Harp

In the general sense of the word, a harp is an instrument with strings running perpendicular to the soundboard or frame to which they are attached. (The popular autoharp is not a true harp.) The strings are plucked by the fingers. Reflecting such a simple principle of instrument manufacture, harps are of great antiquity and occur all over the world; they exhibit tremendous variety in construction and playing technique. The European harp is generally of curved-topped triangular shape and played "from behind" with the shortest strings closest to the player. It was widely distributed in European folk cultures (the Irish being an especially notable example), and was a familiar sight in religious paintings long before the era of the classical orchestra. Its first use in the central classical repertory came in eighteenth-century opera, where it was used occasionally to create an atmosphere of mystery or exoticism; it played roughly the same role in the large nineteenth-century symphony orchestra. The classical repertory for solo harp is modest in size Mozart's concerto for flute and harp is probably its central work), but the instrument has always been used in semi-popular contexts, as wedding background music, for example. Its usage in the modern popular sphere is largely restricted to music showing classical orchestral influences.

Strings Instruments