How much does a harp cost in 2023?
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2024
- It's never been more affordable to buy a harp, which is why so many people are starting to learn! 🥳🎉
HARPS MENTIONED: (affiliate links*)
Info about pedal harps: geni.us/VHCpedalharps
Musicmakers Ballad $3500 - geni.us/balladharp
Musicmakers harp kits $1300 and up - geni.us/harpkits
Harpsicle $580 and up - geni.us/harpsicleharps
Fireside cardboard harp $380 - geni.us/firesideharp
Fireside harp kit $200 - geni.us/firesideharpkit
Rosewood harp $200 - geni.us/rosewoodharp
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I had intended to rent, but I found my "dream harp" advertised at a reputable harp store's website, on consignment. I am completely convinced that it was meant to be mine (it even had my name carved into the post) so I upped my credit card limit and ordered it. It was pristine and only 2 years old. I had never touched a harp before its arrival, but I had done a ton of research, and I knew it had just what i was looking for. Still, ordering it was definitely an act of faith. 5 years later I am still delighted with my Camac "Janet" harp, and what a wonderful journey learning harp has been. By the way, I am 71 years old; I believed I could learn to play this instrument, and I have! Currently I am playing at a mid-intermediate level. Was it easy? No, not really. But it was WORTH IT a thousand times over!
Please find a way to upload videos of your playing to UA-cam or TikTok! We'd love to see it!
What website did you find it on?
After researching for months and waiting for the right time, I bought my first harp. I had been keeping an eye out for a used harp but was ready to buy a new Ravenna 34 otherwise. Last week I spotted a used Lyon & Healy with gut strings for $3200. Since it was available at a dealer in the next state over, my husband and I made the 3 hour trip there which saved on shipping. So with the bag and tuning key plus some beginner books (which the dealer threw in for free since I paid cash) it came to about $3400. At some point in the not too distant future, I will need to buy an extra set of strings, but I believe I got a really good deal at that price since the harp was in beautiful condition and had been restrung late last year. I would have chosen to start learning with nylon strings but since it already had gut strings I feel a little bit spoiled.😁
Harpsicles are great starter option. I love how portable they are. Even if you graduate to a bigger harp you will love having a harp you can take out and play anywhere. And the harpsicles hold their tune beautifully. I once read an article by a harp player who also read/wrote fantasy fiction. They commented on the frequently used image of a harpist tossing their harp over their back and riding away in fantasy stories. The harpist would then very unrealistically start playing their harp immediately upon arriving at the new location. This harpist/author pointed out that this was not possible as the harp would be horribly out of tune. Well if there is a harp that could do this it would be the Harpsicle. I have countless times popped mine in its case and driven to a lesson then checked the tuning to find that it is unchanged. It’s a great place to start your harp journey. Don’t let the small size and funny name fool you!
If you live in the USA and are looking for a good quality harp on a lower budget, Stoney End is a great place to buy a harp. They also make double string harps. If you don't live in the Midwest, it can be shipped to you (for a cost, of course.)
I'm husband and I built a ballad harp! It was was so much fun!
It's never been more affordable to buy a harp, which is why so many people are starting to learn! 🥳🎉 Links for each harp mentioned in the description box ♥ ***Edit: I’ve had feedback that harp prices have increased dramatically in the past few months in some countries, sorry to hear that!! 😭 Thankfully there are more options of small affordable harps than there used to be, so that’s something to consider if buying a harp is feeling like a far away dream 😅
Next week, an hour away from me, will be the 38th international meeting of celtic harp in Dinan. I can't wait to see all the beautiful harps and their makers !
Update : there was a surprise discount during this meeting on the Camac stand ! I got my celtic harp 20% off + the case for free. I got a concert-quality harp for the price of a study one. Nearly a year after I still feel like I cheated the system lol !
I remember first learning harp when I was about 5 years old. I started out on a lever harp but unfortunately I don't remember the brand but it had maybe 34 strings I want to say. After four years I did end up moving up to a pedal harp and I was renting both the lever and pedal harp when I was learning and didn't end up getting my own harp until I was about 21 so it's been about 5 years since then. I have a Lyon & Healy harp but sadly there were no showrooms in Japan near me that had any harps I was looking for so I had to get one from a distributor in America. I know it can be a bit of a gamble purchasing a harp without trying it out first but I didn't really have much choice. I was lucky enough to score a used style 23 for a price lower than the original pricing which I read would go for about $42,000.00 today. Harps are quite literally an investment! The harp was so fickle with keeping the tuning because it traveled so far but eventually settled in. I am a bit disappointed that I don't have room for it in my apartment so it lives at my parents house in my old room but I have a smaller Lyon & Healy Ogden, which I believe is the same harp you have which I play on and absolutely love. I still get to play my pedal harp because I volunteer with community orchestras around my city as a harpist if they need one but I would love to be able to save up enough for a larger apartment that has space for my pedal harp!
