Alan Stivell who always wanted an electric harp uses this harp in his album “Harpes du novel age”.
The “ElectroHarp” was presented 1984 at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and the World Harp Congress in Jerusalem. This method created a very clean and natural sound without feedback because only the vibrations of the strings are converted into the final sound. This special pickup “reacts to the pressure variations induced by the string’s vibration”3 and transmits this signal to the loudspeaker which then produces the amplified sound. It is equipped with piezoelectric pickups on each string which is placed at the base of the string. Finally in the 1980s the well-known French harp manufacturer CAMAC harps developed the first commercial electric lever harp, the 36 stringed “solid-body” “ElectroHarp”. He build it for his personal use and not for commercial use. The German Celtic harpist Rüdiger Opermann claims to be the first one to create a “solid-body” electric lever harp in the early 80s. The solution seemed to be a harp without a soundbox, a “solid-body harp”. There was the desire that the amplification gets more precise. Also the sound of other instruments standing close to the harp or other noise was captured and amplified. The use of microphones produced unwanted feedback. With this method he was able to create his “own special sound”2 which he had searched for.Īlthough the amplification with microphones improved, the harpist and manufacturers weren’t happy with the result. His research never led to an instrument available for the public because he was only interested to create his own amplified harp. In collaboration with a sound engineer, Vollenweider created a new pick-up system for the harp in the 1980s. He found the harp but wanted to modify her for his needs. Andreas Vollenweider searched for the instrument “with which he would be able to develop his own personal musical language”1.
Not only the big harp manufacturers did research and tried to produce an electro-acoustic harp but also individuals like Andreas Vollenweider did. The dampers were installed to make the soundboard less resonant, to avoid feedback. One of the main harp manufacturers SALVI harps developed an electro-acoustic harp by placing microphones and dampers in the soundboard in a classic pedal harp. For that a microphone is placed in front or inside the harp to “catch” the sound from the air. This is the most evident way to amplify a harp or any other instrument or voice. To ensure that his small Bardic harp is heard he amplified her with microphones in the 1960s. For example the harpist Alan Stivell (1944- ) who revived Celtic music and is considered to be the forerunner of the “folk-rock” performed with electric guitars, drums and loud Celtic instruments like the pipes and the Breton bombarde.
To perform in a band or in an open air concert the amplification of the harp got essential. Many instruments like the guitar or the piano were amplified very early and electric versions of these instruments were developed. Further I amplified my acoustic pedal harp to experiment with some effects and to explore the possibilities of an electro-acoustic harp.įrom the mid 20th Century concerts were held in bigger halls or open air. Everybody knows that electric keyboards or electric guitars exist but who has heard of an electric harp? For this project I did some research on the history of harp amplification and the development of electric “solid-body” and electro-acoustic harps. Hardly anybody would associate this instrument with strength, men or rock music. The harp is claimed to be a soft instrument for girls.
When people think of the harp in general the first thing that comes to their mind is a mythical instrument played by angels or fairies.
0 kommentar(er)
