If you have ever contemplated going on a trip with your harp (like HARPA 2015 Scotland?) you will quickly come to realize that you have to get your harp where you are going too! Like air travel isn’t challenging enough! There are a few questions you need to ask yourself:

First, you need to assure you have the right harp for your trip. Are you going to be playing to amuse yourself? Will you be sharing with friends? Will you be performing? Are you taking your only harp? This will help you decide the size harp you’re going to bring.

Second, you’ll have to decide where your harp will make the journey. This will be decided primarily by the size you’re your harp. If your harp is small enough, you can carry on and use our soft case.

Although there are small harps that will fit, typically even small harps are too large to go into the overhead. Be sure before you go if your harp will fit. Do not wait until the day you travel – it would be disappointing to get to the airport assuming you will carry on, learn you will have to check, and have nothing more than the soft case. In addition, while I used to be an advocate for carrying on, nowadays with packed planes and overhead hogs aplenty, it is a bad idea to pack assuming you will get bin space – you should be ready to have to gate check!

Third, if you are going to send your harp as checked luggage, it is essential that you get a hard protective case or crate. In some cases, the case is a crate with a handle! However, a good hard case will protect your harp and allow you to carry your harp through airports, train stations, and hotel lobbies safely and comfortably. And remember that you will need to include the possibility of oversized luggage fees in your planning.

There are a number of case makers available with different approaches so you can select the case that looks to support your budget and style of travel. Consider the following elements – the overall weight (include the harp in your thinking!), the placement of handles (really think about how you’ll move this through the airport, into and out of the car, bus, taxi), and the good sense of including wheels, pockets and identifying marks. All of these things should factor into your decision when selecting your case.

Flying with your harp does require some planning but don’t let that stop you – get out there!

If you’ve been playing for more than about 15 minutes you know that people frequently want you to play in any of a number of places. And there is no limit to where people would like you to play – the tops of mountains, just below the low tide line, or inside the walk-in freezer! This, of course, requires that you get your harp there.

These are exciting opportunities to play and no one want to disappoint their friends (or clients) so you will need to get your harp to the even. But a car can be a very dangerous place for a car. A wise harper* once told me that you should never leave your harp anywhere you wouldn’t leave an infant. And it is wise advice, even though it is unlikely that your harp will toddle off!

But what does that mean? It means you need to remember what your harp is made of and how it’s put together. Harps are (typically) made of wood which is a natural material which is joined by glue (which can soften with heat) and finished (typically) with a finish (which could crack in cold).

• keep it out of the direct sunlight. Remember how much of your car is windows! This is especially important in the summer
• keep it at a comfortable temperature – remember that your harp can’t sweat like you can so keep it temperate
• protect it from bumps, bangs, and potholes.  The soft case will help protect it but be sure you avoid harp points inside the car
• don’t leave your harp in the car (overnight or on the road)

Of course, it’s your harp so you in the end you have to make the decisions. I find that it’s better to make cautious choices than have to get a new harp!

* Kris Snyder told me this the first time in when I was first learning to play!

It has been a rough winter for just about everyone – temperatures going up and down, rain, snow, ice, more snow.  Heater on, heater off, windows open, windows closed.  All that change can be hard on your harp. You probably find your harp is out of tune more than “usual”.  While all that is happening, don’t forget to check your regulation.

Regulation is a technical term for periodic maintenance for your harp.  It keeps it in good working order (or playing order if you prefer!).  Lever harp regulation is important and no less essential than it is for pedal harp.  How often you need to regulate is determined by harp type (with pedal harps needing more frequent regulation than lever harps) and how often you play (with more played harps needing regulation more periodically).  And if you are very picky about your tuning you might want your harp regulated more often.  If your lever harp is needs regulation, you will notice that when you set your levers your sharps are not accurate or your naturals aren’t right.  Your levers can be off in either direction (too sharp or too flat).

Not sure if you need regulation? Here’s a way to tell:

1. take all your levers off and tune each string as accurately as possible*
2. set all your levers
3. check the tuning of each string (do this carefully – remember that you have set every lever not just the ones you usually set, so make sure you are getting sharps and naturals where they should be)

If your tuning with the levers set is not as accurate as it was with the levers off, you may need regulation.   There are, of course, matters of degrees (how far off are they) and your tolerance for any variance.  It is most likely that the levers you use the most will be the most affected (because you’re are always engaging and disengaging them, the bracket has more opportunity to move).

