Celtic Harp
Harp is a very beginner friendly instrument. It is never too late to learn to play harp! Just get started, keep practising and you will be surprised how soon you can play nice little tunes already.
What harp size should I get?
Floor harps with 34 strings are recommended for beginners as they are easier to play (small harps tend to be harder to hold and stabilize) plus you have the benefit of a nice, deep bass and will be able to play most songs from harp sheets. With less strings, you will need to re-arrange pieces or play them one octave higher as you run out of strings.
However, I have started out with a travel harp as I knew I wanted to play a outdoors a lot. Some people who want to accompany their voice rather than play harp solo, or wanna do sound healing work in hospitals etc. might be better off with a portable harp. Here I recommend 26 strings and again, C as the lowest note.
- Levers: I recommend a fully levered harp, then you can play many keys without retuning. My choice of levers would be Camac levers, they have a nice smooth action and are easy to regulate (you can even do this yourself). I also love Truitt levers.
Travel harps / therapy harps:
My harp is a Lewis Creek Nightingale / Jessie therapy harp and I bought it from The Troubadour Harpen NL (they ship internationally). She has 27 nylon strings, is 82 cm tall and weighs about 3,4 kg. De Troubadour Harpen has an excellent customer service and I was delighted to visit the store in person as well. They have a nice collection of harps of all sizes, but mostly smaller harps.
If you live in the US or Canada, you may buy it directly from the maker, Lewis Creek Instruments in the US. It is one of the best therapy harps on the market and worth its price.
http://www.detroubadourharpen.nl/The_Bards_Harps/Welcome.html (NL)
http://www.lewiscreek.net/lc_hg_nightingale.htm (US)
Wood choices: This harp model comes in 3 wood choices: Cherry, walnut (Nightingale) or sassafras (Jessie). The sassafras wood is very lightweight but also gets scratched easily. Cherry and walnut are more robust woods. To me, they all sound similar and I would go for what wood you love looking at - or call De Troubadour harpen and have them play the different variations to you over the phone (or go there, best option!).
Btw, the Jessie has a lower string tension than the Nightingale.
Alternative small harps:
Lewis Creek Jessie / Nightingale: Is most expensive one but just perfect in weight, aesthetics and sound. Narrow string spacing.
Triplett Christina: Has a big string spacing. Not too heavy. To me, the sound is more like a Harpsicle.
Harpsicle SE: Definitely has an improved sound compared to the regular Harpsicle. Lightweight. They do look a bit like IKEA harps to me... But it is the entry option with harps. Very narrow string spacing.
Dusty Strings Ravenna 26: Not a traditional therapy harp, but a travel harp. Dusty Strings harp all sound amazing, more on the heavier side though. Normal string spacing. If weight isn't an issue for you, you might be completely happy with these.
Blevins Harps Blevinssong or other models: Another alternative for therapy harps
Rees Harps: The company that makes the Harpsicle also makes other more expensive models.
Stoney End: Eve - lovely affordable small harp
Floor harps:
The floor harp that I recorded my CD with is a Camac Telenn Kadiou from Camac Harps. It is a wonderful harp with 34 strings and a warm, gentle sound and low string tension. (Discontinued)
What other floor harps can you recommend?
- Dusty Strings (Ravenna 34, Crescendo 34, FH 34 /36)
- Rees Harps
- Lewis Creek Instruments (they also have big floor harps)
- If you are located in Germany, check out Pepe Weißgerber, he has stunning instruments, both historical and modern. Also Klaus Regelsberger - Artefakt Musik is a good address for you if you are in Germany and are looking for a harp. He is the german Dusty Strings distributor. I built my first harp in his workshop in 2010.
I don't recommend Salvi and Lyon & Healy Harps: they have a very high string tension plus they are heavy. For a folk harpist or sound healer, I would say, other harps are more suitable.
Harp teachers:
I don't teach. Here you will find a list of teachers to support you. Plus for more support, I encourage you to join one of the Facebook Groups about Celtic Harp or a Celtic Harp Internet Forum. There you will find people who are on the same track and are happy to help you out.
Teachers that teach playing music by ear (Skype)
- Christy-Lyn is a harpist and singer and also has a popular Youtube Channel - check her out, she is a really kind and fun person who plays both celtic and pedal harp.
- Harriet Earis is well known in Europe for her stunning lever harp skills and does a lot of Skype lessons. I have met her on a harp festival and she is such a radiant joyful being - always laughing!
- Tiffany Schaefer teaching playing irish / celtic tunes by ear. She also has a Youtube channel.
Online Courses (with Feedback)
- Harp-School Évi Simon and Sylvana Labeyrie teach by ear via Skype. They arrange pieces on the level of the students to play what they love. The students can book their lessons on an interactive calendar.
- Hands on Harps offer an online course suitable for complete beginners. They teach mostly via the traditional "show and copy" way that an apprentice would have learned from a master, supplemented with the chance to get feedback on your playing by uploading videos.
Are there harp books that teach intuitive playing?
