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Lots of strings breaking!
This summer we had many days in a row with temperatures in the 100s (Fahrenheit). My poor harp did not like that one bit, and several strings broke within a couple of days. I moved the harp to the basement, where it is always cooler, and that helped, but at least 2 more strings have broken. What can I do to keep my harp happy? I am waiting on a new shipment of strings, since I am out of ALL my extra .025 strings (all 3 colors)!
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6 Replies
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I should add that we generally have VERY LOW humidity here. I have seen mention of humidifiers for harps. Can anyone elaborate?
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Hi Paula, I’m up in Massachusetts, USA, where for us the 90° days this year have been really hot. Especially when the humidity is in the upper 70’s %. Some days you could barely see the trees across the street because of the humidity “fog”.
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It sounds like you are in the American southwest! I have A/C running all summer, because of my medical condition. Temps in the house are kept around 72-to-74° F. Humidity in the house runs about 40-43%. In my den where i keep my harps, I have a humidifier running (we make our own Reverse Osmosis water) and keep my harps at 46-48% humidity @ 74° F. My two older harps haven’t broken a string in a very long time. My week old concert harp, is still fine. I took the week to acclimate it to the house because it was shipped from the warehouse to me during one of those 90° plus days. I’m just starting to tune it now.
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I suggest you run a humidifier in the room where you keep your harp. Dry air can also cause harm to the sound board, causing it to crack. I’ve read to keep harps between 42-48% humidity. Since I don’t know what kind of strings your harp has, it’s hard to make suggestions. My strings run the gamut of nylon, bio-nylon, gut wound nylon, gut, and wire wound strings. So far, in three years, (knock on wood) I’ve replaced only one string, on my Celtic 28 string, and it was faulty from the manufacturer. I wish you the best in solving your issue, but a humidifier would be the first on my list before you replace the broken ones. Let everything acclimate before restringing, including the new strings, open the envelopes! Bring up the tension slowly, too! Good Luck! 😊
Marla
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I think sometimes what happens is on hot days the strings expand making them sound out of tune so most people will tune them up. Then when the temperature goes down the strings shrink increasing the tension making them more likely to snap.
Having said all of this I have seen videos of people playing their harps in the snow so who knows. Maybe the strings were just old.
🤷🏽♂️
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My harp used to be strung in gut and nylon. But I found in the very humid climate I live in (like Florida, average humidity is 80%) that gut breaks way too often and it’s expensive. When I lived in dry climates less than 30% humidity) gut lasted many years. I’ve now switched over entirely to nylon and metal for the bass and my harp is much happier. I have a lever harp but it’s strung to the same tension as a pedal harp and uses pedal harp strings (for reference). There was a slight loss of resonance in the 5th octave where gut used to really shine, but it’s a small compromise for a harp that stays in tune nearly perfectly now.
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Thank you all for your insight and advice! I definitely think that a humidifier will help. The harp has been in the basement for over 2 months and no more strings have broken.
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I bought a humidifier from Lowes but it was $130 when I bought it in 2019. I have it in my harp room with some music stacked on it. I also bought a hygrometer from Amazon that’s designed for cigar boxes. I find that the hygrometers you can buy at Lowes are usually off by 5-10%.
AIRCARE Pedestal EP9800 Evaporative Humidifier
Cigar Oasis Caliber IV Digital Hygrometer by Western Humidor
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