View source for Harp

{{short description|Plucked string instrument}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name = Harp
| image = Harp.png
| caption = A medieval harp (left) and a single-action pedal harp (right)
| imageclass = skin-invert
| background = string
| hornbostel_sachs = 322–5
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Composite [[chordophone]] sounded by the [[pizzicato|bare fingers]]
| range = [[File:Range of harp.JPG|150px|center]]<div align=center>([[pedal harp|modern pedal harp]])<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Black |first1=Dave |title=Essential Dictionary of Orchestration |last2=Gerou |first2=Tom |publisher=Alfred Publishing Co. |year=1998 |isbn=0-7390-0021-7}}</ref></div>
| related = * [[Angular harp]]
* [[Arched harp]]
* [[Claviharp]]
* [[Konghou]] (Chinese/Korean)
* [[Pedal harp]]
* [[Triple harp]] (Baroque era)
* [[Celtic harp]] (Medieval era)
* [[Medieval harp]] 
* [[Epigonion]]
* [[Lyre]]
* [[Yazh]]
* [[Zither]]
* [[Chang (instrument)]]
}}

The '''harp''' is a [[stringed musical instrument]] that has individual [[string (music)|strings]] running at an angle to its [[sound board (music)|soundboard]]; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be played in either a seated or standing position. Most commonly, harps are made of wood and are triangular in shape. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal attachments.

Ancient depictions of harps were recorded in [[Mesopotamia]] (now [[Iraq]]), [[Iran|Persia]] (now [[Iran]]) and [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], and later in [[India]] and [[China]]. By [[medieval times]] harps had spread across Europe. Harps are found across the Americas; in some regions, they are used in popular [[Folk music|folk]] music traditions. Distinct designs also emerged from the African continent. Harps have symbolic political traditions and are often used in logos, including in [[Ireland]].

Historically, strings were made of [[sinew]] (animal tendons).<ref name=Lawergrenharp>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Harp |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |url=http://www.iranica.com/articles/harp |last=Lawergren |first=Bo |date=12 December 2003 |access-date=21 July 2011 |archive-date=15 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815034237/http://www.iranica.com/articles/harp |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name=xiejin>{{Cite web |last=Xie Jin |title=Reflection upon Chinese Recently Unearthed Konghous in Xin Jiang Autonomous Region |url=https://musicology.cn/news/news_299.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083704/https://musicology.cn/news/news_299.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |publisher=Musicology Department, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China |quote=The [[konghou]]s in Xinjiang ...skin cover...one string has been found. It is made of ox tendon...}}</ref> Other materials have included [[catgut|gut]] (animal intestines),<ref name="gutplantfiber">{{Cite web |title=Ngombi (arched Harp) Fang/Kele people 19th century |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/502965 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> plant fiber,<ref name=gutplantfiber /> braided hemp,<ref>{{Cite web |title=lyre; harp |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af-4416 |website=The British Museum |quote=It has four (Hemp) strings and two hide thongs}}</ref> cotton cord,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saùng-Gauk Burmese 19th century |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/502040 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> silk,<ref name="si">{{Cite book |last=Williamson |first=Robert M. |url=https://archive.org/details/sciencestringins00ross |title=The Science of String Instruments |date=2010 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4419-7110-4 |editor-last=Thomas D. Rossing |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sciencestringins00ross/page/n176 167]–170 |url-access=limited}}</ref> nylon,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ngombi Tsogo mid-20th century |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/504481 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> and wire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARCHED HARP OR BOW HARP |url=https://collections.ed.ac.uk/mimed/record/49737 |website=The University of Edinburgh, Musical Instruments Museums Edinburgh |quote=5 wire strings attached to lateral pegs in neck and attached at lower end to perforated wooden plaque anchored into the belly}}</ref>

In pedal harp scores, [[double flats]] and [[double sharps]] should be avoided whenever possible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harp {{!}} Introduction |url=https://timbreandorchestration.org/isfee/extreme-orchestration/harp/introduction |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=Timbre and Orchestration Resource |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==
{{See also|Angular harp|Arched harp}}
[[File:Musicians portrayed on pottery found at Chogha Mish archeological site.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Harps of Chogha Mish [[Iran]] are considered to be the world's oldest surviving stringed instruments, {{nobr|3300–3100 BCE}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Harp |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/harp}}</ref>]]

Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa, and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3000 BCE. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide range of variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe's colonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America.

Although some ancient members of the harp family died out in the Near East and South Asia, descendants of early harps are still played in Myanmar and parts of Africa; other variants defunct in Europe and Asia have been used by [[folk music]]ians in the modern era.
[[File:The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. C. 2500 BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg|left|thumb|The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at [[Ur]],  {{nobr|{{circa| 2500 BCE }};}} [[Iraq Museum]], Baghdad]]

=== Origin ===

==== West Asia and Egypt ====
[[File:Ur lyre.jpg|upright=0.9|right|thumb|[[Lyres of Ur]]]]
The earliest harps and lyres were found in [[Sumer]], c. 2500 BCE,<ref name="mp2">{{cite book |author=Michael Chanan |title=Musica Practica: The Social Practice of Western Music from Gregorian Chant to Postmodernism |publisher=Verso |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-85984-005-4 |page=170}}</ref> with several harps excavated from burial pits and royal tombs in [[Ur]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lyres: The Royal Tombs of Ur |url=http://sumerianshakespeare.com/509245/499545.html |publisher=SumerianShakespeare.com |access-date=20 June 2012 |archive-date=4 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104092923/http://sumerianshakespeare.com/509245/499545.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="mp">{{cite book |author=Michael Chanan |title=Musica Practica: The Social Practice of Western Music from Gregorian Chant to Postmodernism |publisher=Verso |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-85984-005-4 |page=170}}</ref> The oldest depictions of harps without a forepillar can be seen in the wall paintings of [[ancient Egypt]]ian tombs in the [[Nile Valley]], which date from the mid 3rd millennium BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/paintings3.pdf?gathStatIcon=true |title=Ancient Egyptian Paintings |vauthors=Davis N |date=1986 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |veditors=Gardiner A |volume=3}}</ref> These murals show an [[arched harp]], an instrument that closely resembles the hunter's bow, without the pillar that we find in modern harps.<ref name="internationalharpmuseum">{{cite web |title=History of the Harp |url=http://www.internationalharpmuseum.org/visit/history.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623222756/http://www.internationalharpmuseum.org/visit/history.html |archive-date=23 June 2016 |access-date=18 June 2016 |website=internationalharpmuseum.org |publisher=International Harp Museum}}</ref>
The ''[[Chang (instrument)|Chang]]'' flourished in Persia in many forms from its introduction, about {{nobr|4000 BCE,}} until the 17th century CE.
[[File:Bishapur zan, AO 26169.jpg|left|thumb|1A [[Sassanid]] era mosaic excavated at [[Bishapur]]]]

