About the Harp

The harp is one of the most ancient instruments of the world, since shepherds of old plucked their bow strings and experimented with adjusting the tension to change the pitch (incidentally, some harp strings are still made from sheep gut, harking back to their pastoral origins). From those humble beginnings the harp has added more strings, resonator boxes, a pillar, and increasingly complex mechanisms to accommodate new tuning possibilities and scales. Many modern harpists begin by playing a lever harp, which is tuned to a diatonic scale (like the white keys of a piano) and transformed to other keys by flipping levers at the top of the strings, which adjusts the vibrating length of the string and therefore the pitch. 

The type of harp you'll typically see in an orchestral setting is a double-action pedal harp, also known as a concert harp. The mechanism was developed in the early 1800s and has not changed substantially since then. These harps typically have 46-47 strings, spanning a range of six and a half octaves, and have seven pedals, one for each letter name of the musical scale. Each pedal has a flat, natural, and sharp position, enabling the harpist to play in a variety of keys and to achieve some interesting effects using enharmonics.

I play on a Venus Premier semi-grand pedal harp. It's built to stand up to the rigors of the road, which is a good fit for me.