Great information! Thank you!!
I can't believe the cost of a brand new Lyon & Healy Salzedo went from around £38,000 just the other year, then shot up to around £55,000 the following year! I think the Salvi Arianna and Camac Art Nouveau are both around the £38k mark, but haven't dared look at the current prices.
I used to refer to my rosewood harp (fortunately replaced by a Harpsicle Flatsicle) as the "harp-shaped object."
Straight to the point. ❤ Thanks!
In Germany the prices for all harps (lever & pedal) increased in average by 30%, as per my local Salvi & LH store due to Covid and the overall inflation due the war in Ukraine. He told me "it was never so expensive to buy or rent a harp".... 😅
Oh dear, sorry to hear that! That must be so frustrating when you’ve been saving up to buy a harp. But at least there are options of small harps like Harpsicle or cardboard harps which never existed years ago 😅
@@LearningtheHarp Luckily I already own a pedal harp, so this does not really affect me. I just stumbled upon this situation because I requested the price for a Salvi Diana and it just went up 8k from one year to another. 😅 But I hope that this does not stop beginners to rent/buy smaller lever harps to start their harp journey (at least in Germany). But you are absolutely right: 5 years ago the overall harp market was so small, it definitely has a broader variety nowadays.!
This is the very same thing I noticed! I feel quite discouraged and I'm honestly seriously thinking of putting off a purchase for maybe one more year.
My first harp is a rosewood 36 strings harp, and it cost me $1600 - I know, right? I would highly recommend doing thorough research before making a harp purchase to avoid any surprises.😂
Lyon & Healy's prices have been skyrocketing over the last couple of years. The Louis XV Special (pictured at 0:22) now apparently costs $250,000 USD!!! The Style 23 (natural) was $34,000 USD just a couple of years ago but now costs $42,000 USD!
Ah yes, that was a mistake. Thanks for pointing that out! Interesting that some prices have increased so much, whereas the Ogden for example is listed at $3950 on Virginia Harp Centre website, and when I bought mine 8 years ago it was $3200. Only an increase of $750 in 8 years!
Out of interest, I've heard that only 3 Louis XV Specials have ever been sold since 1916. I guess it's not that surprising since it's so expensive 😆
Very cool to know now what kind of harp I bought! 😊
I don't see anyone talking about purchasing pre-owned harps. They can be a great option and there are many
available. They can be very reasonably priced as well. Lyon and Healy, for an example, always has used harps for sale, as do all the major harp stores. Harp groups often have a section of harps their members have for sale and there are individuals selling their harps as well. Just be sure you throughly check the harp out before buying. Plus, there is also renting if you aren't ready to commit to purchasing a harp just yet. For myself, I started out renting to own a small, used Heartland 27 string harp and gradually worked my way up to purchasing a Triplett Celtic II. I was eventually able to trade that in on a small pedal harp, which was my dream. So start looking around. It seems that used harps are everywhere and can be a great stepping stone to a new harp or even become your forever harp.
Your voice is so lovely
I would so love to have a huge collection of harps, but that just isn't feasible considering the cost (and where in the heck would I put all of them). I have a Dusty Strings Ravenna 34 and a Harpsicle, but oh boy would I love to get an Ogden or Troubadour too. Maybe one day I can be in the pedal harp club, but I won't be holding my breath for that. I always love seeing your pedal harp, Christy-Lyn. It is such a beautiful instrument.
That sounds like a great duo you have! I also play a Ravenna 34 and it has such a nice sound. How are you liking it? --Carrie ♥
@@LearningtheHarp I love my Ravenna. Hopefully one day I can have some pedal harps like yours, Carrie. Love your latest arrangement for Misty Mountains Cold. I haven't bought the music yet but it is a fantastic arrangement.
Trying to get a harp again , oh my gosh I used to watch your videos years ago and now here I am still wanting a harp but finding it so expensive 😂
I am from Bavaria and in the Alpine region we use a type of harp that is called "Volksharfe", I guess it's also called "Tiroler Harfe". It doesn't have as many pedals as a pedal harp and you can't bring those pedals into any position. My pedals are: D, C, H, E, F, G, A and I can only move them into 2 different positions instead of 3. That means I have a wide range of possible keys to play in but not an endless range like the pedal harps, which we call "Konzertharfe" (concert harp) have.