Around {{nobr|1900 BCE,}} arched harps in the Iraq-Iran region were replaced by [[angular harp]]s with vertical or horizontal sound boxes.<ref name="Agnew2010">{{Cite conference |last=Agnew |first=Neville |date=28 June – 3 July 2004 |title=Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road |conference=The Second International Conference on the Conservation of Grotto Sites |publisher=Getty Publications |publication-date=3 August 2010 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=n8YAyXzJE2IC&pg=PA118 118] ff |isbn=978-1-60606-013-1 |place=Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, People's Republic of China}}</ref> The Kinnor ({{langx|he|{{script/Hebr|כִּנּוֹר}}}} ''kīnnōr'') was an [[Israelites|ancient Israelite]] musical instrument in the [[yoke lutes]] family, the first one to be mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]].
Its exact identification is unclear, but in the modern day it is generally translated as "harp" or "lyre",<ref name="Bromiley">{{cite book|author=Geoffrey W. Bromiley|title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia|date=February 1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zkla5Gl_66oC&pg=PA442|accessdate=4 June 2013|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-3785-1|pages=442–}}</ref>{{rp|440}} and associated with a type of [[lyre]] depicted in Israelite imagery, particularly the [[Bar Kokhba revolt|Bar Kokhba]] coins.<ref name="Bromiley"/> It has been referred to as the "national instrument" of the Jewish people,<ref name="PutnamUrban1968">{{cite book|author1=Nathanael D. Putnam|author2=Darrell E. Urban|author3=Horace Monroe Lewis|title=Three Dissertations on Ancient Instruments from Babylon to Bach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rLDoAAAAIAAJ|accessdate=4 June 2013|year=1968|publisher=F. E. Olds}}</ref> and modern [[luthier]]s have created reproduction lyres of the kinnor based on this imagery.

By the start of the Common Era, "robust, vertical, angular harps", which had become predominant in the Hellenistic world, were cherished in the [[Sasanian]] court. In the last century of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] period, angular harps were redesigned to make them as light as possible ("light, vertical, angular harps"); while they became more elegant, they lost their structural rigidity. At the height of the [[Persian language|Persian]] tradition of illustrated book production (1300–1600&nbsp;CE), such light harps were still frequently depicted, although their use as musical instruments was reaching its end.<ref name="Yar-Shater2003">{{Cite book |last=Yar-Shater |first=Ehsan |title=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |isbn=978-0-933273-81-8 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RhQZAQAAIAAJ 7–8]}}</ref>

==== Greece ====
{{See also|Ancient Greek harps|Aegean civilization}}
[[File:Marble seated harp player MET gr47.100.1.R.jpg|thumb|[[Marble]] seated harp player, [[Cycladic culture|Cycladic civilization]], Greece, {{nobr|2800–2700 BCE}}|241x241px]]
Marble sculptures of seated figures playing harps are known from the [[Cycladic civilization]] dating from {{nobr|2800–2700 BCE.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254587 |website=The Metropolitan Museum |title=Marble seated harp player}}</ref>

==== South Asia ====
{{See also|Yazh|Ancient veena}}
[[Mesolithic]] era paintings from [[Bhimbetka rock shelters|Bhimbetka]] show harp playing. An [[arched harp]] made of wooden brackets and metal strings is depicted on an [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus seal]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Varadpande |first=Manohar Laxman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyxOHOCVcVkC&q=Varadpande |title=History of Indian Theatre |date=1987 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=9788170172215 |pages=14, 55, plate&nbsp;18 |language=en}}</ref> The works of the Tamil [[Sangam literature]] describe the harp and its variants, as early as {{nobr|200 BCE.}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vipulananda |year=1941 |title=The harps of ancient Tamil-land and the twenty-two srutis of Indian musical theory |url=http://www.southasiaarchive.com/Content/sarf.120137/211446/003 |journal=Calcutta Review |volume=LXXXI |issue=3}}</ref> Variants were described, ranging from 14 to 17&nbsp;strings, and the instrument was used by wandering minstrels for accompaniment.<ref name="Zvelebil1992">{{Cite book |last=Zvelebil |first=Kamil |title=Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature |date=1992 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-09365-6 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qAPtq49DZfoC&pg=PA145 145ff]}}</ref> Iconographic evidence of the yaal appears in temple statues dated as early as {{nobr|600 BCE.}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Gershon |first2=Livia |title=Listen to the First Song Ever Recorded on This Ancient, Harp-Like Instrument |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hear-sound-ancient-indian-instrument-180977426/ |access-date=28 September 2021 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> One of the Sangam works, the ''Kallaadam'' recounts how the first ''yaaḻ'' harp was inspired by an archer's bow, when he heard the musical sound of its twang.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

Another early South Asian harp was the [[ancient veena]], not to be confused with the modern Indian [[veena]] which is a type of lute. Some Samudragupta gold coins show of the {{nobr|mid-4th century CE}} show (presumably) the king [[Samudragupta]] himself playing the instrument.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVNmAAAAMAAJ |title=The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India |date=2006 |publisher=Numismatic Society of India |pages=73–75}}{{full citation needed|date=June 2020|reason=article title; author; volume, issue}}</ref> The ancient veena survives today in Burma, in the form of the ''[[saung]]'' harp still played there.<ref name="Goyala1992">{{Cite book |last=Śrīrāma Goyala |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DkVuAAAAMAAJ |title=Reappraising Gupta History: For S.R. Goyal |date=1 August 1992 |publisher=Aditya Prakashan |isbn=978-81-85179-78-0 |page=237 |quote=...&nbsp;yazh resembles this old vina ... however it is the Burmese harp which seems to have been handed down in almost unchanged form since ancient times}}</ref>

==== East Asia ====
{{Main|Konghou}}
The harp was popular in ancient China and neighboring regions, though harps are largely extinct in East Asia in the modern day. The Chinese ''[[konghou]]'' harp is documented as early as the [[Spring and Autumn period]] {{nobr|(770–476 BCE),}} and became extinct during the [[Ming dynasty]] {{nobr|(1368–1644 CE).}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Konghou |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/konghou |access-date=2 October 2018 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=web}}</ref> A similar harp, the ''[[Gonghu]]'' was played in ancient Korea, documented as early as the [[Goguryeo]] period {{nobr|(37 BCE–686 CE).}}<ref name=YunRichards2005>{{cite book |last1=Yun |first1=Hu-myŏng |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRwaAQAAIAAJ |title=The love of Dunhuang |last2=Richards |first2=Kyungnyun K. |last3=Richards |first3=Steffen F. |date=2005 |publisher=Cross-Cultural Communications |isbn=978-0-89304-737-5}}</ref>

