Electric Harp - Developments and Variations

Developments and Variations

The Lyon and Healy electric and electro-acoustic harps are built first on the quality of the traditional Lyon and Healy harp. In the development of the initial electric harp, there was an effort to mimic the acoustic sound. While this sound may not be ideal (from a frequency standpoint), it is the sound that most characterizes what the classically trained harpist hears and expects. It was assumed that the sound would come from the individual transducers and the string, with minimal influence of the sounding board. Therefore, the board was thickened to provide less resonance and less interference of pedal noise. The sound was better than using traditional on-board microphones, but, again, not ideal for all settings. Following much input from performers, Lyon and Healy, with the assistance of Susan Mazer and several other harpists including Greg Buchanan and Harvi Griffin, developed the electro-acoustic harp, which retained the thin resonant sounding board, playable acoustically, with individual transducers that would necessarily integrate all vibrations from the board and the string. This combination provides the best sonority and, when amplified through a full-frequency sound system, is the warmest.

Not unlike the process of moving from the acoustic piano to the electric and eventually digital piano, the traditional harp being transformed by innovative amplification technologies, began in the 1950s with the late Casper Reardon and later, in the 70s, by Lloyd Lindroth. Lindroth integrated many electronic effects including distortion, digital delay, and reverb. At the time, it was new for guitars, let alone harps. Concurrently, Gail Laughton used electronic techniques in his classic recording of Harps of the Ancient Temples, foreshadowing the use of electronic effects to enhance live performance.

In the late 20th century instrument builder and American musician Robert Grawi created an electric double harp-lute based on the West African kora but strung and tuned differently. The gravikord is a light ergonomically designed instrument made of modern materials mostly stainless steel tubing. It is a double harp that has 24 strings evenly divided in two ranks arrayed on a free standing "Vee" shaped bridge made of synthetic material including an integral piezo-electric sensor. The tuning of the gravikord is an extended version of the "G" major / "E" minor tuning system of the Hugh Tracey kalimba while its overall physical structure is derived from the African kora. Tones rise in a strictly alternate left right hand symmetry familiar to any thumb piano player, so that tunes and techniques learned on these instruments can be directly played on the gravikord. It was created to enable easier playing of complex African cross rhythms on an African derived modern electro-acoustic harp.

Susan Mazer, with audiophile sound engineer Ron Robinson, developed a custom pre-amp for the Lyon and Healy electro-acoustic harp brought further clarity to the amplified harp sound. In addition, she developed a technique of playing the bass on the classical concert harp that had previously not been possible because of the excessive reverberation in the lower-end of the electroacoustic harp. This pre-amp has not been brought to market due to costs of development and concern for end-user pricing.

The amplification of the folk harp, Peruvian harp, or other pedal-free harps has been successful in expanding the instrument to audiences previously unapproachable. Carlos Reyes is a pioneer in amplification of the Peruvian harp for performance of Latin jazz and rock. Roberto Perera performs original Latin rock and jazz, and smooth jazz also on the amplified Peruvian Harp.

The MIDI harp possesses a piezo transducer that touches each string, allowing an electrical current to escape. The piezo pickup then outputs a current that corresponds to the vibration when the string is plucked. Once this occurs, the MIDI harp’s microprocessor that converts the analog signal to digital instruction devises a MIDI message that is sent by means of the MIDI-out port. In turn, the MIDI message can process the musician’s “pluck” and can decipher its volume and duration. ” Once the harpist is satisfied with the music being created, the specific sounds are stored within the instrument’s memory, similar to a computer file. The harpist may then proceed to transfer his or her composition by connecting the MIDI harp to a computer (preferably a PC). With sufficient software, the harpist can apply the use of the MIDI harp’s “sustain petal” in which it will successfully transfer the harpist’s composition measure-by-measure, and in its entirety.

Harps featuring built in optic fibre and LED lights are also produced.