The Harp!

1. The Harp! By Mimi and Scarlett!

2. K.W.L

3. When was the Harp invented? The earliest evidence of the Harp was found in Egypt in 2500 BC. They were shaped like bows and had very few strings. Most of the evidence was found on paintings.

4. How is the Harp played? The Harp is played by resting it between the players knees and along the right shoulder. A Harpist knows which string is which by the colour of it. F strings are all blue or black, C strings are all red or orange. The first four fingers of each hand are used to pluck the strings. The pinky is too short and cannot reach the correct position without getting in the way of the other fingers. The pedals allow the player to change the sound of the notes F and C.

5. How does the Harp make it’s sound? Is it easy to learn how to play? The Harp makes it’s sound from the sound board at the bottom of the Harp. It works by the Harpist strumming the string which vibrates through the string in to a little hole and down into the sound board where it then is projected out into the world. The Harp is one of the many instruments that are easy to learn. Harps are like a guitar you strum the strings and get a great noise. So by strumming the strings frequently you can create a tune.

6. Parts of the Harp The strings run vertical and attach to the tuning knobs at the top and the sound board at the bottom. The strings are made out of nylon. Some are made out of hair and some are even made out of gut.

7. How many different types of Harps are there? There are around 1810 different types of Harps with pedals around the world. Some types of modern harps is the Lyre, the Crwth, the Ancient Egyptian harp, the frame harp and the Medieval harp. There are some types of harps with no pedals they include Modern Gothic Harps, Modern wire Harps, Multi-course harps and Latin-American Harps. The wind harp, electric harp, earth harp, jaws harp , bell harp and the harp guitar are all rarely played and unusually shaped.

8. The Earth Harp The earth Harp is the longest stringed instrument and was invented in 1999 by William Close. It is 330 metres long and William and his band, MASS, have toured around the world installing them in many places.

9. Players of the Harp HenrietteRenie was one of the first well known female harpists to play the Harp. She was so tiny that extensions were built to her harp so she could use the pedals. When she was eleven years old she won the Premier Prix. TurloughO’Carolan was another well known harpist. By the age of 18 he was blind however he still travelled around the Ireland playing and writing many tunes that are still played today.

10. What a Harp sound’s like This is a small audio of the Harp.

11. Interesting facts about the Harp The Harp is one of the world’s oldest instruments. It belongs to the string family.