 strings.  It doesn't even have to have levers, or even a wonderful sound, but obviously that's a plus.  This is just for you to get the hang of playing a harp with a single row of strings.  After you develop some facility, then get a high quality cross-strung that suits you.  At this point, you'll have a significant relearning curve, but you'll find it much easier than if you're starting right off on a cross-strung.  A good transitional cross strung harp could be the Esabelle made by Stoney End.  Its under $1000, depending on whether you get one in kit form, or "in the white," or fully assembled.  I don't own one, but I've heard great things about them.  The cross-strung I own is a Xythia made by Blevins Harps - I've quite satisfied with it, it suits me fine, and its just the right size and weight for me. 

There's also a Yahoo group for cross-strung harpists (or aspiring cross-strung harpists) - harperscrossing@yahoogroups.com.

Hope this is helpful-

Michael

Carol,
I think you may have to join to actually read the messages.  In any event, this URL should work:

harperscrossing

Michael