We are grateful to have Lowcountry instructors, Kim (celtic harpist) and Mallory (pedal harpist) on our team! In this blog post, they have shared information that they hope will help you choose which instrument is the best fit for you. As always, feel free to contact us if you have additional questions. We are here to help! 

Celtic Harp (Folk Harp or Lever Harp): "A smaller harp with wire and nylon strings, used in the folk and early music of Scotland and Ireland." 

Pedal Harp (Concert Harp or Classical Harp): "A larger and technologically modern harp, designed primarily for use in art music."

"​Musicians who play Celtic harps are called "harpers" while those who play Pedal harps are called "harpists". The word “harp” comes from Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Old German words meaning “to pluck”.  

In these videos from Lowcountry Pianist & Company LLC, you can see some of the differences in appearance of each instrument. Pedal harps are larger than celtic harps.

Additionally, changing the pitch (making strings sound lower or higher) is controlled by pedals on the pedal harp (located at the base of the instrument) while the celtic harp uses levers (located at the top of the instrument).

For example, imagine a piano keyboard; there are white and black strings. In the olden times only the white notes could be plucked unless the harper re-tuned the string for a certain song, whereas now the harper / harpists can change their levers or pedals and essentially then have the black keys on the piano available also.