Harp for Beginners: How to Play the Harp
To play the harp, sit with the harp tilted back onto your right shoulder and pluck the strings with your thumb and first three fingers – harpists do not use the little finger. Red strings are C and dark blue or black strings are F, so you can find every note. Most beginners start on a lever harp of about 26 to 36 strings.
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses US music words (measure, quarter note, eighth note, staff); the UK version uses bar, crotchet, quaver and stave. · UK version of this page
Updated · By the Classfern Music Department
Key facts
- Concert (pedal) harp: usually 47 strings, about six and a half octaves, and 7 pedals. It stands about 1.8 m (6 ft) tall.
- Pedal harp range: C♭1 to G♭7. With every pedal up, the strings are tuned to C♭ major.
- Each pedal changes every string of one note name (all the Ds, all the Cs…) and has three positions: flat, natural and sharp.
- Lever (folk or Celtic) harp: no pedals; a lever on each string raises it by a half step. Most have 2 to 6 octaves, usually with nylon strings.
- String colors: every C is red and every F is black or dark blue; the rest are white or natural.
- Harpists use four fingers – thumb, index, middle and ring – and not the little finger.
- Harp music is written on two staves, treble and bass clef, like piano music.
- The harp is one of the oldest instruments: harps are known from at least about 3000 BCE.
Try it: a two-octave lever harp
Click a string to pluck it, or use the arrow keys to walk up and down. Choose a key to flip the levers, then play a glissando. Low strings are on the left. Self-assessed Can you find every C (red) and F (dark blue) without looking at the letters?
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How do you play the harp?
Sit with your feet flat and tilt the harp back onto your right shoulder, so your knees take its weight. Place your fingers on the strings first, then pluck towards you with the pads of your fingers and close each finger into your palm.
- Sit: on a bench or chair at a height where your arms reach the middle of the strings without leaning.
- Tilt: lean the harp back onto your right shoulder until the strings are close to upright.
- Hands: fingers angled down, thumb up, with a little space between them (“thumbs up”).
- Place, then play: put the fingers on the strings before you play them, like a cookie cutter.
- Close: pluck towards you and close the finger gently into the palm.
Self-assessed Play a C major scale from C4 to C5 with the right hand: 4th finger on C, 3rd on D, 2nd on E, thumb on F, then place again on G.
Why are some harp strings red and blue?
The colored strings are a map. Every C string is red and every F string is black or dark blue; all the others are white or plain. With 47 strings and no frets or keys, harpists find their place by color.
On the harp above, the C and F strings are drawn thicker as well as colored, and every string is labeled with its letter, so you never need color alone. Between a C and the next F are D and E; between F and the next C are G, A and B – the same as the white keys of a piano.
What is the difference between a lever harp and a pedal harp?
A pedal harp has 7 pedals that change all the strings of one note name at once, so it can play in every key. A lever harp has a small lever on each string that raises it by a half step. Lever harps are smaller, lighter and cheaper.
| Lever harp | Pedal harp | |
|---|---|---|
| Strings | About 2–6 octaves (for example 26–36 strings) | Usually 47 strings (about 6½ octaves) |
| Changing key | Flip a lever on each string (raises a half step) | 7 pedals, each with flat, natural and sharp positions |
| Height | A 26-string harp about 39 in; a 36-string harp about 54 in | About 1.8 m (6 ft) |
| Strings made of | Usually nylon | Gut, nylon and wound wire |
| Used for | Folk and Celtic music, beginners, home and school | Orchestras, concerts and advanced study |
A lever harp tuned in C can play in C, G, D, A and E major by raising levers (try the key menu above). It cannot play flat keys such as F major unless it is tuned lower, which is why many lever harps are tuned in E♭.
Is the harp hard to learn?
The first steps are friendly: every string is a note, and the first tunes need only one hand. The harder parts come later – reading two clefs, playing both hands together and changing levers or pedals while you play.
If you play the piano, reading harp music will feel familiar: it uses the same treble and bass staves. The falling-notes piano is a good way to learn two-hand reading at home, and the bass clef notes lesson helps with the left hand.
Where can I find harp lessons?
Look for a harp teacher through your local music school, a community music program, or a harp society. Many teachers also teach online, and some hire out lever harps to beginners.
Ask about a rental harp before you buy: a lever harp lets you try the instrument for a term. Classfern does not offer lessons and is not connected with any harp maker, teacher or society. The guides on lessonplanner.info are free, run in your browser and need no account.
A first week at the harp (home plan)
- Day 1: sit, tilt and find every red C and blue F.
- Day 2: place and play C D E F with the right hand, closing each finger.
- Day 3: the same with the left hand, an octave lower.
- Day 4: a slow C major scale, one octave, right hand.
- Day 5: a glissando: thumb down the strings, then fingers up.
- Days 6–7: Hot Cross Buns (E D C) and Mary Had a Little Lamb with the right hand.
Evidence kept at home Write the date next to each day you complete.
Quick quiz: the harp
Six questions on strings, pedals, levers and technique. Marked by Classfern Your score stays in this browser.
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