=== Development ===

==== Europe ====
{{See also|Origin of the harp in Europe|Medieval harp}}
[[File:DupplinHarper.jpg|thumb|left|The harper on the [[Dupplin Cross]], Scotland, {{circa|800 CE}}]]
[[File:Archive-ugent-be-F10D9E4E-7E68-11E5-B44A-58F8D43445F2 DS-4 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Individual sheet music for a seventeenth century baroque harp<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muziek voor barokharp |url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:F10D9E4E-7E68-11E5-B44A-58F8D43445F2#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3926,0,12970,7241 |access-date=27 August 2020 |website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]

While the angle and bow harps held popularity elsewhere, European harps favored the "pillar", a third structural member to support the far ends of the arch and soundbox.<ref name="Montagu 2002 564">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2002 |title=Harp |encyclopedia=[[The Oxford Companion to Music]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=London, UK |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780198662129/page/564 |editor-last=Latham |editor-first=Alison |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780198662129/page/564 564] |isbn=0-19-866212-2 |oclc=59376677 |author-last=Montagu |author-first=Jeremy}}</ref><ref name="Boenig_1996">{{Cite magazine |last=Boenig |first=Robert |date=April 1996 |title=The Anglo Saxon Harp |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=290–320 |doi=10.2307/2865415 |jstor=2865415 |periodical=Spectrum}}</ref>{{rp|page=290}} A harp with a triangular three-part frame is depicted on 8th-century [[Pictish stones]] in Scotland<ref name="Montagu 2002 564" /><ref name=Boenig_1996 />{{rp|page=290}} and in manuscripts (e.g. the [[Utrecht Psalter]]) from early 9th-century France.<ref name=Boenig_1996 /> The curve of the harp's neck is a result of the proportional shortening of the basic triangular form to keep the strings equidistant; if the strings were proportionately distant they would be farther apart.

[[File:Wartburg-Harfe.JPG|right|thumb|A medieval European harp (the [[Wartburg harp]]) with buzzing bray pins]]
As European harps evolved to play more complex music, a key consideration was some way to facilitate the quick changing of a string's pitch to be able to play more chromatic notes. By the [[Baroque]] period in Italy and Spain, more strings were added to allow for chromatic notes in more complex harps. In Germany in the second half of the 17th century, diatonic single-row harps were fitted with manually turned hooks that fretted individual strings to raise their pitch by a half step. In the 18th century, a link mechanism was developed connecting these hooks with pedals, leading to the invention of the single-action pedal harp.

The first primitive form of pedal harps was developed in the Tyrol region of Austria. Jacob Hochbrucker was the next to design an improved pedal mechanism around 1720, followed in succession by Krumpholtz, Naderman, and the Erard company, who came up with the double mechanism, in which a second row of hooks was installed along the neck, capable of raising the pitch of a string by either one or two half steps. While one course of European harps led to greater complexity, resulting largely in the modern pedal harp, other harping traditions maintained simpler diatonic instruments which survived and evolved into modern traditions.

==== Americas ====
In the Americas, harps are widely but sparsely distributed, except in certain regions where the harp traditions are very strong. Such areas include [[Mexico]], the [[Andes|Andean]] region, [[Venezuela]], and [[Paraguay]]. They are derived from the [[Baroque]] harps that were brought from Spain during the colonial period.<ref name="Nicholls2013">{{Cite book |last=Nicholls |first=David |title=Whole World of Music: A Henry Cowell Symposium |date=19 December 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-41946-3 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wB9mAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 161] ff}}</ref> Detailed features vary from place to place.
[[File:Paraguayan harp 1.jpg|thumb|Paraguayan harp]]
The [[Paraguayan harp]] is that country's [[List of national instruments (music)|national instrument]], and has gained a worldwide reputation, with international influences alongside folk traditions. They have around 36&nbsp;strings, are played with fingernails, and with a narrowing spacing and lower tension than modern Western harps, and have a wide and deep soundbox that tapers to the top.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HkIqAQAAIAAJ |title=Folk Harp Journal |date=1999 |volume=99}}</ref>

The harp is also found in Argentina,<ref name="Méndez2004">{{Cite book |last=Méndez, Marcela |title=Historia del arpa en la Argentina |date=1 January 2004 |publisher=Editorial de Entre Rios |isbn=978-950-686-137-7 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ivlekn7J8XkC&pg=PA36 36]}}</ref> though in Uruguay it was largely displaced in religious music by the organ by the end of the 18th&nbsp;century.<ref name="Schechter1992">{{Cite book |last=Schechter |first=John Mendell |title=The Indispensable Harp: Historical Development, Modern Roles, Configurations, and Performance Practices in Ecuador and Latin America |date=1992 |publisher=Kent State University Press |isbn=978-0-87338-439-1 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=59F-IxIgKOAC&pg=PA36 36]}}</ref> The harp is historically found in Brazil, but mostly in the south of the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ortiz |first=Alfredo Rolando |title=History of Latin American Harps |url=http://www.harpspectrum.org/folk/History_of_Latin_American_Harps.shtml |access-date=12 December 2014 |publisher=HarpSpectrum.org}}</ref>

[[File:Meg with Andean harp (4134119578).jpg|thumb|Andean harp]]
The [[Andean harp]] (Spanish/{{langx|qu|arpa}}), also known as the Peruvian harp, or indigenous harp, is widespread among peoples living in the highlands of the [[Andes]]: [[Quechua people|Quechua]] and [[Aymara people|Aymara]], mainly in [[Peru]], and also in [[Bolivia]] and [[Ecuador]]. It is relatively large, with a significantly increased volume of the resonator box, which gives basses a special richness. It usually accompanies love dances and songs, such as [[huayno]].<ref name="Torres2013">{{Cite book |last=Torres |first=George |title=Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music |date=27 March 2013 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-08794-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MX5BXxjwV9cC&pg=PA14 14]}}</ref> One of the most famous performers on the Andean harp was [[Juan Cayambe]] ([[Pimampiro Canton]], [[Imbabura Province]], Ecuador<ref>{{Cite web |title=Juan Cayambe |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/3491434 |work=Discogs |language=en}}</ref>)

The {{lang|es|arpa jarocha}} is typically played while standing. In southern Mexico (Chiapas), there is a very different indigenous style of harp music.<ref name="Schechter1992 a">{{Cite book |last=Schechter |first=John Mendell |title=The Indispensable Harp: Historical development, modern roles, configurations, and performance practices in Ecuador and Latin America |date=1992 |publisher=Kent State University Press |isbn=978-0-87338-439-1 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=59F-IxIgKOAC&pg=PA201 201]}}</ref>

