Pedal Harp: The Concert Harp with Double-Action Pedal Mechanism
| Category | Other |
|---|---|
| Wikidata | Q1231959 |
Overview
The pedal harp, also known as the concert harp, is a large and technologically modern harp designed primarily for use in art music (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_harp). It may be played solo, as part of a chamber ensemble, or in an orchestra. A standard concert pedal harp typically has 47 strings with seven strings per octave, giving a range of six and a half octaves — from C-flat three octaves below middle C up to G-flat three and a half octaves above. In Hornbostel-Sachs classification it is catalogued under 322.222: a frame harp with pedal tuning action.
The defining feature that separates the pedal harp from every other harp on earth is its set of seven foot pedals. Each pedal alters the pitch of every string of one pitch-class simultaneously, allowing the player to perform in any key without retuning. This made the pedal harp the standard orchestral harp from the early nineteenth century onwards and the only harp able to keep pace with the harmonically complex repertoire of the Romantic era and twentieth-century classical music.
Origin and history
Pedals for harp tuning were first introduced in 1697, but the breakthrough that produced the modern instrument came in stages. The earliest single-action pedal harp, capable of raising any string by a semitone, was built around 1720 by Jacob Hochbrucker in Bavaria. Hochbrucker’s design used pedals connected by rods through a hollow column to hooks at the top of the harp; pressing a pedal pulled a string against a fixed pin and shortened its vibrating length by a semitone.
The decisive innovation came a century later in London, when Sébastien Érard patented the double-action pedal mechanism, first in 1801 (patent number 2502) and again in a refined form in 1802 (patent number 2595). Érard replaced the simple hook with two rotating discs studded with pegs (called fourchettes) for each string. With the pedal in its top notch the string sounded flat; one notch down it sounded natural; in the bottom notch the string was sharp. In 1807 Charles Groll registered patent number 3059 for the doubled fourchette mechanism. The Érard double-action design has remained essentially unchanged ever since: every modern concert harp built today, whether by Salvi, Lyon and Healy, Camac or Horngacher, follows Érard’s basic plan.
Throughout the nineteenth century the pedal harp moved from the salon into the symphony orchestra. Composers such as Berlioz, Wagner, Debussy, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Mahler wrote increasingly demanding parts for it, and by the early twentieth century French composers in particular — building on the legacy of harpist-composers such as Carlos Salzedo — had elevated the pedal harp into a fully soloistic concert instrument.
Construction and materials
A pedal harp typically stands about 1.8 metres (6 ft) high, is 1.2 metres (4 ft) deep, and 55 cm (21½ in) wide at the bass end of the soundboard. It weighs around 36 kg (80 lb). The harp shown above is a Salvi model “Diana” with 47 strings, a spruce soundboard and a mahogany body (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Salvi_harp_Diana.jpg).
The body of the harp consists of:
- a straight upright pillar (or column), often crowned with a carved capital, which contains the pedal rods or cables;
- a pear-shaped soundboard, traditionally made of spruce, that radiates the sound of the strings;
- a harmonically curved neck containing the mechanical action, a precision assembly of more than 1,400 individual parts;
- and a base carrying the seven pedals.
The strings are colour-coded to help the player navigate visually: the C strings are red, the F strings are black or blue, and all other strings are white. The lowest strings are made of copper or steel-wound nylon, the middle-low range of catgut, and the middle and upper ranges of nylon, although many traditional players still prefer all-gut stringing for its warmer tone. The total tension of all the strings on the soundboard is approximately one tonne (about 10 kilonewtons), which is why a concert harp’s column and base must be built like the structural frame of a small bridge.
The seven pedals are arranged with three on the left side of the base (D, C, B) and four on the right (E, F, G, A). Each pedal can be locked into one of three notches — flat (top), natural (middle), or sharp (bottom) — so the player does not have to hold it in place continuously, in contrast to piano pedals.
Playing technique
The pedal harp is played with the fingertips of the first four fingers of each hand: thumb, index, middle, and ring. The little finger is omitted because it is too short to reach the strings comfortably without distorting the geometry of the rest of the hand, although it has occasionally been used for cluster chords in modern repertoire. Strings are plucked by drawing the fingertip in toward the palm; the fingers are naturally curved as they meet the string, and the thumb is held high in an arched position over the rest of the hand.
