Collection: Harps

Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3000 BCE, evolving into a wide range of variants with new technologies, and were popular in Europe's colonies, particularly in Latin America.

Harps vary in many ways. Smaller harps can be played on the lap, larger harps are heavy and rest on the floor. Different harps use gut, nylon or metal strings or some combination.

On a Lever Harp, a string's note is adjusted while playing by flipping a lever, which shortens the string enough to raise the pitch by one chromatic step. On a Pedal Harp, pressing the pedal one step turns levers on the strings for all octaves of a single note to allow for key changes, and most harps allow a second step that turns a second set of levers.