Strings that vibrate way too long

[Trisha Okeke]

Hi Ginette,

I have the exact same model (Ravenna 34) and I asked my harp teacher last week about that because I have the same issue. She didn’t go into a lot of detail but she said it’s really normal for that to happen. It has something to do with resonance.

Hope someone comes in and explains this better.

[Katharina Kleidosty]

Different harps have different characteristics. I have often heard Dusty Strings harps described as very resonant. This is due to the construction of the instrument, not the strings, so changing them will not help.

You could learn to use some muffling or damping techniques for your left hand, which is basically placing your palm or fingers on a string that’s still ringing to stop the vibrations. There are different ways to do this, I believe there’s a couple of skills videos on this site, and I’ve also seen a good explanation by Josh Layne on YouTube.

If you feel like the resonance is disturbing you constantly, I’ve heard of some pedal harpists who weave a thick woollen thread or a thin silk scarf through the strings, just resting on the soundboard, which muffles the resonance a bit. Not sure how much that would change the sound in other ways though.

[Diane Sheffler]

I just acquired my Dust strings harp Ravenna 34. Yes it dies resonate a long time. Not sure what to do except dampen with my other hand.

[Markus Faller]

This has nothing to do with your harp. It happens with all string instruments. It’s because of physics: the duration of the vibration T is inversely proportional to the frequency f: (T = 1/f). Low notes have low frequencies and therefore a long oscillation period.

[Ginette Abbanat]

Thank you all so much for your input! Great “food for thought”.

I am a beginner and at this point am thinking my issues have more to do to with weak left hand 4th finger than my harp itself. But I will plug along and take your advice! So grateful to have this platform.