<p>After seeing a thread on harps on the parent's forum, I thought I would come over here and ask for harp advice. My son, wants to learn to play the harp. He has taught himself to play several instruments so I take his interest seriously and am considering buying him a harp since he earned a full tuition scholarship. Here is what I know: he needs one with pedals and one that plays in a lot of keys (? I do not know anything about music!), and said he thought one could be had that was approximately four and a half feet tall for around $1000.00. We live in Southern California. Does anyone have any advice for me regarding this purchase: price range, where to buy, etc? Thanks!</p>
<p>I don't know much about harps, but they are a big enough investment that you should probably try to find an expert to advise you. Especially if you are planning on buying a pedal harp. This store sells used harps and is a reputable business - the cheapest used pedal harp they have right now is over $9000. </p>
<p>Used</a> Harps</p>
<p>Most harpists start on lever harps, which are significantly less expensive. My daughter has been taking harp lessons for about 4 years. She does not have a pedal harp yet, and may not get one. Her harp teacher helped us find a used lever harp.</p>
<p>Oh, he must have been thinking about LEVER harps because your response and the PM I got quoted much higher price ranges than I had expected. Anyone know any good lever harps?</p>
<p>I can't recall any active harpists currently on the forum, but you can try PM'ing lgreen, whose daughter is in an undergrad harp performance program.</p>
<p>The internet is usually a good place to start for general background info, what to look for, etc.</p>
<p>Try the American Harp Society's webpage. They may well have links, info pages, possibly a forum.</p>
<p>The idea to seek advice from a local expert or teacher is sound. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Hi! i'm an active harpist on CC! a lever harp is cheaper, smaller, and easier to learn in the beginning, but if you want to make a serious investment, a pedal harp is a good idea. the soundboard is bigger on a pedal harp and there are more strings. i started right in on pedal five years ago, but i'd start by finding a local harp teacher and get their opinion on the matter. i like lyon and healy harps the best, but there are a number of different companies that make them like venus or salvi. the american harp society is a good place to look to find information on harps or teachers. there should be a AHS chapter in your city. harp is awesome, i hope your son enjoys it if everything works out. let me know if you have any more questions.</p>
<p>I play the lever harp, too. The pedal vs lever harp decision depends a lot on the type of music he wants to play. It is possible to play pretty much anything on the pedal harp, but they are quite expensive, and difficult to transport. Lever harps are not as versatile, but are still a lot of fun, are much cheaper and do not require a large station wagon or minivan to get to the gig. They are especially good for early music and folk music, both of which tend to limit the number of sharps and flats in the key signature, and only occasionally use accidentals and modulation to different keys within a piece.</p>
<p>Have a look at the harpcenter.com website. They are in a suburb of LA, so perhaps not terribly far from you. I purchased a Dusty Strings FH26 through them many years ago and I am still very pleased with it.</p>
<p>Lever harp is a good instrument for someone who likes to teach themselves, but I highly recommend taking several lessons to get started with the right technique. Some technical issues are not all that obvious and starting down the wrong road may result in bad habits that need to be broken at a later date.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. Bessie</p>