Plucked & fretted · Plucked (open strings) · Harp family

Harp

47 strings tuned diatonically; seven pedals set each pitch class flat, natural or sharp.

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Quick facts

Family	Plucked & fretted — Plucked (open strings)
Hornbostel–Sachs	322.222
Pitched in	C
Transposition	Sounds as written (non-transposing)
Written range	C1 – G7
Sounding range	C1 – G7 (32.70 – 3136 Hz)
Clefs	Treble, Bass
Other names	Konzertharfe, arpa de concierto, concert harp, harpe diatonique

Player's notes

47 strings tuned diatonically; seven pedals set each pitch class flat, natural or sharp.
C strings are coloured red and F strings dark blue or black for orientation.

About the harp

The pedal harp (also known as the concert harp) is a large and technologically modern harp, designed primarily for use in art music. It may be played solo, as part of a chamber ensemble, or in an orchestra. It typically has 47 strings with seven strings per octave, giving a range of six and a half octaves.

In this type of harp the pedals alter the pitch of the strings, so that the pedal harp can easily play works written in any key. This is particularly important in the harmonically complex music of the Romantic period and later 20th-century classical music.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article “Pedal harp”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.