What types of harps can you get?

Is there such thing as a lower pitched harp?

What the range of notes??

I've always thought this too ....and.....

How long does it take to tune a harp?

Hmm, ok - don't know what you mean by a lower tone/pitch harp, but lever harps are generally tuned to E flat. This is 'cos the levers can only be flipped up to sharpen a string, so flipping levers up from E flat gives you a greater range of keys to play the harp in - is that what you meant? If so I hope I've answered your question.

There are loads of different types of harps but generally speaking the main ones are lever harps (sometimes referred to as folk harps or clarsachs) OR pedal harps.

Pedal harps have 7 pedals that each modify a particular note in each octave. For example, lower the F lever and every F on the harp across all octaves (five or six, depending on the harp) will become F sharp.

Pedal harps are usually bigger than lever harps and are a bit more intricate, and as a result are quite expensive.

For example, I have a Pilgrim Clarsach (a lever harp) that cost me about £2,400 including the case brand new. If I was to move up to the cheapest available brand new pedal harp I'd be looking at about £6,000.

As for how long it takes to tune a harp, that really depends on how new the harp and the strings are. Brand new harps with brand new strings can take months to settle, and so you'll be tuning them each day. If it's a 47 string harp that can take quite a while. My Clarsach has 34 strings and it takes me about half an hour once a week, but it holds it's tune well.

I hope that's answered some of your questions. I would like to point out I am a newcomer to the harp, so there may be holes in some of my explanations. If so, I'm sure some of the more experienced harpists will jump in to elborate.

Why all the questions - were you thinking of getting one?

Can I add a question?

Re-stringing a harp...you've got 47 strings...how much do strings cost? Is it like a bowed stringed instrument where you would change a whole set of strings at the same time?

I'm not thinking of getting a harp or being a harpist at all, it's just something that intrigued me. I mean, replacing a set of cello strings can be expensive, I just tried to imagine doing that on an instrument with twelve times as many strings...!

You're lucky to have an instrument that holds in tune. I know harpists who must spend half of their waking hours tuning the instrument. I suppose it depends on how much the instrument gets moved around, changes in humidity, temperature etc. I also get the impression that pedal harps need some of their strings re-tuning each time they are played.

If you look at the Exam Timings you see that harp exams last longer than other practical exams. I guess that's because they aren't the most portable of instruments (or, at least, they don't appear to be - Harpists, what is it really like?)
In 'These Music Exams' it says that "Harpists should ensure that their instrument is carefully tuned before they enter the exam room, and, by the higher grades, be prepared to make adjustments between pieces if necessary." So evidently some do need a fair bit of tuning care!

If the girl who playsharp in my orchestra is anything to go by... No, they are NOT portable!!! (Shock horror, there are stairs where we rehearse!!)

Harps are officially sort of portable- they qualify as portable instruments for the school VAT scheme but according to the MU porterage can be charged and pit orchestras should provide an instrument and not expect the harpist to take it back and forth every evening. Two people who know what they are doing can carry harps around and up stairs without problem, though getting mine up the narrow spiral stairs into a chapel organ loft was somewhat interesting...

I suspect on a par with me getting a double bass up my own narrow staircase at home, with a rather nasty 90 degree bend near the top.....

I just timed- my pedal harp was around 10 cents flat and it took me five minutes to sort it out, which felt about average for it all being out of tune.

Not really. I don't remember exactly how much a full set of strings cost (34 string lever harp) but think it was about £200 10 years ago...

I tend to replace them when they snap, and then ring up to replace the string I've used.

It's about £400 - £600 for all of them, depending if on the harp you play. However, if one string goes, you don't have to replace the lot, so this cost is spread out over quite some time. I've only had two strings snap in 3 months.