Victoria Miller, age 11, of Camden, N.J., for her question:
WHEN WAS THE FIRST HARP MADE?
Oldest stringed musical instrument in the world is the harp. Music has been coming from harps since ancient times.
In Greek vases that date back to the 400s B.C., illustrations show musicians strumming large harps. The Sumerian harp goes back 4,500 years.
The Bible says that the harp was invented by Jubal. It was the musical accompaniment for the psalms of the ancient Jews and was played by David.
In addition to being very old historically, the harp is also the most important of all the modern stringed musical instruments that are played with the fingers rather than with bows.
The double harp, or David's harp as it is also called, is played with the fingers and thumbs of both hands. It is a triangular shaped instrument with a sounding board and catgut strings. The strings are usually tuned to the principal key of the music.
Pressure of the thumb or a turn of the tuning pins allows the player to make a change in the pitch of the note that each of the strings will produce.
The most important development of the instrument was the pedal harp, which many historians say was invented about 1720 by a man named Celestin Hochbrucker. This harp has seven pedals which can make each note of the scale in each octave a half note higher.
In 1810 a man named Sabastien Erard invented the double action pedal harp, the harp most often played today. This harp permits two changes in the length of strings and thus two tone changes.
There have been many kinds of harps through the ages. The early ones were very small and had only one or two octaves. Recent developments include the autoharp, which is held in the lap.
The most common harp and also the most important today is the large instrument which rests on the floor and is held between the knees. It is often used in symphony orchestras and is frequently called upon for solos in concerts.
The harp was the favorite instrument of the old Irish poets and it has become one of the emblems of Ireland, along with the shamrock.
Somewhat related to the harp is the harpsichord, a musical instrument that resembles a piano. It is also used with an orchestra or in a chamber music ensemble.
Like a piano, the harpsichord produces sounds by causing metal strings to vibrate. But the strings are plucked, just as they are with a harp, and not struck like those of a piano. As a result of this, the tone is clearer and livelier than that of a piano.
Usually two or three strings are plucked together in a harpsichord. Each string is plucked by a small piece of quill or leather called a plectrum.