Name: Arpa Paraguay or Paraguayan harp

Type: Harp > Cordophone

Region: Paraguay > South America.

Maker (Luthier): Solomon Samabria

Acquisition Date: 2007.01.07 Sunday.

Acquisition Source: Rufus Guitars, Vancouver B.C. Canada.

Description: The harp was introduced in Paraguay the 17th and 18th centuries by the Spanish Jesuit missionaries, since then the Guaraní speaking peoples took up the instrument and incorporated the harp into their music, many songs for written for the Paraguayan harp are often sung in Guaraní. In South America the harp is found throughout 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 Paraguay the harp is considered a national instrument in which a festival and national holiday are dedicated to the harp.

Playing Techniques: Having long fingernails is desired and they are used like picks. Modern playing techniques of the Paraguayan harp are attributed to Felix Parez Cardozo b. 1908 d. 1953. Today private lessons and formal lessons are taught on the Paraguayan harp.

Tuning: 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 in C#.

Anatomy of the Paraguayan Harp: The construction of the harp is quite interesting since the tension forms from the centre unlike other harps. There is a sound whole located on the bottom of the Paraguayan harp. A pair of carved wooden feet is located at the back of the harp for balance. The Paraguayan harp may have up to 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.