| Learning to play the David's Harp (Kinnor/Kinor) |
| Please note This teaching is for the new designed Kinnor (from May 2004) if you have a design previous to this date, you can still use this teaching......... only you may have to read the notes differently.... All Kinnors from May 04 should be re-tuned to KEY D Major (as below & not Eb as indicated on the Guarantee) This harp is even easier to play than a Celtic harp, due to the 7 note Aeolian scale in D Major/B Minor.......and that it is played with only one hand. if you wish, you can sharpen the A, 1/2 a tone to Bb for a haunting mid-eastern sound. And if you decide to have 12 instead of the traditional 10 strings the bass notes will add to the range of music you will be able to play........For the purposes of teaching basic playing we will be showing the instruction below with a 12 string harp in Aeolian D Major/B minor Key...... |
First....tuning, if this is not accurate, all your best effort will sound "bad".... Tune your harp to the notes according to the tuning above......High end is on the left of the pic...... |
If you sharpen the A to Bb you will have a Mid-East ( minor) sound......BUT this is not a good tuning for playing regular tunes.....SO for the purpose of this teaching use the tuning at the top of the page...... |
| It is best to cradle your harp in your left arm (like a baby) and play with your right hand..... To play gentley......pluck mid-way between the length of the strings, just above the curve of the soundbox. ( if you pluck too hard, strings may"twang") If you want to play louder, you can pluck harder,or just above the fixing pins on the bottom. (playing here will also eliminate any "twanging" |
When you wish to play a tune in the Major key (D) you will almost certainly start it on the low D string. If you wish to play in a minor key (Bm) then start on the low B string (#10)......... |
| You are now ready to start learning to play |
| High end: D,C,B,A,G,F#,E,D,C#,B,A,G. Low end: For 12 strings D,C,B,A,G,F#,E,D,C#,B. For 10 strings |
| (High) D,C,B,A,G,F#,E,D,C#,B ,A, G (Low) |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,12. |
