Pedal harp
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| Classification | String instrument (plucked) |
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The pedal harp (also known as the concert harp) is a large and technically modern harp, designed for classical music and played either solo, as part of chamber ensembles, or in a symphony orchestra. The pedal harp is a descendant of ancient harps and lyres.
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[edit] Parts of the concert harp
[edit] Body and strings
A pedal harp typically has six and a half octaves (46 or 47 strings), weighs about 80lb (36 kg), is approximately 6 ft (1.8 m) high, has a depth of 4 ft (1.2 m), and is 21.5 in (55 cm) wide at the bass end of the soundboard. The notes range from three octaves below middle C (or the D above that) to three and a half octaves above, usually ending on G. The tension of the strings on the sound board is roughly equal to a ton (10 kilonewtons). The lowest strings are made of copper or steel-wound nylon, the middle strings of gut, and the highest of nylon.
The pedal harp is identifiable as a large instrument with a straight pillar for support sometimes adorned with a crown at the top, a soundboard, which is extended wide at the bottom in most harps, while other pedal harps have soundboards that are straight and narrow, a mechanical action made up of over 1,400 parts attached to a gracefully curved neck, a base with seven pedals that are arranged in the following: D C B (left) and E F G A (right). The D B E G A strings are normally colored white while the C strings are colored red and the F strings are colored either black or blue. The strings are initially (before any pedals are activated) tuned to all flat pitches: that is, to the scale of C-flat major.
[edit] Pedals
The pedal harp uses the mechanical action of pedals to change the pitches of the strings. Pedals were first used in 1697.[1] On the modern harp there are seven pedals. The pedals (in order from left to right) on the left side of the harp are D C B, and E F G A are on the right. Each pedal is attached to a rod or cable within the column of the harp, which then connects with a mechanism within the neck. When a pedal is moved with the foot, small discs at the top of the harp rotate. The discs are studded with two pegs that pinch the string as they turn, shortening the vibrating length of the string. The pedal has three positions. In the top position no pegs are in contact with the string and all notes are flat; thus the harp's native tuning is to the scale of C-flat major. In the middle position the top wheel pinches the string, resulting in a natural, giving the scale of C major if all pedals are set in the middle position. In the bottom position another wheel is turned, shortening the string again to create a sharp, giving the scale of C-sharp major if all pedals are set in the bottom position. The order of the pedals is directly influenced by the order of sharps and flats. Many other scales, both diatonic and synthetic, can be obtained by adjusting the pedals differently from each other; also, many chords in traditional harmony can be obtained by adjusting pedals so that some notes are enharmonic equivalents of others, and this is central to harp technique. In each position the pedal can be secured in a notch so that the foot does not have to keep holding it in the correct position, as with piano pedals.
This mechanism is called the double-action pedal system. Double-action systems were first patented in London by Sebastien Erard in 1801 (patent number 2502) and 1802 (patent number 2595) though these never went into production. In 1807 Charles Groll was the first person to register a patent (patent number 3059) where the harp mechanism was doubled with two lines of fourchettes or forks. There is some evidence to suggest that this patent was bought by Sébastien Érard. Whether this was to stop Groll producing his instrument is unclear though Erard clearly believed it would work. He is believed to have paid between 10,000 and 30,000 red zlotys. In 1808 Erard registered a further patent (number 3170) but it wasn't until 1810, when he registered what we know of today as the double-action (patent number 3332), that he went into production. Although he never produced the mechanism registered in the 1808 patent he did licence this to other makers such as Schweiso, Grojean and Stumpff amongst others. It is worth noting that Cousineau is believed to have made to double-action harp sometime earlier than either Groll or Erard's inventions. This harp doubled Cousineau's single-action mechanism and had fourteen rather than seven pedals. Roslyn Rensch in her book "The Harp, its technique and repertoire," notes that this harp found its way into the office of Sebastien Erard. [2] Earlier pedal harps had a single-action mechanism that allowed strings to play sharpened notes, the first of which was made in 1720 by Jacob Hochbrucker in Bavaria.[3]
[edit] Electric harps
Lyon and Healy, Camac Harps, and other manufacturers also make electric pedal harps. The electric harp is a concert harp, with piezoelectric pickups at the base of each string and an amplifier. Electric harps can be a blend of electric and acoustic, with the option of using an amplifier or playing the harp just like a normal pedal harp, or can be entirely electric, lacking a soundbox and being mute without an amplifier.
