A Glossary of Harp Terms

 

Glossary Word List

Circle of fifths - a way of viewing the relationship of keys such that the number of sharps in the signatures of the keys increases in order as one goes clockwise by fifths and the number of flats increases in order as one descends counterclockwise by fifths; the circle begins, at the 12 o'clock position, with the key of C major which has no sharps or flats

Column - see pillar; see HARP PARTS

Diatonic scale - the notes that comprise one specific major or minor scale; in the case of the harp, this is generally C, D, E, F, G, A, B in the scale of C

Filtering - the process of electronically removing some of a signal so that the desired part comes through more clearly; often referred to as "cleaning up" a signal

FOB - freight on board; the point in time at which the recipient of a shipment becomes legally responsible for the shipment

Frequency - the number of times a signal, as in a sound wave, oscillates within a given period of time; exact measurement of sound waves determines the pitch at which a string is operating

Hammer-ons - a playing technique, used often with guitars, where the finger is pressed against an already vibrating string creating another note

Hand attack - the manner in which a finger strikes a string

Laminate - see Harp Myths "The 'P' Word"

Lever - see Sharping Lever

Lever fret - the little piece of metal that, when a lever is actuated, circumvents the bridge pin by capturing the string at a lower point (and making the pitch go correspondingly higher)

Meranti - sometimes called a mahogany though it is not, this is a soft hardwood often used in good quality instrument-grade laminates as the under layers

Microthread Pin - a tuning pin, usually made of steel, that has a tiny, close spiraling groove cut into the bottom half to third of the shaft

Midrib brace - the narrow piece of wood which runs down the soundboard (on the inside, outside or both) through which the strings pass; the midrib brace prevents the soft tonewood from being damaged by the strings and gives strength to the soundboard; see HARP PARTS

Parallel-plano - surfaces which are both parallel and flat; in this case, it means that the inner surface of the wood is not carved away

Pick-offs - a playing technique, used often with guitars, where the fretting fingers of the left hand pick the note (instead of the fingers of the picking hand)

Pillar - also called the column, the part of the frame of the harp which curves up from the base and connects to the arch at the top; see HARP PARTS

Pin - more correctly called a tuning pin, the piece of hardwear which goes into the harmonic arch of the harp and onto which the string attaches

Reference pitches - a perfect pitch at a specific frequency

Sharping Lever - a device placed on the harmonic arch of a harp just below the bridge pin, when properly installed and actuated, it will raise the pitch of a string by a half step (example: from C to C#)

Shims - small pieces of material slipped into a crevice and used to fill a minimal gap

Signal Detection - the process of collecting a signal, in this case a noise, so that an action can be performed on the signal, in this case figuring out what the pitch of a note

Slipping Pin- once a string is tightened (brought up to pitch) the pin slips if it twists backwards of its own volition and the string is loosened

Soundboard - the very front of the soundbox; comparable to the soundboard (or top)of a violin or a guitar; in nylon and gut-strung harps, the soundboard is usually made from a tonewood; see HARP PARTS

Soundbox - the part of the harp that is box-shaped and through which the strings run; the woods of the soundbox work together to generate a sound when a string is vibrated; see HARP PARTS

Tonewood - see Harp Myths "Give Me Tonewood or Give Me Death"

Vibrating Length - the length of the string from the point where it touches the bridge pin until the point at which it touches the soundboard; this is the part of the string that does the work of generating a frequency

Zither Pin - see Microthread pin



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