If you do need regulation, you can do it yourself, although I recommend you go to your luthier.  If you decide to do it yourself, I suggest you find more experienced harpers who do their own regulation and ask for help and guidance before doing it yourself – it requires patience and calm.

Regulation is a small maintenance activitiy that will allow you to enjoy your harp as well as making it “healthier” so you can play it longer.  Stay regular my friends!

* you can do the same procedure to check your pedal harp regulation

This whole series of posts has arisen because I am frequently asked to teach tuning.  The requester is almost always sheepish about asking – they seem to feel that you shouldn’t have to ask.  But really, if you haven’t been taught to tune, how will you ever learn?!?  Typically get a very short instruction (pluck the string, twiddle about with the key, get the green light, go on to the next string) very early when you’re a little overwhelmed with everything! 

You do need to know in which scale you intend to tune.   You can tune to any scale but we tend to tune into one of a few major scales (please take this on faith, if you’re really interested, let me know and I’ll do a post on it later).  Those scales we tend to tune in are C, Eb [read E-flat], or F (here too, I am going to assume you know the notes of the scales – if this is a wrong assumption, again, let me know and we’ll do that too!). 

C is familiar, it is a key many other instruments can play in, it “maps” directly to the white keys on the piano, and you are probably familiar with the scale from school music classes.  You would use your tuner to get the following notes in the scale: C – D – E – F – G – A – B (and back to C) all the way up your harp.  From the key of C you can get to other well used scales including G (one sharp – the F# [read F-sharp]), D (two sharps – F# and C#), A (three sharps – F#, C#, and G#), and E (four sharps – F#, C#, G#, and D#).

Tuning in the key of F gives you a very lovely and sing-able key.  It does mean that you will have to raise one lever to get into the key of C but it also gives you a flat note – Bb.  You would use your tuner to get the following notes in the scale: F – G – A – Bb – C – D – E (and back to F).  From the key of F you can get to C (no flats or sharps – raise the B lever), and then move into the successive keys above (just start with the B lever going up to get you to C to start).

But you’ve probably heard lots of people say they are tuned to Eb.  They may even look at you like you’re crazy if you say you’re tuned to C.  DO NOT LET ANYONE INTIMIDATE YOU!!  There is nothing morally or musically superior about being tuned in Eb.  There, I’ve said it.

Many people tune to Eb because it gives you the most options to change scales without having to retune your harp.  From Eb you can get to the most other keys – that’s the only reason to choose it.   So if you tune to Eb, you will have to raise three levers to get into the key of C but it also gives you three flat notes – Eb, Ab, and Bb.  You would use your tuner to get the following notes in the scale: Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C – D (and back to Eb).  From the key of Eb you can get to C (raise the E, A, and B levers), and then move into the successive keys as above (just start from C to start).  And you can get into the keys of F (which we have already talked about, just put up the E and A levers but leave the B lever down) and Bb (put only the A lever up).  And of course, from this tuning with all the levers down, you are in Eb.

Now you can get around the scales a little easier and tuning might make more sense.  As always – let me know if you have questions, otherwise I’m going to go on to other topics!

Any sentence that starts with “everyone knows…” typically includes something that actually only a few people know and possibly even fewer understand.  So, why do you have to tune?

Tuning serves many functions, some aesthetic, others functional.  Let’s start with the aesthetic.

The harp makes a beautiful warm rich sound that we enjoy.  Tuning is one of the many elements of achieving that tone.  If your strings are not each in tune, the sound of each string will “fight” with the sounds of the other strings.  This is not pleasant to hear.  Even being off by a hair (as indicated by the needle and lights on your tuner) will be noticeable.  And the more off your strings, the easier it is to detect that you’re not in tune.  And of course, you will instantly sound better if you are in tune!

We habitually tune to an A of 440Hz.  This is a convention – you can tune to any frequency you choose (e.g., Highland pipers tune A to about 470 – which is just about our Bb!).  We elect to tune to A440 (just like a lot of other instruments) which allows us to come together as a group and play (or to play with other instruments).  Be sure to check that your tuner is calibrated to A440 or you’ll be in for a nasty surprise!

