A harp is a stringed instrument that belongs to the chordophone family, which also includes guitars and violins. There have been several different harp designs developed over time. The lever harp is a popular type in which the pitch of the strings is adjusted twisting a lever at the top of each string. Another is the pedal harp, which allows you to change the pitch with your foot. There are also cross-strung and double-strung harps, as well as in-line chromatic, double in-line chromatic, and crossing triple harps with more modern designs.
Unless the harp strings are specifically tuned to play sharp or flat notes, there are no sharp or flat notes on the strings. Using levers to change the string positions just enough to create the desired sound is one way to play sharps and flats. In the case of wire-strung harps, small rotating levers are located at the top of each string. Such levers can be used on any size instrument, but harpists must stop for a brief moment to change the pitch of the string, which can be a flat and natural note or a natural and sharp note.
Pedal harps have pedals at the bottom that can be manipulated with the player’s feet, allowing them to pluck the strings with both hands. At the base, there is one pedal for each note, for a total of seven pedals with three positions each. The mechanism that allows these harp designs’ pedals to control string pitches is quite complex. It runs from the bottom to the top of the instrument’s column, making it much larger and heavier than a lever harp.
Two sets of strings intersect in the middle of cross-strung harp designs, which date back to the 1500s in Spain. One set is diatonically tuned, while the other is pentatonically tuned. Because sharp and flat note variations can be played directly on the strings, harps like this don’t require any pedals or levers. Players can use either hand to strike any note they want.
Double-strung harps are similar to piano white keys in that they have two parallel rows of strings tuned in the same way. Whether large or small, these harps are all played in the same way. The left hand is used to play the left row, and the right hand is used to play the right row. The inline chromatic harp, with all 12 strings per octave in a single row, and the double in-line 37+24 chromatic harp, with the numbers corresponding to how many strings are in each row, are examples of modern harp designs. There’s also a crossing triple harp, which has two parallel rows of strings crossed another row.