{{anchor|Venezuelan harps}} The harp arrived in Venezuela with Spanish colonists.<ref name=hc202007 /> There are two distinct traditions: the {{lang|es|arpa llanera}} ('harp of the [[Llanos]]’, or plains) and the {{lang|es|arpa central}} ('of the central area').<ref name="Briceño1999" /> By the 2020s, three types of harps are typically found:<ref name=hc202007 />
* the traditional '''llanera harp''', made of [[Cedar wood]] and has 32&nbsp;strings, originally of the [[Gut string|gut]], but in modern times are of nylon. It is used to accompany both dancers and singers playing [[joropo]] music, a traditional form of Venezuelan music, also known as llanera music.<ref name=hc202007 />
* the {{lang|es|arpa central}} (also known as {{lang|es|arpa mirandina}} 'of [[Miranda State]]’, and {{lang|es|arpa tuyera}} 'of the [[Tuy Valleys]]’) is strung with wire in the higher register.<ref name="Briceño1999">{{Cite book |last=Guerrero Briceño |first=Fernando F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xWBaAAAAMAAJ |title=El arpa en Venezuela |date=1999 |publisher=FundArte, Alcaldía de Caracas |isbn=9789802533756}}</ref>
* the Venezuelan electric harp<ref name=hc202007>{{Cite journal |last=Reese |first=Allison |year=2021 |title=Venezuelan Virtuoso <!-- Used the printed journal article as a source in July 2021; but this link to the article exists, but is behind a paywall: |url=https://harpcolumn.com/blog/venezuelan-virtuoso/ --> |journal=Harp Column |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=18–23}}</ref>

==== Africa ====
{{Main|African harps}}
[[File:Magpetu vona.jpg|right|thumb|A [[Mangbetu people|Mangbetu]] man playing a bow harp]]
A number of types of harps are found in Africa, predominantly not of the three-sided frame-harp type found in Europe. A number of these, referred to generically as [[African harp]]s, are bow or angle harps, which lack forepillars joining the neck to the body.

A number of harp-like instruments in Africa are not easily classified with European categories. Instruments like the West African ''[[Kora (instrument)|kora]]'' and Mauritanian ''[[ardin (harp)|ardin]]'' are sometimes labeled as "spike harp", "bridge harp", or [[harp lute]] since their construction includes a bridge which holds the strings laterally, vice vertically entering the soundboard.<ref name="Charry2000">{{Cite book |last=Charry, Eric S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8F5r27VBBm0C&pg=PA76 |title=Mande Music: Traditional and modern music of the Maninka and Mandinka of western Africa |date=1 October 2000 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-10162-0 |pages=76–}}</ref>

==== Armenia ====
{{see also|Angular harp#Steppe zone}}
In [[Armenia]], stringed instruments such as the lyre have been use since ancient times; the lyre was documented in artwork on a silver goblet from Karashamb, Armenia in the 22nd-21st centuries B.C.<ref name=PrehistArm>{{Cite journal |date=2015-04-28 |title=Music in Prehistoric Armenia |url=http://www.davidpublisher.com/index.php/Home/Article/index?id=7512.html |journal=Journal of Literature and Art Studies |volume=5 |issue=4 |doi=10.17265/2159-5836/2015.04.003 |quote=The mentioned data are confirmed by archaeological evidence on musical instruments (cf. Kushnareva, 2000; Khachatryan, 2001), according to which during Bronze and Iron Ages (ca. 3rd-2nd millennia B.C.) the following stringed, wind and percussive instruments were known in Armenia: lyre, harp, lute, pipe-flute, drum, and bell-shaped objects...The appearance of the harp/lyre must be connected to Near Eastern influences. |doi-access=free }}</ref> The horizontal harp potentially dates back between 700 BC (when it appeared in Assyrian artwork) and the 5th-4th centuries BC. (the date for examples dug up in the  [[Altai Mountains]], and then in [[Xinjiang]] in northwestern China).<ref name=xiejin2>{{cite web |title= Reflection upon Chinese Recently Unearthed Konghous in Xin Jiang Autonomous Region |author= Xie Jin |publisher= Musicology Department, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China |url= https://musicology.cn/news/news_299.html |archive-date= 4 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083704/https://musicology.cn/news/news_299.html |quote=The konghous in Xinjiang are not only similar between themselves，but also alike with the ancient harps in Pazyryk (350 B.C, FIG. 4) [vii], Assyria (650 B.C, FIG. 5), and Olbia (400-200 B.C, FIG. 6)}}</ref><ref name=Lawergren3>{{cite web |url=http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/physics/faculty/lawergren/repository/files/AngularHarpsThroughtheAges.pdf |title=Angular Harps Through the Ages – A Causal History |access-date=12 August 2011 |last=Lawergren |first=Bo |date= |format= |publisher= |page= 264 |language=English }}</ref> The theory is that the instrument spread between the two locations (which would include Armenia), helped by such tribes as the Scythians.<ref name=Lawergren3/> 

Common usages included weddings and funerals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tahmizyan |first=Narine |date=1997 |lang=hy |script-title=hy:Երաժշտության տեսությունը հին Հայաստանում |trans-title=Music Theory in Ancient Armenia |publisher=Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR. |page=41}}</ref> The "horn beaker with a feast scene", found inside a vessel in [[Nor Aresh]] and now preserved in the [[Erebuni Fortress]], depicts a lyre.{{sfn|Tahmizyan|1997|p=23}} Information about early medieval Armenian musical instruments has been found in Armenian translations of the Bible.<ref>{{cite book |last=Աճառյան |first=Հ․ |author-link=Hrachia Acharian |year=1926 |title=Հայէրեն արմատական բառարան |trans-title=Armenian root dictionary |location=Երևան [Yerevan] |publisher=Yerevan University Publishing House |pages=390}}</ref>{{sfn|Tahmizyan|1997|pp=60–61}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Harutyunyan |first=Gayane |year=2020 |lang=hy |script-title=hy:Հայկական տավիղներ |trans-title=Armenian Harps |journal=Երաժշտական Հայաստան [Musical Armenia]}}</ref> In the past, the stringed instruments such as lyres and harps were played in the royal residences, in the royal recreation rooms.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} Sometimes not only the royal musicians, but the kings themselves were depicted in artwork playing the instrument.

=====Lyres and harps in Armenian artwork=====
Artwork in the gallery below shows a variety of Eastern and Western styles as well as some that could be from either.

<gallery>
Տավիղ եղջերեգավաթի վրա, Էրեբունու թանգարան.jpg|Circa 4th century B.C. Horn beaker found at Nor Aresh district near the Erebuni Fortress. Contains feast scene of a man and three women. One woman has a lyre. [[Erebuni Museum]]  
Տավիղ, Էրեբունու թանգարան.jpg|Circa 4th century B.C. Woman with [[lyre]] from horn beaker, found in excavation at the Nor Aresh district.Erebuni Museum.

