Category Archives: Lever Harp

Harp Stork News (Updated)

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My new harp Some pics of my lovely new Dusty Strings Allegro (26 strings, Sapelle wood, built-in pickup).

The factory installed pickup is very cool, no extra wires to worry about, just plug in and go.

It’s got three points of pickup on the inside of the harp (only one is visible in the photo), so it should perfectly cover the full range of the instrument.

Update: The built-in pickup rocks! Tried it out with the little Pignose amp, and it worked beautifully.

Don’t know how it will interact with more sophisticated sound systems, but the lack of preamp didn’t seem to be an issue. Just tweaked the settings on the Pignose a bit, and it sounded great. Also could turn up the wee amp higher than before, so more volume with less feedback problems.

Now I just wish I could magically install one on my big harp (and no, drilling brand-new holes in the Wanney harp is not an option; call me paranoid).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Enjoying the great outdoors…

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Si Bheag Si Mhor, one of O’Carolan’s most popular tunes, played by Mark Harmer on Celtic harp.

“Flying to the fleadh”, slip jig by Patrick Davey, played by FairyHarper, with “accompaniment by the crows and birds of ireland”.

If I were a blackbird, Kim Robertson, La Crosse Irish Fest 2008

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Apologies for the lack of updates recently, real life has taken over in a big way and computer activities are at a minimum right now (most harpists can relate to the craziness of the holiday concert season; add major home renovations on top of that and you get the general idea). My goal is to get the Harp Blog back into its usual swing in the new year. In the meantime, here’s a video of the incomparable Kim Robertson, who I had the honour to meet and chat with at the Northern Lights Harp Fest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK_HnPZwsC0&feature=PlayList&p=2D02B1104D8263B7&index=3&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL

To find out more about Kim and her music, you can visit her website at www.kimrobertson.net. You can see more videos of Kim at La Crosee ’08 via the LAXIrishFest YouTube channel (or by following the links in the video above).

Northern Lights Harp Fest

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Just got back this morning, and what a weekend it was!  The first ever Northern Lights Harp Fest in Ottawa was a resounding success (despite the glitches with the sound system on the last day).   I had hoped to blog “live” (as it were) from the hotel, but my computer decided it didn’t like the hotel’s “plug ‘n’ play” internet hookup and refused to play along.   Turned out I didn’t really have any free time to spare, anyhow.  I only left the hotel once, and that was to walk one door over to the restaurant (which, it turns out, is accessible by a nearby escalator, so technically I could have spent the whole weekend indoors, only seeing the sky through the rain-streaked windows.)

Much too tired to write more today, but there will be full-fledged review of the event coming up, as soon as we’ve unpacked and I’ve had a chance at a real night’s sleep.  Update Dec. ’09: Real life intervened and I never did get around to a proper review, sorry about that. Hoping to get the Blog going regularly again in January, after things calm down. – T.H.

One final note for all who are interested, the NLHF is going to be held bi-annually, so start saving now for 2011!

The 38-String Delight: Heartland’s New Light-Weight Carbon Fiber Harp

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38 String Delighty by Heartland HarpsThis is so totally going to be my next harp – as soon as we finish paying off the addition. Well, maybe this and a nice little Lewandowski Romanesque harp on the side. Hey, I can dream, can’t I? (Click on the picture to visit the Delight on the Heartland site).

Ten pounds! Just think of how much easier it would be, trudging across fields and golf courses to get to the bride’s ideal wedding location. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still love my wooden harps, but this way I get to love them in nice safe, dry locations. With a nigh-indestructible harp, just think of the possibilities! Oh, the places we’ll go… I’d definitely pick another colour than black though. Maybe midnight blue, or neon purple, or ocean green.

(Apologies to my fellow Canadians re: the spelling of “fiber”, but that’s the way it’s spelled on all the American sites; exceptions must be made sometimes to avoid confusion!)

Double Harp Demo Video with Acacia Lyra

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Nj1VpVDs0

From Joanne Griffin, Secretary, Northern Lights Harp Fest:

“I know many of you have been curious about the V68 harp-for-two. Since this harp will be used for the open-mic-for-two at the Northern Lights Harp Fest, www.northernlightsharpfest.com, we decided to shoot a demo video to show folks that it actually plays and sounds like a harp (or harps). Acacia Lyra (Susan Sweeney Herman & Janine Dudding), who will be performing and giving a workshop at the Fest, kindly agreed to perform their rendition of Chanter Meets the Fairy King for the video.

The regular registration deadline for the NLHF is July 15th. If you haven’t already done so, sign up now for what promises to be an entertaining, informative and exciting harp experience!”

Credits: V68 harp by Don Peddle, Artwork by Patricia Doyle (Blackburn ON), Videography by Lois Siegel Productions Inc. (Ottawa ON)

April Tune of the Month: The Cliffs of Moher

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Right click and choose 'save target as' for a printable version

This upbeat tune is popular at the Celtic sessions in our area. It lies fairly easily under the fingers for harp (especially the B part), so with practice you should be able to play it at a decent clip. Click here to listen (right click to download the midi file).

We often play Cliffs of Moher in a set with Tenpenny Bit.

The HarpBlog Tune of the Month is courtesy of Chubby Sparrow Music . For a printable version, right click on the picture and choose “save target as”, or pop over to the Chubby Sparrow Free Music page for more detailed printing instructions (note: if you just left click and try to print directly from the browser, it probably won’t print at the right size).