The harp

The harp is a musical instrument with pinched ropes, as the guitar, with a colone and a sound box. It one of the most old instruments, because it dates 4.000 years before J.-C. The harp is universal, it has been played all aroud the world, for exemple by egyptians or african tribes.
In the Middle Ages the harp was handicaped by its diatonic scale, that means it could only play the seven notes : C, D, E, F, G, A, B (do ré mi fa sol la si); while others instruments had chromatic scale : they could play sharps # and flats b, so twelve notes. To resolve this problem, the arpa doppia or the double harp was created in Italia, with two rows of ropes. After, in 1697, the harp with seven pedals comes into the world, one for each note, that means 1.500 mechanical rooms into the colone.

Nowadays there is two played types of harp, the celtic harp and the concert harp. The first has not pedals but palettes, and it is little : between 1 and 1,50 metre high and only 32 - 38 ropes, that is why it is adapted for children. The concert harp has pedals and is more big : between 1,60 and 1,90 metre high and 40 - 48 ropes. Since lately there are also the electric harp and the electro-acoustic harp, which can sound like a classical harp or an electric harp.

The most part of the ropes are made in bowels or nylon, but the most grave are in metal. The ropes for the note C (do) are painted in red, those for the note F (fa) in blue, and the others are uncolored. The harp has the biggest tessiture (the number of notes) with the piano, until six octaves. A concert harp costs between 10.000 and 100.000 euros, but there are celtic harps for 1.000 euros.