Harps: Basic Features

Most harps of European origin have a one row of strings with strings for each note of the C Major scale. Harpists can easily tell which strings they are hitting as all F strings are black/blue and all C strings are colored red/orange. Another type, the Welsh triple harp and early Irish and Scottish harps are traditionally placed on the left shoulder. Commonly, the first four fingers of each hand are used to pluck the strings. Casually, the little fingers aren’t used to play the harp because they’re too short and cannot reach the correct string position without distorting the position of the other fingers. Also, the little finger is not strong enough to pluck a string. Plucking with varying degrees of force creates dynamics. Depending on the finger position, different tones can be produced: a fleshy pluck (near the middle of the first finger joint) will make a warm tone, while a pluck near the end of the finger will make a loud, bright sound.