534c4: Harp

Harps are distinguished by having the plane of their strings perpendicular rather than parallel to the soundboard. They have no bridge. The strings are plucked.

Harps have three basic shapes:

• Bow or arched harp (the neck is bent like a bow over the resonator)
• Angle harp (the neck runs straight at angle over the resonator)
• Frame harp (a brace runs from the end of the neck to the resonator to brace the neck and allow for higher string tension).

The resonator may be made of wood, metal, gourd, animal skin, or some combination of these materials.

• Ocm module: Harp
• In ocm module: Chordophones
• In ocm module: Musical instruments
• In modular book: Expanded ethnomusicology categories for the Outline of Cultural Materials, by Kenneth R. Hollingsworth
• In bookshelf: Anthropology

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 21 March 1999

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