Արքայական ծագում ունեցող տավղահար.jpg|An Armenian royal harpist. Style similar to Chinese [[konghou]] and Persian [[Chang (instrument)|chang]].
File:Digenes Akritas and his wife Eydokia, detail from silver cup, made in Cilician Armenia.jpg|A harp or [[Rotte (psaltery)|rotte]] on a medieval Armenian silver cup. Style resembles [[:File:Utrechts-Psalter PSALM-67 instruments.jpg|harps from Utrecht Psalter]] (Western Europe) or the [[Rotte (psaltery)|rotte]].
File:Նկ․ 5.jpg|[[Medieval harp|European style harp]] in Armenian artwork

File:Group of Musicians,, XVIth or XVIIth century.jpg|Armenian manuscript showing musicians, including harper. Resembles Persian or Central-Asian chang, as well as Chinese konghou.
</gallery>

==== South Asia ====
In India, the B''in-Baia'' harp survives about the [[Padhar]] people of [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref name="ShepherdHorn2003">{{Cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=John |title=Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World |last2=Horn |first2=David |last3=Laing |first3=Dave |last4=Oliver |first4=Paul |last5=Wicke |first5=Peter |date=8 May 2003 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-84714-472-0 |volume=Part&nbsp;1 Performance and Production |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=x8KvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA435 435] ff |author-link5=Peter Wicke}}</ref> The [[Kafir harp]] has been part of [[Nuristanis|Nuristani]] musical tradition for many years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alvad |first=Thomas |date=October 1954 |title=The Kafir Harp |journal=Man |publisher=Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=54 |pages=151–154 |doi=10.2307/2795578 |jstor=2795578 |id=233}}</ref>

==== East Asia ====
[[File:Saung harp musician.jpg|thumb|left|Saung musician in 1900]]
The harp largely became extinct in East Asia by the 17th&nbsp;century; around the year&nbsp;1000, harps like the ''[[vajra]]'' began to replace prior{{clarify|date=December 2014}} harps.<ref name="Agnew2010 a">{{Cite conference |last=Neville Agnew |date=28 June – 3 July 2004 |title=Conservation of ancient sites on the Silk Road |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n8YAyXzJE2IC&pg=PA121 |conference=The Second International Conference on the Conservation of Grotto Sites |publisher=Getty Publications |publication-date=3 August 2010 |pages=121ff |isbn=978-1-60606-013-1 |place=Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, People's Republic of China}}</ref> A few examples survived to the modern era, particularly [[Myanmar]]'s ''[[saung]]-gauk'', which is considered the national instrument in that country. Though the ancient Chinese ''[[konghou]]'' has not been directly resurrected, the name has been revived and applied to a modern newly invented instrument based on the Western classical harp, but with the strings doubled back to form two notes per string, allowing advanced techniques such as note-bending.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

[[File:Womanperformingwithaharponthestreet-motomachi-yokohama-2022-9-4.webm|thumb|A woman playing a harp on the street in [[Yokohama]], Japan]]

== Modern European and American harps ==

=== Concert harp ===
{{Main|Pedal harp}}
[[File:Lavinia Meijer playing the harp, 2011.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Lavinia Meijer]] playing the harp]]
The ''concert'' harp is a technologically advanced instrument, particularly distinguished by its use of pedals, foot-controlled levers which can alter the pitch of given strings, making it [[chromatic]] and thus able to play a wide body of classical repertoire. The pedal harp contains seven pedals that each affect the tuning of all strings of one [[pitch-class]]. The pedals, from left to right, are D, C, B on the left side and E, F, G, A on the right. Pedals were first introduced in 1697 by Jakob Hochbrucker of Bavaria.<ref name="Stanley1997">{{Cite book |last=Stanley |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnrZAAAAMAAJ |title=Classical Music: An introduction to Classical music through the great composers & their masterworks |date=1 May 1997 |publisher=Reader's Digest Association |isbn=978-0-89577-947-2 |page=24}}</ref> In 1811 these were upgraded to the "double action" pedal system patented by Sébastien Erard.<ref>{{Cite web |last=de Vale |first=Sue Carole |title=Harp |url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/45738pg5 |url-access=subscription |access-date=27 December 2020 |website=Oxford Music Online |series=Oxford Music Online / Grove Music Online |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

[[File:Harpo Marx playing the harp.jpeg|left|upright|thumb|[[Harpo Marx]] would run around performing zany slapstick pantomime comedy with his brothers, then sit down to play beautiful music on the concert harp.]]
The addition of pedals broadened the harp's abilities, allowing its gradual entry into the classical orchestra, largely beginning in the 19th century. The harp played little or no role in early classical music (being used only a handful of times by major composers such as Mozart and Beethoven), and its use by [[Cesar Franck]] in his Symphony in D&nbsp;minor (1888) was described as "revolutionary" despite the harp having seen some prior use in orchestral music.<ref name=Mar1983>{{cite book |last=del Mar |first=Norman |author-link=Norman Del Mar |title=Anatomy of the Orchestra |year=1983 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-05062-4 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vsVzqUN1GBcC&pg=PA435 435] ff }}</ref> In the 20th century, the pedal harp found use outside of classical music, entering musical comedy films in 1929 with [[Harpo Marx|Arthur "Harpo" Marx]], jazz with [[Casper Reardon]] in 1934,<ref>{{cite web |title=Casper Reardon |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/casper-reardon-mn0001839999 |access-date=19 December 2019 |series=Biography & History |website=AllMusic |lang=en-us}}</ref> [[the Beatles]] 1967 single "[[She's Leaving Home]]", and several works by [[Björk]] which featured harpist [[Zeena Parkins]]. In the early 1980s, Swiss harpist [[Andreas Vollenweider]] exposed the concert harp to large new audiences with his popular new age/jazz albums and concert performances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 April 2008 |title=A Portrait of Andreas Vollenweider |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-portrait-of-andreas-vollenweider-/6596504 |access-date=30 January 2020 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 October 1985 |title=New Sounds: Andreas Vollenweider |url=https://www.spin.com/2019/10/new-sounds-andreas-vollenweider/ |access-date=30 January 2020 |website=Spin (magazine) |ref=Spin Oct. 1985 Vollenweider}}</ref>

=== Folk, lever, and Celtic instruments ===
{{Main|Celtic harp}}
[[File:Celtic harps.JPG|thumb|upright|[[New Salem (Menard County), Illinois|New Salem Village]] [[Historical reenactment|re-enactor]] playing a [[Celtic harp]]]]
[[File:Celtic harp dsc05425.jpg|thumb|left|The medieval "[[Queen Mary Harp]]" (''Clàrsach na Banrìgh Màiri'') preserved in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. It is one of three surviving Insular Celtic medieval harps, which serve as protypes for "celtic harps".]]
In the modern era, there is a family of mid-size harps, generally with nylon strings, and optionally with partial or full levers but without pedals. They range from two to six octaves, and are plucked with the fingers, largely using the same techniques used for playing orchestral harps. Though these harps evoke ties to historical European harps, their specifics are modern, and they are frequently referred to broadly as "''Celtic harps''" due to their region of revival and popular association, or more generically as "''folk harps''" due to their use in non-classical music, or as "''lever harps''" to contrast their modifying mechanism with the larger pedal harp.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bouchaud |first=Dominig |title=Is "Celtic" a myth? The lever harp in Brittany |url=http://www.harpblog.info/en/2016/01/is-celtic-a-myth-the-lever-harp-in-brittany/ |journal=Harp Blog}}</ref>