Dynamics are produced by varying the force of the pluck. Tone colour can be modified by changing where on the string the player makes contact — plucking near the soundboard produces a guitar-like, slightly nasal sound (a technique known as près de la table), while plucking nearer the centre of the string gives a fuller, rounder tone. Even the moisture and callus pattern of the player’s fingertips affects the tone produced.
Because the harp is fundamentally a diatonic instrument, the player must constantly anticipate key changes by shifting pedals, often with both feet simultaneously and silently in the middle of a phrase. Skilled enharmonic pedalling — for example tuning a string spelled F-sharp to sound as G-flat — is one of the most idiomatic techniques on the instrument and underlies the famous glissandi of composers such as Debussy and Ravel.
Cultural context
The pedal harp is the standard harp of the Western symphony orchestra and of professional solo and chamber harp playing. Most major conservatoires worldwide teach pedal harp as a distinct discipline from the smaller Celtic harp or folk harp, and an international competition circuit (USA International Harp Competition, Israel International Harp Competition, ARD International Music Competition) helps keep the soloistic tradition alive.
Although the instrument is most strongly associated with French and central European concert music, twentieth- and twenty-first-century composers and players have integrated the pedal harp into jazz (Dorothy Ashby, Alice Coltrane), film scoring (almost every Hollywood orchestral score uses one or more pedal harps), and contemporary popular music (Joanna Newsom).
Notable players and examples
The standard pedal-harp repertoire begins with Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp K. 299 (1778), written for the harpist Mlle de Guînes, and includes Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane and Ravel’s Introduction et Allegro — both of these works were written specifically to demonstrate the capabilities of the new Érard double-action mechanism. Twentieth-century pedal-harp pioneers include Carlos Salzedo, Marcel Grandjany, Henriette Renié, Lily Laskine and Nicanor Zabaleta. Living virtuosi include Marielle Nordmann, Isabelle Moretti, Catrin Finch, Xavier de Maistre and Yolanda Kondonassis.
Comparison with related instruments
| Instrument | Strings | Chromatic mechanism | Typical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedal harp | 47, gut and wire | 7 double-action foot pedals | Orchestra / solo art music |
| Celtic harp | 22-38, gut or nylon | Sharping levers (one per string) | Folk / education |
| Triple harp (Welsh telyn deires) | 3 parallel rows, ~98 total | None — fully chromatic by string layout | Welsh folk / Baroque |
| Trinity College harp | ~30 brass wire | None | Medieval Gaelic |
| Queen Mary harp | ~30 brass wire | None | Medieval Gaelic |
The pedal harp is heavier, larger and far more mechanically complex than any folk harp, and its weight (and the fragility of its action) is a perennial logistical challenge. In exchange for that complexity, however, it can play virtually any key, modulate freely within a piece, and produce a dynamic and harmonic range that no other harp design can match.
FAQ
How many strings does a pedal harp have?
A standard concert pedal harp has 47 strings, giving a range of six and a half octaves from C-flat below the bass staff to G-flat above the treble staff.
What do the seven pedals do?
Each pedal controls every string of one pitch-class (D, C, B, E, F, G, A) simultaneously. Each pedal has three positions — flat, natural, sharp — so any string can sound in three different pitches without retuning.
Who invented the modern pedal harp?
The single-action pedal harp was invented by Jacob Hochbrucker around 1720. The far more important double-action mechanism, which is still used on every concert harp today, was patented by Sébastien Érard in London in 1801 and 1802.
Why are some strings on a pedal harp coloured red and black?
The C strings are red and the F strings are black (or sometimes blue) so that the player can navigate the strings visually without looking at every individual string. All other strings are white.
What is the difference between a pedal harp and a Celtic harp?
A pedal harp has seven foot pedals that allow rapid key changes and full chromatic playing; a Celtic harp has either no chromatic mechanism at all or hand-operated sharping levers on each string. The pedal harp is also much larger, much heavier and has many more strings.
