the word "harp"

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

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In a message dated 8/1/01 12:26:50 AM Central Daylight Time, 
kswafford@earthlink.net (Kent Swafford) writes:


> I have heard the term harp used to refer to the strung back of vertical
> pianos, that is, the plate/pinblock/strings/bridges/soundboard/back post
> assembly. The same assembly wouldn't separate out quite so neatly on a
> grand, but I've still heard the term harp used to mean the whole assembly
> that holds the strings, even in a grand.
> 
> This might even have come out of my own mouth a few times.  :)
> 
> Given the discussion, I may reconsider, but still, the term harp sort of
> makes sense this way.
> 

As a person who really believes proper terminology is important, I agree with 
the above statement.  The "harp" is what non-technicians usually the portion 
of the piano which has the soundboard, plate and strings in order to 
distinguish it from what they would probably call the "keyboard", meaning the 
entire action assembly.

It's not offensive and not really even a term used in ignorance.  Technicians 
usually use more "technical" sounding and more specific terms while musicians 
and others normally use terms the general public knows.

I rarely visit a doctor but I have recently had to see doctors about a 
serious problem with my shoulder.  I find interesting how the doctor uses 
terms he expects that I would understand with me but when he dictates a 
letter to the other doctor who referred me, he uses words and phrases that 
lose me.  Even the procedure called, "orthroscopic surgery" was something I 
had never heard of before, so I had to ask what it was.

Since piano technicians rarely use the word "harp", when it is heard, it 
usually identifies the user as either a non-technician or a novice.  So, the 
only problem one may consider when using it is how one may be perceived by 
others.  The only time I use it is when the person to whom I am speaking uses 
it.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin

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