Thread: Makeing a Harp

Posted in 2003....

This harp has been done for ages, and the post is there somewhere with pics too.

Al

Originally Posted by Harry72

So Oz made that harp yet?

Nah - 'e found out they wasn't going to let 'im in even if 'e DID bring 'is own 'arp.

(We could all dob in and shout him a course on flame-thrower operation?)

I finished my harp some time ago and I'm very pleased with how it came out. Take a look here for all the details: http://harpmaking.blogspot.com/

Nice work Donna

How is your playing progressing?

First off, Scally, are those band saw boxes in your photo icon? Are they in fact Yin-Yang boxes? Are they from a certain recent book on band saw boxes? I'm dying to know.
Now to the harp playing. Well. . . I am definitely a better harp maker than player. As a matter of fact I'm constantly amazed that I did make it- and it works. I don't have anything to compare it with, but to my ears it has wonderful tone for a small harp.
I'm using the Sylvia Wood book and DVD and I've gone through lesson 3, of 12. I have learned 3-4 of the tunes well enough, but I despair of ever making truly beautiful music with my lovely harp. You know- it doesn't matter. I enjoy practicing and getting a little better every time. I'm working to develop good technique as I go along, and develop calluses and keep from getting a sore shoulder. It is all good! Thanks for asking. Donna

Glad to hear you are still practicing Donna.

It is fun to make something that makes a nice tune. I have got tangled up with a drum group and African teacher. My musical skill is marginally better but I have had a chance to make/repair/think about a few interesting musical instruments. I posted some pieces in the Music section.
Kora - African harp, kalimbas, cajons. I want to make a Balaphon some time soon.

My Yin Yang boxes are based on a version I found in one of Dengates' books on boxes. I didn't have a bandsaw and still struggle to use the one I have.
They were made by template routing the outside and routing the base with a disc cutting bit. I shaped the lids freehand.
The timbers are American walnut from a friend in Lynchburg, Virginia and rock maple.

Drum lessons are fun because you can learn from some of the other beginners. I guess it might be difficult to find Harp lessons.

Keep working on yout technique!!

Ah- I think I may have seen that book or magazine article sometime. Probably went into the design of the YinYang boxes for my daughter when I first thought about making a bunch of different designs and maybe a book. It didn't take much to change the technique and tools to making it a pivoting top box. It was my first box design and still one of my favorites.
It is interesting to me that just about nothing is generated out of thin air. For example: the Poker Box, an intricate puzzle box seemed to just come to me out of the blue, but when I was going through some paperwork the other day I came across an ad I'd cut out from a magazine years ago. It was a very similar design but just using hearts and diamonds, and it was a flat plastic puzzle. Somewhere my brain stored that image and when I was going through the memory disk of my gray matter it popped up with that design, which I then translated into a set of boxes.
Anybody else find that this is how their creative process works? Donna Menke

Hi Everyone,

Sorry to kick this thread up once again. I was wondering if anyone happened to keep a record of the information available on harpmaker.net - harpmaker Resources and Information. This website is for sale! A few websites have referred to it, and it sounded like a useful resource. But it looks like it's down these days.

I'm about to dive into the world of harp making, inspired by a friend whose teacher built him a harp =)

Cheers,

Kit

If you have little knowledge and little appetite to start from scratch, there are some magnificent kit harps available. I say that because some ranch kids across the valley put such a kit together 4-5(?) years ago. All possible options, too.
Can those kids play! Just a little Mick & Stones when the oldies are out of the room.

Then, I expect to see you in the McBride Harp Colony each year. Come and visit us here in the Rockies each summer. Like Jasper without the crowds and prices.