About the Harp

The harp is a stringed instrument which has its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. 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. Harp strings can be made of nylon (sometimes copper-wound), gut (more commonly used than nylon), or wire.

Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North and South America, the Middle East 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 in Western music, being mainly played by women in the privacy of the home, or as a minor ensemble instrument. Beginning in the late 1970's there has been a renaissance in the manufacture and use of harps.