Musical Acoustics Essay on the Harp
The Harp
The Harp is the oldest known stringed instrument, made up of a frame that surrounds multiple strings. The amount of strings depends on the size and type of harp, the concert harp typically has 47 strings which ranges 6 and a half octaves. The word harp comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “to pluck”. Smaller instruments similar to the harp include the lyre, which has strings of the same length but of varying thickness and tension; the psaltery, which has a frame open only on one side; and the dulcimer, which is similar to the psaltery but which is played by striking the strings with a hammer rather than plucking them. The harp is thought to have origins in a hunters bow, in the sound it created when plucked. Because of this there is no true date of invention of the harp. There are cave paintings that depict a harp like instrument in France dated to 15,000 BC. The first types of harp were the bow harp, which has a single curved piece of wood attached to a resonating vessel, and the angle harp which is commonly called the open harp, which is made of 2 pieces of wood, one being hollow to resonate the sound, attached together at an angle with the strings strung between them.
The harp was developed separately in different parts of the world and during different time periods but all seemingly producing similar types harps. In ancient egypt there are many harps depicted in Pharaohs tombs around 5000 years ago the majority of these being bow harps up to 2 metres with 19 strings.
Vertical harps known as lyre harps were created in ancient Greece and coincided with the creation of the mathematical musical scale where Pythagoras discovered numerical ratios corresponding to intervals of the musical scale. During the Roman times the use of the harp and musical instruments in general declined and did not reappear for many years.
The triangle harp seems to have been developed in Europe and incorporated a vertical pillar to close the frame, the
The Harp is the oldest known stringed instrument, made up of a frame that surrounds multiple strings. The amount of strings depends on the size and type of harp, the concert harp typically has 47 strings which ranges 6 and a half octaves. The word harp comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “to pluck”. Smaller instruments similar to the harp include the lyre, which has strings of the same length but of varying thickness and tension; the psaltery, which has a frame open only on one side; and the dulcimer, which is similar to the psaltery but which is played by striking the strings with a hammer rather than plucking them. The harp is thought to have origins in a hunters bow, in the sound it created when plucked. Because of this there is no true date of invention of the harp. There are cave paintings that depict a harp like instrument in France dated to 15,000 BC. The first types of harp were the bow harp, which has a single curved piece of wood attached to a resonating vessel, and the angle harp which is commonly called the open harp, which is made of 2 pieces of wood, one being hollow to resonate the sound, attached together at an angle with the strings strung between them.
The harp was developed separately in different parts of the world and during different time periods but all seemingly producing similar types harps. In ancient egypt there are many harps depicted in Pharaohs tombs around 5000 years ago the majority of these being bow harps up to 2 metres with 19 strings.
Vertical harps known as lyre harps were created in ancient Greece and coincided with the creation of the mathematical musical scale where Pythagoras discovered numerical ratios corresponding to intervals of the musical scale. During the Roman times the use of the harp and musical instruments in general declined and did not reappear for many years.
The triangle harp seems to have been developed in Europe and incorporated a vertical pillar to close the frame, the