[[File:Eisteddfod Caerwys - harpists (4153297586).jpg|thumb|upright|Welsh harpists at Caerwys [[Eisteddfod]] {{circa|1892}}]]
The modern Celtic harp began to appear in the early 19th&nbsp;century in Ireland, shortly after all the last generation of harpers had all died-out, breaking the continuity of musical training between the earlier native Gaelic harping tradition and the revival of Celtic harp playing as part of the later [[Celtic revival]].

[[John Egan (harp maker)|John Egan]], a pedal harp maker in Dublin, developed a new type of harp which had gut strings and semitone mechanisms like a reduced version of a single-action pedal harp; it was small and curved like the historical ''cláirseach'' or Irish harp, but its strings were of gut and the soundbox was much lighter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rimmer |first=Joan |date=1977 |title=The Irish Harp |publisher=Mercier Press for the Cultural Relations Committee  |page=67 |url= }}</ref> In the 1890s a similar new harp was also developed in Scotland as part of the [[Celtic revival|popular revival of Gaelic culture]].<ref>Collinson, Francis (1983)[1966]. ''The Bagpipe, Fiddle and Harp''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966; reprinted by Lang Syne Publishers Ltd., {{ISBN|0946264481}}, {{ISBN|978-0946264483}}</ref> In the mid-20th&nbsp;century [[Jord Cochevelou]] developed a variant of the modern Celtic harp which he referred to as the "Breton Celtic harp"; his son [[Alan Stivell]] was to become the most influential Breton harper, and a strong influence in the broader world of the Celtic harp.

=== Multi-course harps ===
A [[multi-course harp]] is a harp with more than one row of strings, as opposed to the more common "single course" harp. On a double-harp, the two rows generally run parallel to each other, one on either side of the neck, and are usually both [[diatonic scale|diatonic]] (sometimes with levers) with identical notes.

The [[triple harp]] originated in Italy in the 16th&nbsp;century, and arrived in Wales in the late 17th&nbsp;century where it established itself in the local tradition as the Welsh harp (''telyn deires'', "three-row harp").<ref name=Koch>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |year=2006 |title=Celtic Culture: A historical encyclopedia |volume=1 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-440-0 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&pg=PA893 893]&nbsp;''ff'' }}</ref> The triple harp's string set consists of two identical outer rows of standard [[diatonic scale|diatonicly]] tuned strings (same as a double-harp) with a third set of strings between them tuned to the missing [[chromatic scale|chromatic]] notes. The strings are spaced sufficiently for the harpist to reach past the outer row and pluck an inner string when a chromatic note is needed.

=== Chromatic-strung harps ===
Some harps, rather than using pedal or lever devices, achieve chromaticity by simply adding additional strings to cover the notes outside their diatonic home scale. The Welsh triple harp is one such instrument, and two other instruments employing this technique are the [[cross-strung harp]] and the [[inline chromatic harp]].

[[File:Cross harp.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Cross-strung chromatic harp]]
The cross-strung harp has one row of diatonic strings, and a separate row of chromatic notes, angled in an "X" shape so that the row which can be played by the right hand at the top may be played by the left hand at the bottom, and vice versa. This variant was first attested as the ''arpa de dos órdenes'' ("two-row harp") in Spain and Portugal, in the 17th century.<ref name="MikishkaMusic1989">{{Cite book |last=Mikishka |first=Patricia O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3g9AQAAIAAJ |title=Single, double, and triple harps, 1581–1782: Harps having two or three rows of parallel strings. Part II |date=1989 |publisher=Stanford University |page=48 |department=Department of Music}}</ref>

The inline chromatic harp is generally a single-course harp with all 12 notes of the chromatic scale appearing in a single row. Single course inline chromatic harps have been produced at least since 1902, when [[:de:Weigel-Harfe|Karl Weigel]] of [[Hanover]] patented a model of inline chromatic harp.<ref name="Society1903">{{Cite book |title=Zeitschrift |collaboration=International Musical Society |date=1903 |publisher=Breitkopf und Härtel |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9Vw5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA196 196]}}</ref>

=== Electric harps ===
Amplified (electro-acoustic) hollow body and solid body [[electric harp|electric lever harps]] are produced by many harp makers, including [[Lyon & Healy]], [[Salvi Harps|Salvi]], and [[Camac Harps|Camac]]. They generally use individual [[piezo-electric]] sensors for each string, often in combination with small internal microphones to produce a mixed electrical signal. Hollow body instruments can also be played acoustically, while solid body instruments must be amplified.

[[File:Gravikord.JPG|thumb|upright|right|A [[gravikord]]]]
The late-20th century [[Gravikord]] is a modern purpose-built electric double harp made of stainless steel based on the traditional West African [[kora (instrument)|kora]].

== Structure and mechanism ==
[[File:Harp.svg|thumb|Basic structural elements and terminology of a modern concert harp]]

All harps have a [[Neck (music)|neck]], [[Acoustic resonance|resonator]], and [[String (music)|strings]], '''frame harps''' or '''triangular harps''' have a pillar at their long end to support the strings, while '''open harps''', such as '''arch harps''' and '''bow harps''', do not.

Harps are essentially [[Triangle|triangular]] and made primarily of wood. ''Strings'' are made of gut or wire, often replaced in the modern day by [[nylon]] or metal. Different harps may use [[String (music)#Gut|catgut]], [[String (music)#Nylon|nylon]], [[String (music)#Steel|metal]], or some combination. The top end of each string is secured on the ''crossbar'' or [[Neck (music)|''neck'']], where each will have a ''[[tuning peg]]'' or similar device to adjust the pitch. From the crossbar, the string runs down to the [[soundboard (music)|''sounding board'']] on the resonating ''body'', where it is secured with a knot; on modern harps the string's hole is protected with an [[Grommet|eyelet]] to limit wear on the wood. The distance between the tuning peg and the soundboard, as well as tension and weight of the string, determine the pitch of the string. The body is hollow, and when a [[Tension (physics)|taut]] string is plucked, the body [[Acoustic resonance|resonates]], projecting sound.

