Name: Arpa Paraguay or Paraguayan harp

Type: Harp > Cordophone

Region: Paraguay > South America.

Maker (Luthier): Solomon Samabria

Acquisition Date: 2007.01.07 Sunday, Rufus Guitars.

Description: The harp in Paraguay was introduced in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Spanish Jesuit missionaries. In South America the harp is found through out Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. The Paraguayan harp is one of the featured instruments in the conjunto (ensemble) who toured widely in South America and Latin America in the 1930s and 1940s. In playing the Paraguayan harp the fingernails are used as picks. Songs are accompanied with the harp and sung in the Indigenous Guarani language. In Paraguay the harp is considered a national instrument in which a festival and national holiday are dedicated to the harp. The modern playing techniques of the Paraguayan harp are attributed to Felix Parez Cardozo b. 1908 d. 1953. Today private and formal lessons are taught on the Paraguayan harp this also includes university courses.

Anatomy of the Paraguayan Harp: The construction of the harp is quite interesting since the tension forms from the center unlike other harps. There is a sound whole located on the bottom of the Paraguayan harp a pair of wooden carved feet are located at the back of the harp for balance. This allows for the harp's weight to be very light along with the light weight woods used to make this harp. The Paraguayan harp may have 30, 36, 38 or 40 strings. Nylon strings are used on the Paraguayan harp from the thickest diameter the bass strings to the mid range or treble to the thinnest diameter strings highest range of strings.

The Tuning of the Paraguayan Harp: The tuning of the Paraguayan harp is diatonic my Paraguayan harp has 36 strings in total Paraguayan harps are tuned 5 half tones higher in pitch then the orchestral concert harps. The red strings are tuned to F and the blue strings are tuned to "B flat or sometimes these harps are tuned in C# the spacing in between the strings is with in the range of 11mm-14mm.