I do not know of any books that teach this specifically. These sources are the closest to playing simple, soothing harp music (therapeutic harp music / harp therapy) or giving suggestions on how to improvise with your harp:
- Rebecca Penkett - Harp Alignment http://www.rainbowlighttrust.net/harp-alignment/rebecca-penkett/
- Christina Tourin - Emeraldharp http://www.emeraldharp.com
- Christoph Pampuch - Harpamundi Series hm08 - Orfeo's Traummusik (Orfeos' Dream Music) http://harpamundi.de/shop/ (This is in German, but you can still use the sheet music to learn patterns for improvisation. Very useful. Go to the shop and click on "second year" on the left or search for "orfeo".)
Koshi Chimes
Koshi Chimes The Koshi are high quality bamboo chimes from France. They come in 4 different tunings - fire, water, earth and air (ignis, aqua, terra, aria). I own a complete set and display them on a gong stand. They are very soothing for sound journeys.
I bought my koshi chimes from various sources. Just google and find the closest retailer. One source worth mentioning is Hokema, they also sell other sound healing instruments like the Sansula:
What koshi should I get?
There are 4 different sounds: Aqua, terra, ignis and aria. You can start with one koshi, or buy two, or a whole set. Most people love the aqua koshi. It is up to you what sounds resonate. This can also change over time. Let your intuition guide you.
Koshi Gong Stand This is the official website of the company that builds them - Studio Gong: http://www.gongstands.eu/en
DIY You can also use any small gong stand and just add the 4 hooks for the koshi. I found a similar stand here: https://www.hess-klangkonzepte.de/produkt/gongstaender-harmonie-mini-mittel/
You would need to add hooks for that one.
Or start from scratch and build your own - or ask a local carpenter to give you a hand.
Shruti Box
Shruti Box Paloma Large
The Paloma Large Shruti Box is amazingly dynamic to play - from very quiet to loud, due to the big ballow everything is possible! It is also highly recommended for overtone singing.
Another source of high quality shruti boxes & a lot more is this company in Berlin: www.india-instruments.com
Also there is this little company in Wales, UK that sells good Shruti boxes that can be even played with a foot pedal.
https://www.shrutibox.co.uk (Supplier: www.monojkrsardar.com)
Shruti Box Educational Website
On this website you will find a free PDF that helps you set chords for singing:
https://beautifulsounds.co/pages/learn-shruti-box
Crystal Tones Singing Bowls
The Crystal Tones Singing Bowls are of extraordinary beauty and pure frequeny. I owned a set of two bowls that I bought via Annie Jameson who has also produced some lovely soothing albums with these instruments.
Main website US - Crystal Tones Singing Bowls: http://www.crystalsingingbowls.com
The ones I used in my videos are:
Blue bowl: 8” Egyptian Blue Alchemy Crystal Bowl C# -45Hz
Clear bowl: 6” Platinum Alchemy Bowl G# -45Hz
Native American Flute
I personally am in love with >>Southern Cross Flutes. I have started with High Spirits Flutes a couple years ago, but they are mass produced, not nearly as beautiful and require more air/breath. They do sound decent and are good if you are on a budget, but Southern Cross Flutes are simply stunning and well made, so beautiful, plus they are custom built for you. You can choose your woods and also decorative elements and stones. Todd takes the time to communicate with you and make sure you get the flute of your dreams. The small company is located in New Zealand, just a bit north of where I used to live and they ship worldwide. They have fantastic exotic woods that are native to New Zealand, like Kauri, a 40.000 year old wood found preserved in the swamps. Ancient and beautiful!
What key should I get?
Here you see 5 flutes from Southern Cross flutes sorted from lowest to highest:
- F# Cedar + Walnut Contrabass Flute with Side Blown Feature
- A Redwood Cedar Grandfather Flute
- C Redwood Cedar Grandfather Flute
- F Heart Matai + White Ash Love Flute
- F# Kauri + Rosewood Love Flute
If you want to get started, the usual recommendation is to get a Love Flute (that is how you call this size of flute) in the key of A or G. The bigger the flute, the more you need to stretch your fingers and practice to control your breath. The smaller the flute, the easier it is to start with - but it will have a more high pitched sound which is not everyones cup of tea. I highly recommend F#, which is just a bit bigger than G and it is also the traditional key for this instrument and has a unique sound.
If you have experiences with other flutes, you might already get along well with bigger sizes. This is highly personal and depends on you. Keep in mind there are some physical limits to how big the flute can be to play for you (arm length).
What wood should I get? Cedar is the quintessence of flute wood, it is super lightweight and absorbs moisture. The tone is soft and mellow. For a more bright and clear tone, walnut is quite common. And there are 1001 woods in between. It is a matter of personal taste. Walnut flutes are heavier. For big flutes (starting from low C), I personally look into more lightweight flutes as I find them harder to hold, but most people do not have issues with this. For smaller flutes it doesn't matter so much as the size also affects the weight. Some people even prefer to have a heavier flute in their hands. Again, personal preference.
Is there a book on how to learn to play the native flute?
Yes, fortunately Southern Cross Flutes provides a really good book for learning how to play the flute.
https://www.southerncrossflutes.com/starting-out/learn-to-play-the-native-american-flute/
More info please! If you need more info on flutes, check out the Southern Cross Flutes website, they have a lot of info and different sound samples for you to listen to. Plus a very useful starter book - both digital and print edition.
Anyway, connect with your heart and listen to your intuition on this. There is no right or wrong way and most people have a collection of flutes as there is a moisture buildup after a while and you need to switch flutes anyway and let the moist ones dry out. So start with A flute and buy more later.