How much does it cost to own a harp?
Harp is an exquisite ancient instrument that is very interesting these days. It takes a lot of time and patience to learn, but it’ll be worth the investment.
The best thing about harps is that although it looks only suitable for orchestra, it can also be used in playing classical, jazz, folk, and many other genres you can think of.
If you are a beginner and you’re looking into purchasing a harp, stay with us until the end to know more about the cost of a harp!
Harps don’t just come in a standard one size fits all scenario. There are various sizes, colors, models, string counts, and types to choose from, and these usually cater to the different budget ranges.
Beginner’s Harp
If you wonder what is the best harp to buy for a beginner, here’s a little tip. The Royal Celtic Irish Knee Harp is one of the world-class harps in the market, and it is beginner-friendly!
This harp holds 17 strings and is 27 inches tall. It is made out of solid wood, a bonus for its price, considering how sturdy the material is.
The harp also has styles engraved on it, which looks very pleasing to give the harp some life to look too bland.
Although the instrument is an excellent tool for beginners, we can’t deny how outstanding the quality is. It doesn’t sound cheap, and it sounds too good to be true.
You can find this harp on Amazon for about $199.95 up to $299.95. You can also look around to see if you can find a better deal for the instrument.
The price is very justifiable. Not only do you get a harp, but it is also sold along with a FREE extra set of strings, a tuning key, and a robust carrying case to store your precious instrument.
Indeed, you get more than what you have paid for.
But if you’re purchasing from a different brand, harps at beginner level usually cost around $500 up to $1000.
Professional Harps
Brace yourself as professional harps can be too expensive to purchase a luxury home at the price of this instrument.
If you’re wondering what makes them so unique, some of these are personalized, and you won’t see them at any music store all over the world.
A great example would be the Premium Prince William harp from Lyon & Healy.
This has a solid Sitka Spruce soundboard, and the instrument has 23+ karat gold leaves draped from top to bottom.
The Lyon & Healy products don’t put out their price in public, but insiders say that it ranges from $50,000 up to $150,000.
Why are harps so expensive?
Many factors make up the price for the harps in the market.
Harps are indeed expensive, so you have to be informed why they can hit the six-digit mark in the market.
Quality of Materials
The body of the harps has to be sturdy to hold the strings nicely. Because of that, white maple woods are used because they are strong enough to bear the stress of the lines.
The soundboard is made of spruce which is a solid and pliable material that is perfect for producing a crisp and beautiful sound. Beech is also used to withstand the tension of the strings.
The strings use nylon and steel, but for rare instances, guts can also be used, but since we live in modern times, nylon and steel are more preferred.
As for the design, it is usually decorated with 23 karat gold leaves along with silver and gold painted decals.
The materials used contribute to improving the lives of the instrument. It will be as smooth as new throughout the years.
Types of Mechanisms
It takes years to study how to create the perfect harp mechanisms to produce a rich sound rather than a cheap and rushed sound.
The mechanism makers do their best in producing the best to provide the high-quality music that we hear up to this day.
Additionally, the process of this can take time as the makers do not rush this. They maximize their time, and that’s what you pay for.
There are a variety of mechanisms such as level and pedal. After some research, we found out that pedal harps tend to be expensive, and the level is the more affordable one.
Size and Strings
This factor comes in pairs as the more significant the number of strings are, the more expensive they can get.
Although the size doesn’t always determine how many strings the harp holds, it is a fact that the larger the harp is, the higher the price it can be.
The reason is that the large harp allows more strings to be used, which is usually required in playing a broader genre.
Conclusion
Many factors surround the pricing of this instrument. Whether you’re a beginner, an intermediate, or a professional player, you must carefully choose where you’ll invest your money.
If you are still a beginner, buying a small beginner-friendly harp would be the best option.
But if you’re ready to learn from the intermediate or professional harps for later use, that would be fine to save you some money once you are skilled.
Now that you’ve gotten a sneak peek of the price range from the market, what kind of harp would you purchase?