Harpists London

The harp is classified as a chordophone by the Harvard Dictionary of Music. Only different types of harp are in that class. Various types of harps are found in Asia, North, and South America, Europe and in Africa. In antiquity, harps and the closely related lyres were very prominent in nearly all cultures.
So far harps have been uncovered in ruins from ancient Sumer.

The harp was also used by medieval bards, troubadours, minnesingers and throughout the Spanish Empire. Harps continued to grow in popularity through improvements in their design and construction through the beginning of the twentieth century.

The harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard.  All harps have a neck, resonator, and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to as open harps. Depending on its size (which varies considerably), a harp may be played while held in the lap or while it stands on the floor.

The larger pedal harp, also known as the concert harp, has many more strings than its counterpart known as the Celtic harp (amongst other names). The concert harp is much more versatile and can be used for more intricate pieces of classical music as well as simple traditional tunes.

Harp strings are made of nylon, gut, wire, or silk on certain instruments. A person who plays the harp is called a harpist or harper. Folk musicians often use the term "harper", whereas classical musicians use "harpist".

Harpists perform as part of an orchestra, as part of a duo with instruments like flute and cello or on their own as solo musicians.

As soloists, harpists are extremely popular at weddings where they are used as the guests enter the ceremony area, as the bride arrives during the signing of the register and as the bride and groom leave the ceremony area. They also play background music for the drinks reception and wedding breakfast. The effect a harpist can have on the atmosphere at an event, should not be under estimated. We have numerous references from clients who have said that the harp added a magical touch to their event, often bringing guests to tears, as the music was so moving.

Many of the London harpists that appear on our website have references that you can read, to see what previous clients thought of them. This very important when looking for a harpist, as it is better to see what others say about the musician, rather than what the harpist has to say about themselves. Most of the harpists also have sound clips to listen to. Some of these are only 30 seconds long for copyright purposes. Tracks that are out of copyright may have a longer clip. The purpose of sound clips, is not to choose songs you want performed. They are there so that you can actually hear each harpist perform. In most cases the tracks on our site are the only ones available. Because of the expense involved in recording, most harpists only have a few samples available and it is not possible for you to request particular tracks recorded, so that you can listen to them.