Just as important as it is to take care of ourselves, we need to care for our instruments.  This includes a lot of small things like carrying insurance, keeping an even temperature and humidity in the room, and tuning frequently

But it is also important to do the longer term maintenance.  Yup, we’re talking about Regulating your harp.  Although it sounds mysterious, regulation is simply “tuning up” or “calibrating” your levers (or discs if you’re of that persuasion) so that you get equally dulcet tones on an open string or an occluded string.

How do you know its time to regulate? Listen to your harp – it will tell you !  If when you are well tuned on open strings and you then set your levers and you are out of tune – it’s time.  Don’t put it off, do not pass Go, just get your harp regulated…and enjoy all your notes!

You can do it yourself or take your harp to a qualified luthier – whichever approach you want is good as long as you follow it!

We talked before about getting ready for all the exciting summer harp happenings – very important stuff – you want to get as much as possible out of these learning opportunities!

Getting schlepped is just a fact of many harps’ lives – yours may go everywhere with you or it may almost never leave the house.  Either way, make sure your harp case is ready to go –

• Clean up your case –
• remove the cat or dog hair (you know who you are!), pull the detritus out of the pocket
• put your key and tuner and extra strings in the pocket
• put the shoulder strap (or straps if you have a backpack-able case) on the ring
• untwist the handles so you can comfortably carry it
• Clear out your car –
• make sure there’s a place to put your harp in your car
• ensure that your harp is in a place that is safe for you and your harp in the event of an accident
• Check the weather –
• the challenge of traveling a long distance in the heat means you have to think about keeping your harp cool and out of the sun
• going out of the house in the summer guarantees you’ll have to tune (a lot) if it is very humid where you are or where you are going

Show your harp a little travel love and it will make your learning go more smoothly by assuring that you don’t have to stress over damaging your harp while you travel!

One of the great things about playing the harp is that we have a relatively small population of nice people who seem to enjoy helping one another. I find that to be a delightful part of being a part of this community.

I have a new student who has experienced the heartbreak of broken strings – a lot.  This is a shame for two reasons.  First we all know how unhappy our harps, and by extension we, are when strings break.  This reminder of frailty is so disheartening. And the joy of changing strings is one I know many of us share (not!).  Second, this student is a Skype student so we have the added distance and a digital layer which are not very conducive to teaching how to replace a string.

To that end, I’d like to highlight the good work of another – we were able to use another website to find the information needed and I’d like to share that with you too.  And I’d like to thank that person for sharing her knowledge and expertise in an approachable way. 

We went to Sylvia Woods for help – and I’d like to point you to her in case you need help too.  With a collection of videos (including videos on how to tune your harp and how to replace strings) she walks us through those tedious but essential elements.  She really has done us all a service! Find the videos at: http://www.harpcenter.com/category/harp-videos

I hope you find this information useful and that this blog acts in some small measure as a help to harpers – if it has been a help to you, please let me know.  And if there is something you’d like help with, let me know that – I’ll see what I can do!

Take care of your harp – you’ll be glad you did…each and every time you sit to play it them. 

Thanks to Kris Snyder for pointing out the need to remind people about the potential danger to your harp lurking in your home…dryness.

She has some great hints including checking the humidity inside your house…it might feel really good to you, your hair might look great, but even if you’re not getting shocked every time you touch something that doesn’t mean your house has a high enough humidity to keep your harp happy.

And by happy I mean that it will stay more in tune and more importantly you’re not stressing the wood to the point that it might break.

Very early in my harp career (before it was even a harp career at all!) Kris gave me the sage advice to treat my harp like a baby (like the middle school project of carrying an egg around all the time – but heavier). Never leave it in the car, or in the sun, or in cold or the heat, make sure it has an appropriate humidity level, keep it tuned, and never just stand it up and walk away (or it will fall – mine have proven that more than once).

If you’re concerned about the dryness in the winter – put the lid of a 2 part travel soap keeper upside down on the bottom of your harp (inside the sound box) and place a dampened sponge inside the lid. Check it daily to assure the sponge is damp. This will provide enough local moisture to keep your harp happy – and you won’t be broken up at finding a cracked sound board.