How to Play a Celtic Harp
The Celtic harp produces a lush, beautiful sound that many people find soothing and relaxing. The beauty of harp music inspires many people to learn how to play this instrument. You can learn to play the Celtic harp too, by following these guidelines.
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Instructions
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Before You Start
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1
Make sure your hands are clean and your nails are trimmed.
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Set up your chair, music stand and harp so that you can see your music without bumping your harp into anything.
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3
Tune your harp. Use an electronic tuner and the correct tuning wrench.
Playing the Harp
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Stand or sit with your back straight. Pull your Celtic harp back between your knees to lean gently on your right shoulder.
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Play the upper strings with your right hand, and the lower strings your left hand. If you can read piano music, this means that your left hand is playing the bass clef notes, and your right hand is playing the treble clef notes.
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Your Celtic harp has guide strings. The red strings are "C" notes, while the blue or black strings are "F" notes.
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Use the side, not the tip, of your thumb to pluck each string, rotating forward over your hand. When you pluck a string with your finger, you use the side of your finger, pulling in toward your palm. The pinky, or fifth finger is not used to pluck the strings.
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Practice these plucking techniques by trying to play the melody of familiar folk tunes or Christmas carols. If you are lucky enough to have a full set of sharping levers on your Celtic harp, you can push down which ever lever you need to change a string's pitch. If you do not have full sharping levers, you will have to re-tune your Celtic harp between songs.
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Tips & Warnings
An easy way to check your hand position is to make sure your fingers are parallel to the strings. If your fingers are perpendicular to the strings, your are using the wrong technique. Perpendicular plucking is a technique reserved for playing orchestra harps.
Prevent injuries by monitoring your posture and how your body feels. If your shoulder hurts, it may be caused by tense shoulder muscles, or by balancing too much of the harp's weight on your body. Stay relaxed. If your hands or arms tingle, you are bending your wrists in or out too much.
