I just got my new Maple Harpsicle Harp today and it’s beautiful! And so light-weight! Only 4 pounds! The Harpsicle appears to be very well made. Its solidly built, and nothing on it feels or looks cheap. It even has pegs for a strap! Make sure you have an electronic tuner on hand before your harp arrives so that you can tune it. It arrives stringed, but untuned (so that it will not get warped during shipping I reckon) but does come with a tuning wrench. As long as you have an electronic tuner ( on Amazon…pretty much any electronic tuner will work), you should be up and picking (plucking?) on your new Harpsicle Harp inside of 20 minutes. It actually took me longer to unpack it than it did to tune it because it was packed VERY WELL! to prevent damage during shipping.

I am a complete noob on playing the harp although in the interest of full disclosure I’ve been playing 5-string banjo for a couple of decades and also a fair amount of experience with a variety of other stringed instruments and keyboards. So I”m not coming into this cold. That plus I’ve had the desire to learn to play the harp ever since I was a very little kid and saw my very first Marx Brothers movie and saw Harpo playing a concert size pedal harp. WOW!!!

I think that learning to play this beautiful, professional quality insturment it is going to be a fun challenge, much like learning to play the banjo was foro me many years ago.

If you’ve never played the harp before…I’m likening it to playing a sideways piano, minus the ivory. 🙂 I’m finding that I have to think sideways in order to translate the horizontal notes on the page to the vertical strings of the harp, but I’m very excited to take on this challenge!

The Harpsicle has a very beautiful, deep, mellow sound, owing I think to the high-quality nylon strings as well as the deep soundbox. I was surprised to discover that it came with nylong strings but also very pleased about this. I also play classical guitar and I personally prefer nylon strings to steel on a guitar and I think I am digging them on this harp too. I think that steel strings on the smaller harps would sound too “tinny”…too much like plinking on a toy piano. Check out a few Harpsicle videos on You Tube and then check out some other Pakistani or Chinese made brand lap harp videos and you will quickly hear the difference in quality and probably notice that “tinny” sound too.

The one thing I wish I’d ordered with this is the harp stand! D’oh! I couldn’t figure out where to store it when I wasn’t using it…you can’t exactly lean it against the wall like you can a guitar! I finally realized that it had strap posts on it (took me awhile to get over the WOW! factor of all it and take it all in part by part…)…and I took a strap off of a guitar I rarely play and put it onto the harp. Then I was able to hang the harp from the wall-mounted instrument hooks I already had on the wall for banjos. That worked really well. Plus I am discovering that I like having the harp hanging from a strap on my shoulder as learning to hold it and play it and looking at a music lesson book at the same time require at least three hands. The strap makes all that manageable.

I sense that I am going to have a slow time learning to play the harp, at first, just because I am having to fight the urge to use my banjo picking skills with it and I am forcing myself to slow down and learn the correct fingering for the harp from the git-go. However, once I build up the finger memory for the string placement and get comfortable reading music again (the lesson books are by necessity all standard musical notation with Treble and Bass cleff’s…something I haven’t had to use for years as I generally use Tablature to learn new banjo tunes…) that I will then progress fairly quickly. But like anything worth doing, it will take time to get it right.

I would recommend this for all levels of playing and all size persons as it will “feel” right regardless of the person.

I will update this review in a few weeks or months after I gain more experience from it. I’d write more about it now but I’ve spent too much time on the computer now…I need to go play with my new Harpsicle!

No one has reviewed this instrument when I arrived at this page while browsing Amazon’s harp choices, so I thought I would because Harpsicles are worth talking about! They are absolutely amazing instruments for their ranges and price. And they are just so fun with all their great colors! Made with love, care, and pride in the USA, these harp give real people a chance to own an amazing instrument in ways they can afford. [If you have ever shopped for performance / concert level harps with their $$$$$ price tags, you will know what I am talking about!] I own a Harpsicle Harp (although its a green one rather than the Maple one advertised on this page), and I also own a Sharpsicle, which is the next harp up from this model. (People who are interested in Celtic music and more advanced music should investigate the lever harps, which allow them to explore those levels of music. Sharpsicles and Flatsicles made by the same company offer more musical options for the player.) I love my regular Harpsicle when I am just plucking the strings for my personal amusement, for the family, for my classes, or for relaxation.

The Harpsicle is the basic model, and it cannot be upgraded to the next level. However, for some people, this basic Harp is all that they need or want. The Harpsicle Company has a website where it offer a nice collection of music books and resources specifically designed for this instrument line. On the Harpsicle website, visitors can also hear how the instrument sounds by clicking the “Listen” link. A variety of other accessories like straps, stands, and cases are available too! The company also offers an excellent teaching DVD that can help beginners get started with their own Harpsicles. The DVD can be found with their new beginner’s book published by Mel Bay: “Harpsicle Harp Method Book 1.” You should be able to purchase this book on Amazon as well. You may also find many of the accessories as well by doing a search. [Harp beginners will find this book / DVD information and visual data useful! So, if you are buying an instrument, buy the Harpsicle Harp Method Book 1 too.]

Google Harpsicle and lessons (or online lessons); you’ll find teachers and music therapists like those at Harp Spirit and Rainbow of Sound using the Harpsicles with great responses and success. Hey, did you know that you can take harp lessons over the internet via Skype?? 😀

This regular Harpsicle is definitely a great beginner’s harp for children AND for adults. It makes a cool portable harp; it’s worth buying if this is a first harp purchase. This quality instrument has a warm, lovely sound that pleases, and you can feel the music as you play. The strings are soft–no HARSH wires, and they do not hurt your hands. It’s quite easy to tune if you have an electronic tuner, or those more musically inclined can probably use a piano. [To reduce the tension on the strings during travel, the new harp comes untuned. However, it does come with a tuning tool and instructions. Electronic tuner is sold separately, but it is worth the purchase so that it can arrive when or before the harp arrives. Harpsicle recommends that when you first receive your new harp to tune it every day because this helps to stabilize the new sound board.] Additionally, it smells nice! LOL (But then I love the smell of woods.)

Please don’t even bother with those cheap harps made from other countries. They make look pretty and reasonable, but they are disappointing if you seriously want to play music. If you want to truly play the harp, if it is your first time buying a “real” harp, go for the Harpsicle (..or if you are most advanced musically, the Sharpsicle, Flatsicle, or Fullsicle! I think there is even a Grandsicle now! LOL Sure, that Harpsicle lines are a bit more expensive than those Mid-East products, but the Harpsicles and their advanced models excel in sound, workmanship, dependability, quality, customer support from Rees, and maintenance. I’ve had both my harps from this company for nearly a year now, and I have never had one minute of trouble from either of them! Great products for our family!

Great harp for child, beginner or adult without a lot of room. I own a full sized harp, but obviously cannot take it with me. this harp is portable, lightweight and easy to carry. It is very well made and has a very good sound – much better than you would expect. Stays in tune, unlike a number of other harps not made in the U.S. If I could, I would give it more than 5 stars!!!!!