The longest side of the harp is called the ''column'' or ''pillar'' (though some earlier harps, such as a "bow harp", lack a pillar). On most harps the sole purpose of the pillar is to hold up the neck against the great strain of the strings. On harps which have pedals (largely the modern concert harp), the pillar is a hollow column and encloses the rods which adjust the pitches, which are levered by pressing pedals at the base of the instrument.

=== Variations and extension of chromatic range ===
Harps vary globally in many ways. In terms of size, many smaller harps can be played on the lap, whereas larger harps are quite heavy and rest on the floor. Pedal harps tend to be bigger than lever harps.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Differences between pedal harps and lever harps |url=https://www.enjoytheharp.com/how-pedal-and-lever-harps-differ |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=Enjoy the Harp |language=en-US}}</ref>

On harps of earlier design a single string produces only a single pitch. In many cases, this means such a harp can only play in one key at a time and must be retuned to play in another key. Harpers and [[luthier]]s developed varying techniques to extend the range and [[chromaticism]] of the strings (e.g., adding sharps and flats) seen in modern harps: 
* the addition of extra strings to cover [[chromatic (music)|chromatic]] notes (sometimes in separate or angled rows distinct from the main row of strings),
* addition of small levers on the crossbar which when actuated raise the pitch of a string by a set interval (usually a semitone)
* use of pedals at the base of the instrument, pressed with the foot, which move additional small pegs on the crossbar. The small pegs gently contact the string near the tuning peg, changing the vibrating length, but not the tension, and hence the pitch of the string.
These solutions increase the versatility of a harp at the cost of adding complexity, weight, and expense.

On '''lever harps''' a string's note is changed by flipping a lever. Each lever acts on a single string, shortening it enough to raise the pitch by a chromatic sharp.<ref name=":0" />

On '''pedal harps''' depressing the pedal one step turns geared levers on the strings for all octaves of a single pitch (for example, pressing the C pedal will make every C not a C sharp).<ref name=":0" /> Most pedal harps also allow a second step that turns a second set of levers. The [[pedal harp]] is a standard instrument in the [[orchestra]] of the [[Romantic music era]] (ca. 1800–1910&nbsp;CE) and the 20th and 21st&nbsp;century music era.

{{clear left}}

== Terminology and etymology ==
The modern English word harp comes from the Old English ''hearpe''; akin to Old High German ''harpha''.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Harp |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionaries |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/harp |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913133045/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/harp |archive-date=13 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A person who plays a pedal harp is called a "harpist";<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Harpist |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionaries |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/harpist |access-date=25 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018071631/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/harpist |archive-date=18 October 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> a person who plays a folk-harp is called a "harper" or sometimes a "harpist";<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Harper |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionaries |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/harper |access-date=25 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624023221/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/harper |archive-date=24 June 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> either may be called a "harp-player", and the distinctions are not strict.

A number of instruments that are not harps are none-the-less colloquially referred to as "harps". Chordophones like the [[aeolian harp]] (wind harp), the [[autoharp]], the [[psaltery]], as well as the piano and [[harpsichord]], are not harps, but [[zither]]s, because their strings are parallel to their soundboard. Harps' strings rise approximately perpendicularly from the soundboard. Similarly, the many varieties of [[harp guitar]] and [[harp lute]], while chordophones, belong to the [[lute]] family and are not true harps. All forms of the [[lyre]] and [[kithara]] are also not harps, but belong to the fourth family of ancient instruments under the chordophones, the ''lyres'', closely related to the ''zither'' family.

The term "harp" has also been applied to many instruments which are not even chordophones. The [[vibraphone]] was (and is still) sometimes referred to as the "vibraharp", though it has no strings and its sound is produced by striking metal bars. In blues music, the harmonica is often casually referred to as a "blues harp" or "harp", but it is a [[free reed]] wind instrument, not a stringed instrument, and is therefore not a true harp. The [[Jew's harp]] is neither Jewish nor a harp; it is a [[plucked idiophone]] and likewise not a stringed instrument. The [[laser harp]] is not a stringed instrument at all, but is a harp-shaped electronic instrument controller that has laser beams where harps have strings.

== As a symbol ==

=== Political ===

==== Ireland ====
[[File:Coat of arms of Ireland.svg|thumbnail|upright|[[Coat of arms of Ireland]]]]
[[File:Irish Government Logo.png|thumbnail|upright|The harp is used as the official emblem of the [[Government of Ireland]].]]

The harp has been used as a political symbol of Ireland for centuries. Its origin is unknown but from the evidence of the ancient oral and written literature, it has been present in one form or another since at least the 6th century or before. According to tradition, [[Brian Boru]], [[High King of Ireland]] (died at the [[Battle of Clontarf]], 1014) played the harp, as did many of the gentry in the country during the period of the [[Gaelic Ireland|Gaelic Lordship of Ireland]] (ended {{circa|1607}} with the [[Flight of the Earls]] following the [[Elizabethan Wars]]).{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

In traditional Gaelic society every [[clan]] and chief of any consequence would have a resident harp player who would compose eulogies and elegies (later known as "planxties") in honour of the leader and chief men of the clan. The harp was adopted as a symbol of the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] on the coinage from 1542, and in the [[Royal Standard of the United Kingdom|Royal Standard]] of [[King James VI and I]] in 1603 and continued to feature on all English and United Kingdom Royal Standards ever since, though the styles of the harps depicted differed in some respects. It was also used on the [[Commonwealth Jack]] of [[Oliver Cromwell]] issued in 1649 and on the [[Protectorate Jack]] issued in 1658 as well as on the Lord Protector's Standard issued on the succession of [[Richard Cromwell]] in 1658. The harp is also traditionally used on the [[flag of Leinster]].

Since 1922, the [[government of Ireland]] has used a similar left-facing harp, based on the [[Trinity College Harp]] in the [[Trinity College Library, Dublin|Library]] of [[Trinity College Dublin]] as its state symbol. This design first appeared on the [[Great Seal of the Irish Free State]], which in turn was replaced by the [[coat of arms]], the [[Presidential Standard (Ireland)|Irish Presidential Standard]] and the [[Seal of the President of Ireland|Presidential Seal]] in the 1937 [[Constitution of Ireland]]. The harp emblem is used on official state seals and documents including the [[Irish passport]] and has appeared on [[Irish coinage]] from the [[Middle Ages]] to the current Irish imprints of [[euro]] coins.

==== Elsewhere ====
[[File:Kangasala.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright|A red eagle-headed harp in the coat of arms of [[Kangasala]]]]
The South Asian [[Yazh|Tamil harp ''yaal'']] is the symbol of [[Jaffna|City of Jaffna]], Sri Lanka, whose legendary root originates from a harp player.<ref name="BlazeBlaze1921">{{Cite book |last1=Blaze, L.E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlpLH0w6VWUC&pg=PA45 |title=The Story of Lanka: Outlines of the history of Ceylon from the earliest times to the coming of the Portuguese |last2=Blaze, Louis Edmund |publisher=Asian Educational Services |year=1921 |isbn=978-81-206-1074-3 |page=45}}</ref>

The arms of the Finnish city of [[Kangasala]] features a red, eagle-headed harp.

