Harp is an ancient stringed instrument. Along with the river instrument (barbat), it is considered one of the most famous instruments of ancient Iran. This instrument has been mentioned a lot in Persian literature and the planet Venus has been considered as a harpist.
In the Gelin seal, which was found between 1961 and 1966 by two archaeologists from the University of Chicago, named Pinhas Delougaz and Helene Kantor, in Chaghamish Hill of Khuzestan, it dates back to the fourth millennium BC and the Elamian era. It shows a curved harp player. This harp has 6 strings.
Different types of harps have been found in Iran in different centuries, including the curved harp of the 7th century AH by Safi al-Din Abd al-Momin Urmavi (Urumiyah). The image of the harp can be seen in all the ancient works of Iran from the Achaemenid era to the Seleucid era.
The harp instrument in Iran had four strings, which reached 11 strings in the Sasanian period and reached 35 strings in the Islamic era. The origin of the harp is derived from the origin of the bow, as a result of shooting the string vibrated and a little sound was heard. Early harps resembled a bow made of straw and wood with a string stretched between them.
Different types of harp or harp
Types of harp are divided into four general categories: orchestral harp, traditional harp, ancient harp and decorative harp, which are divided into 17 types of harp patterns and forms in terms of appearance, including angular harp, curved harp, van harp and Kendog harp. And the Wen harp is mentioned next to the Sasanian harp and the Liar harp (a U-shaped harp in Greece). The pedal harp is arguably the most famous type of harp today
· Lever grip
· Wire harp
· Crossed harps
· Double harp
· Triple Harp
· Chromatic stringed and cross-stringed harps
· Paraguayan and Latin American harp
· Wind or wind harp
· Bell Harp
· Harp guitar
Harp as the oldest stringed instrument in the world has been found in Khuzestan, Iran, six thousand years ago. In Iran, the number of harpists is increasing and they perform programs and concerts.
According to himself, Abdul Ali Bagherinejad, the Iranian harp revivalist, is the only family of Iranian harp players who performs as a group. Currently, he has dozens of harpist students.
Although Europeans claim to have invented pedal harps and claim that these harps were founded in Germany in the 18th century, these harps are also based on eastern angular harps.
The structure of the harp or harp
The harp instrument is often made of walnut and maple wood. Big harps are wrongly called "harp" in Iran, while in the world every type of harp is called harp. The price of harps varies from 11 million tomans to pedal models whose price reaches 70 million to 4 billion tomans.
All kinds of harps are complex instruments. While there are many different types of this stringed instrument, we will only describe the parts of the pedal harp here. Lever harps are also popular, but share many of the same parts, minus the pedals, with pedal harps.
· Body
· Neck
· column
· foot or base
Harp body maker
If you think of a complete harp as a triangle, the body is the longest side, which is the side closest to the player. The musician keeps the body close to him, one hand plays the strings from the left and the other from the right.
Harp bodies are always wooden, but even that can vary. Depending on their preferences, makers of this stringed instrument often use maple, birch, mahogany, etc. Any type of wood can have significant effects on a resonator.
Harb neck maker
The neck is the upper part of the harp and moves up and forward like a wave. The neck on this stringed instrument is often the most decorated part, with detailed wood carvings.
Harp column maker
The column is important for two reasons. First, it stabilizes the stringed instrument so that the player can hold it on one side without toppling over. Second, it houses the all-important rod mechanism that connects the pedals to the tuning discs and pegs.
The base of the harp
The leg is the base of the harp and keeps it steady when the instrument is not in use. The foot holds the pedals and inside is a complex mechanism of levers that allow the player to change the pitch of the strings.
How to play the harp?
The harp is a stringed instrument that is played with the fingers. The playing technique in the world is eight-fingered, but the playing technique in Iran is ten-fingered according to the information extracted from ancient documents.
The first step is to find the grip that best suits your needs. After you have mastered the instrument, the next step is to learn the basics. In the best music school in Karaj, we offer students the best way to teach the harp.
Find a chair that is comfortable but not rocking or rocking. Sit so that your arms are at a 90-degree angle to your body so that you can easily play the middle string of the harp.
The next step is to tilt the harp and rest it on your right shoulder, get a good sense of balance and even angle it slightly to the side so you can see the strings a little more clearly.
Techniques on the harp
There is no universally agreed-upon "correct" technique for harpists and harpists, but to begin with, your hands should be in the middle of the strings.
Try to remember to keep your hands relaxed and not too tense as you can risk injuring your hand and/or wrist if there is too much tension while playing.
Find a teacher if possible. Learning to play the stringed harp on your own is very difficult. In the best music school in Karaj, we introduce you to skilled teachers. You don't know what to look for when you have the right questions, what questions to ask, or where to find answers.
By having a coach, they know the steps to take to walk you through the process and not only can they answer any questions you may have, but they can also correct you as you play to avoid bad habits.
Do you know who is the best harpist in the world? for answering this question click on the link below:
https://www.ranker.com/list/best-harpists-in-the-world/ranker-music
