Looking at different harps in comparison, a not so small detail jumped out at me recently. It had already been on my radar, but more in the subconscious part of my harp-awareness, and more related to pressure on the sound board rather than what I’d bluntly call “playability”, even if this is, I admit, a very subjective judgement. Nevertheless, it might be of interest to some colleagues, and harp makers.

When looking at a set of harps all lined up, as for a photograph, it is striking how much the angles, which the sound boards describe with the floor (or an imaginary vertical line by all means), are near identical. Or let’s say, when the harp is “at rest”, the slopes of the sound boards have pretty much the same “steepness”. One cannot say the same thing about the angle described between the strings and the sound board (see drawing). Some harps have strings lined up near vertical (illustration 1), some harps have strings more pulled towards the “front” (away from the player’s head so to speak, illustration 2).

I’ve heard harp makers praising a rather sharp angle between strings and sound board (ill. 1). As the strings pull at the sound board at a sharp angle rather than a right angle, there seems to be less pressure on the sound board (something to do with vectors). This in turn allows the maker to design a thinner sound board, thus more vibration & sound.

In the smaller drawings underneath, the “A” stands for a cross-section of the right arm (ouch!). It’s meant to illustrate what happens to my wrist on both angles. In harp 2 with the wide angle, my arm can rest flat on the sound board. In harp 1 with the sharp angle, the wrist itself is at an angle which makes is uncomfortable, and had made me consider playing “off the sound board” (less stability, but perhaps more freedom – the opinions vary around this topic).

I’ve drawn in the fingertips on the strings, but the drawing doesn’t really illustrate how the thumb has an easier life, too, with the wider angle…

tbc