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So you want to build a Harp! Great!

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How the CountryLuthier got his Squidoo name

Over 4 squid years ago (Now I can say it at last!) when I wandered about the web from place to place, I found Squidoo. Now, at that time I had recently completed construction of the harp in this my first original lens. At that time I signed onto squidoo and gave myself the moniker, CountryLuthier. Time went by several years in fact. After starting to pay more attention to the greatest blog site, some fellow squids motivated me enough to write my first lens about the subject that gave me my name. This particular harp is actually what remains from a great but unsuccessful first harp building effort. All the re-usable components left over from that were used in this my second attempt at harp building. Nothing like recycling! The first harp contributed the pillar and the base and was stopped before I'd gotten very far along. Following along are some photos of various aspects of building that folk harp. Resources and names will be named in the hopes that it will pique some interest the total number of harps will grow. Now you won't be building a harp like the ones in the orchestra pit by Lyon and Healy or the major musical instrument harp builders but it may sound just as sweet to your ears.

Making a musical instrument

type=textMen have enjoyed music from the earliest times of stretched animal skins over hollowed out logs and shaking gourds. The making of a harp takes that to an entirely different level. David played one and I suspect, he may have made it himself. For the seasoned wood worker, this can be done fairly rapidly. For a novice wood worker, not impossible to do, it just may require a life line from time to time. You can even skip ahead buy a kit and just assemble it without all the many hours of selecting a peice of lumber, cutting it into planks and proceeding from there. Nothing however can replace the pride in craftsmanship when like a sculptor, you release a musical instrument from the dimensioned timber that the project starts with. I actually would like to go so far as selecting the tree or log and cutting my own planks, a luthier can dream can't he. If you have as much as one DIY gene in your body, you too can craft an instrument too!

Parts of a harp

type=textA neck, a pillar, a soundboard and a base are the most widely recognized parts of the harp. The neck with its gentle "s" shaped curves is what comes to mind when you think harp. Set atop the pillar, that's the part that travels down to the base, it gives the instrument its most recognizable characteristics. The sound board is the open container which amplifies the sound of the strings being plucked or strummed. Finally the base gives the entire instrument a place to rest and completes the physical structure of this fine musical instrument! Building your own instead of using a harp kit is a question to be decided by how much craftsman is within you.

Harp Trivia for 100 Alex

Trivia questions about various harps

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Construction of the harp in COUNTRYLUTHIER's shop AKA Garage

type=textI work my instrument magic from the confines of my garage. Using my table saws and numerous hand tools, a great deal of the work was done here. I started some of the work in a local hobby shop. With floor model planers and big joiners, it just make getting started easier. In 2012, I will work strictly from home to build my next instruments!

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Music to the ear!

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Kings and Harps from the Bible

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All together now

Each major component took numerous trips to planers, sanders, joiners and various small powered hand tools. The neck required two drilling operations for the tuning and bridge pins for each string. Had it survived, the harp would have also needed sharping levers. Gotta save something for the next project, right! After putting all the pieces together the rare beauty of the instrument is brought out. Hand rubbing stain on each part for the lovely pecan color was a labor of love. This harp was constructed over a period of several months in lots of spare time and in 2 wood working shop locations. All the final assembly occurred in my luthier's workshop AKA garage. The door to the luthier's shop is now down for the winter. Design is under way. I hope to share a few details as the next instrument takes shape during the winter and spring of 2012 . I added a couple of links recently for some top end and other harps.

The Finished Folk harp standing tall

type=textAfter staining, stringing and tuning the finished instrument stands tall.This harp stood about 6 foot tall when completed and weighed approximately 60 pounds. Whether you know it or not, those strings exert an powerful tension throughout the instrument. That tension without suitable ways to be contained within the components in harmony will find an exit point. Ultimately, a couple of critical faults caused the demise of the harp. Tension and stress bad for harps as well as people caused a crack in the neck and the base. This harp was a joy though while it was playable. A professional harpist in the community gave it a run for its money and was duly impressed with the craftsmanship! It currently has been disassembled and will be used in the making of harps two and three, the sequels in the CountryLuthier harp trilogy series. Harp II, rebirth of the usable components is just about to start. New folk harp pictures will be added soon. This epic lens was three years in the making. No actual harps were harmed in the making of this lens.

Fine musical Harp Makers

Here are a small number of U.S. Harp makers. Legends among the fine instrument community and future community of COUNTRYLUTHIER. A guy can dream can't he. Lyon and Healy is the grand name amongst the bunch building instruments since 1889.
Lyon and Healy
Harpmakers to the world since 1889.
Venus Harps
Chi Town and W & W Musical Instrument Company
Not and ordianry lark, but a Lark in the Morning
Lark In The Morning
Sylvia Woods Harp Center
Great collection of harp music for folk and pedal harps. Great gifts for the pro and budding harper and harpist in your life!

Beginner to seasoned performer, something for everyone!

Musical teachings

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Hodge podge jetsam and flotsam

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Yes Virginia, you can really build a harp yourself

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Music for the soul, Harp music from classical to modern

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The sounds of Harps can be yours!

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COUNTRYLUTHIER

Mississippian by birth and the Grace of God. Glad to meet you too! Currently a landlocked retired navy squid who has sailed the Atlantic, the Pacific,... more »

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