=== Religious ===
[[File:Weingarten Marienkirche Empore Engel Harfe.jpg|left|thumb|St. Maria (Weingarten/[[Württemberg]])]]
In the context of [[Christianity]], [[heaven]] is sometimes symbolically depicted as populated by [[angels]] playing harps, giving the instrument associations of the sacred and heavenly. In the Bible, [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 4:21 says that [[Jubal (Bible)|Jubal]], the first musician and son of [[Lamech (descendant of Cain)|Lamech]], was 'the father of all who play' the harp and flute.<ref>{{Cite book |title=New International Version / King James Version |via=BibleGateWay.com |at=4:21 |chapter=Genesis |chapter-url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+4%3A21&version=NIV;KJV}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Van Vechten |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Van Vechten |year=1919 |title=On the relative difficulties of depicting heaven and hell in music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ezszAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA553 |pages=553ff |periodical=[[The Musical Quarterly]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Woodstra |first1=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nlDOICBmhbkC&pg=PA699 |title=All-Music Guide to Classical Music: The definitive guide to classical music |last2=Brennan |first2=Gerald |last3=Schrott |first3=Allen |publisher=Backbeat Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-87930-865-0 |pages=699ff}}</ref>

Many depictions of [[David|King David]] in Jewish art have him holding or playing a harp, such as a sculpture outside [[David's Tomb|King David's tomb]] in Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Plassio |first1=Marco |title=Jerusalem – King David |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerusalem_-_King_David.jpg |website=Wikimedia Commons |date=8 August 2011 |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref>
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=== Corporate ===
[[File:Pub plaque, Omagh - geograph.org.uk - 660876.jpg|thumb|upright|Pub advertising sign for the Irish beer brand [[Guinness]]]]
The harp is also used extensively as a [[corporate logo]], predominantly by companies that have, or wish to suggest, a connection with Ireland. The Irish brewer [[Guinness]] has used a right-facing harp (in contrast to the Irish State emblem's left-facing version) as its emblem since 1759, the [[Harp Lager]] brand has done so since 1960. The [[Irish Independent]] newspaper has used a harp in its [[Nameplate (publishing)|masthead]] since 1961. The Irish airline [[Ryanair]], founded in 1985, also features a stylised harp in its logo.

Other organisations in Ireland use the harp in their corporate identity, but not always prominently; these include the [[National University of Ireland]] and the associated [[University College Dublin]], and the [[Gaelic Athletic Association]]. In [[Northern Ireland]], the [[Police Service of Northern Ireland]] and the [[Queen's University of Belfast]] use the harp as part of their identity.

=== Sporting ===
In sport, the harp is used in the emblems of the League of Ireland football team [[Finn Harps F.C.]], Donegal's senior soccer club. Outside of Ireland, it appears in the badge of the [[Scottish Premiership]] team [[Hibernian F.C.]] – a team originally founded by Irish emigrants.

Not all sporting uses of the harp are references to Ireland, however: the Iraqi football club [[Al-Shorta SC|Al-Shorta]] has used a harp as its emblem since the early 1990s, after they gained the nickname ''Al-Qithara'' ({{langx|aii|"the harp"}}) when their style of play was likened to fine harp-playing by a television presenter.
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== See also ==
* [[List of compositions for harp]]
* [[List of harpists]]
* [[Berners Street#Harp makers|Berners Street harp makers]]
* [[:Category:Harpists]]

=== Types of harp ===
* [[Celtic harp]], or Clàrsach, a modern replica of Medieval north European harps
* [[Claviharp]], a 19th&nbsp;century instrument that combined a harp with a keyboard
* [[Epigonion]], a 40&nbsp;stringed instrument in ancient Greece thought to have been a harp
* [[Kantele]], a traditional Finnish and Karelian zither-like instrument
* [[Konghou]], name shared by an ancient Chinese harp and a modern re-adaption
* [[Kora (instrument)|Kora]], a west-African folk-instrument, intermediate between a harp and a lute
* [[Lyre]], [[kithara]], zither-like instruments used in Greek classical antiquity and later
* [[Pedal harp]], the modern, chromatic concert harp
* [[Psaltery]], a small, flat, lap instrument in the zither family
* [[Triple harp]], a chromatic multi-course harp traditional in Wales

== References ==
{{reflist|25em}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |last=Bova |first=Lucia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NVJpLwEACAAJ |title=L'arpa moderna. La scrittura, la notazione, lo strumento e il repertorio dal '500 alla contemporaneità |publisher=SugarMusic |year=2008 |isbn=978-88-900691-4-7 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gaisford |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvl6mgEACAAJ |title=Etymologicum Magnum |year=1848 |isbn=960-400-139-6 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Inglefield |first1=Ruth K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XaGmoXR66Y4C |title=Writing for the Pedal Harp: A Standardized Manual for Composers and Harpists |author2=Neill, Lou Anne |publisher=University of California Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-520-04832-4 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Lucile |url=https://archive.org/details/methodforharpfun00lawr |title=Method for the Harp: Fundamental exercises with illustrations and technical explanations |author2=Salzedo, Carlos |location=New York |publisher=G. Schirmer |year=1929 |quote=as an Introduction and Complement to Carlos Salzedos̀ ''Modern Study of the Harp'' by Lucile Lawrence and Carlos Salzedo |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rensch |first=Roslyn |url=https://archive.org/details/harpsharpists0000rens |title=Harps and Harpists |date=June 2007 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-34903-3 |url-access=registration |orig-year=1989 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Ross |first=Alasdair |date=Winter 1998 |title=Harps of their owne sorte? A reassessment of Pictish chordophone depictions |volume=36 |periodical=Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8KvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA429 |title=Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World |author2=Horn, David |author3=Laing, Dave |author4=Oliver, Paul |author5=Wicke, Peter |date=8 May 2003 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-84714-472-0 |volume=Part&nbsp;1 – Performance and Production |pages=427–437 |ref=none}}

== External links ==
{{EB1911 poster|Harp}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Harps}}
* {{wikiquote-inline|Harp}}
* {{Cite web |title=HarpColumn.com |url=http://www.harpcolumn.com}}
* {{Cite web |title=HarpSpectrum.org |url=http://www.harpspectrum.org/}}

{{Harps}}
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[[Category:Harps| ]]
[[Category:4th-millennium BC introductions]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek musical instruments]]
[[Category:Baroque instruments]]
[[Category:National symbols of Ireland]]
[[Category:Orchestral instruments]]
[[Category:Persian musical instruments]]
[[Category:String instruments]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]