On UA-cam you don't find much covers or harpists who play different styles on these harps, because you generally play Alpine folklore music, which is very different from Celtic folkloric music.
Anyways, those harps usually cost about 10.000 to 20.000 Euros (so I am glad that my mom used to play harp, so we already had one when I started about 5 years ago).
Not sure about other brands, but Dusty strings harp prices have really increased here in NZ within the last year or so. I was going to buy a Ravenna 26 and was saving up for it, it used to be $2995.00 NZD with a fully padded bag, now that same package costs $4045.00! and this happened within a fairly short period too.
I ended up getting a 26 string harp off a NZ maker instead.
Who did you buy it from? What do you think?
That's very interesting, since the prices listed on Dusty Strings website haven't changed that much! I guess it must be the costs of transporting it to NZ, and the running costs of the company you bought it from that cause the dramatic price increase?
Here in Perth, Australia my dusty strings ravenna lever harp costed me $6000 aud. 😢
I'm new to using HARP so which one should I buy for my start?😊
I got my first harp of Ogden which is perfect for me last year. I sometimes addict to Ogden's gut string sound.
Lovely!! Yes gut strings give a beautiful warm sound 😍
I am getting my cardboard one soon. Floor harps are just not in my budget.
Hi Dallas, that's so exciting you're getting a cardboard harp! Let us know what you think when it comes in😍
After I bought my 60 year old pedal harp, I didn't have money left to buy the harp cart or the cover. I just borrowed them from a friend to transport the harp to my place. I have not transported my harp since.
There are many unknown makers now and I hope that competition from companies or private makers will finally bring some quality harps down in price. They seem to increase in price every year but when they cross the price line, they will stay in the stores and not sell. Even affordable good made ones are still out of range for many people. The harpcicle (may have spelled that wrong) once was very reasonable, but they have jumped in price up to other quality ones . There will be a limit someday what folks will put into buying them. Fortunately, I can build them if I am so inclined to. Many folks cannot build instruments and are forced to spending a great deal. When I bought my harpcycle, it was $250.00..Currently price jumped way beyond that. I would never buy a mideast harp and Mikel Company are not a good company to deal with. I built 3 ....30 stringed ones and I assure I did not have 3500.00 in wood strings and hardware in them. I hope to see the day, good harps come down in price and the so called affordable ones also come down but I may not live that long lol
Would anyone happen to know if Muzikkon harps are good (quality, durability, sound, etc.)? I am looking to buy my first harp and I want at least 34 strings, all the levers, and a good price. Muzikkon has some harps that check all ths boxes, I just want to be sure I will be getting a good instrument if I buy from them!
And did you notice the incredible increases in the prices of the harps? The L&H Ogden in Europe passed from 3500 euro to 4800 in the period from november 2022 to january 2023. The Drake from 2500 to 3500. It's crazy! I am shocked! I was going to buy my first harp when from night to day I've found the price increased of 1300 euros!!! I was shocked and really upset!!!
Oh that is crazy! I haven’t noticed a big increase in the harp prices on US websites, so it must be the cost of transporting increased, or the businesses in Europe struggling with running costs 🤔 In fact I noticed the Ogden has only gone up by a few hundred dollars in the past 5 years!
@@LearningtheHarp I think this increase depends on the war. A lot of things had increased because of the war. The governments say it's because the transportation of the energy and diesel, oil, etc. But I don't believe that. To me it's only a convenient excuse
No mention about luthiers, hand makers? :/ :)
Sometimes it looks for me like a lot of people know just big companies and it would be great if you speak also about individual makers :)
Tomáš
what brand is the purple one?
Hi! Are you referring to the harp at 0:54? If so, the brand is Music Makers :) Such a fun color for a harp!
Hi Christy-Lyn. 🎶
Could you please tell me where I could rent a harp? I am in KZN. I recently searched Avondale Harp World, but I am struggling to find online contact details.
Thanks so much!
Colleen.
Hi Colleen! Yes Avondale is the best place to rent, Ingrid’s number is +27 (82) 494-1538
It absolutely is expensive these days, but I assume some are frankly cheap. ♥️🎼
$50,000!? It’s like a piece of furniture!
What kind of furniture are you buying? Don't you know you can find couches for free on the side of the road? Now, if only people did that with harps...
Why am I watching this?