Name: Arpa Paraguay or Paraguayan harp.

Type: Harp > Cordophone.

Region: Paraguay > South America.

Date of Manufacture: Circa 1950s.

Maker (Luthier): Solomon Samabria, Paraguay.

Acquisition Date: 2007.01.07 Sunday.

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

Description: The harp was introduced in Paraguay since the arrival of the Spanish Jusuit missionaries by 17th and 18th centuries. 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 the 1940s. In playing the Paraguayan harp long fingernails are desired and they are used like picks. Songs composed for the Paraguayan harp are 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.

Tuning the Paraguayan Harp: The tuning of the Paraguayan harp diatonic my specimen has 36 strings. 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# the spacing in between the strings is with in the range of 11mm-14mm.

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 hand carved wooden feet are located at the front 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 strings highest range of strings.