Harp E
Electro Acoustic Harp for Joris Beets Design
Harp-E is the world’s most accessible professional grade electro-acoustic harp. With a complete structural rethink and redesign, the ancient, complicated and elitist harp has become a simple, elegant, flat-pack, self-assembly instrument. All you need for assembly is a hex key. It's a paradigm shift, made for all people and settings, from classrooms to festivals. All fragile parts are sandwiched inside the sturdy frame; Harp-E is portable, stackable, customizable, wearable, adjustable, while boasting superior sound, strings and electronics, all at a fraction of the price and weight.
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Download Press Kit № 142704 Electro Acoustic Harp for Joris Beets Design by Joris Beets to access high-res images, essential texts, translations, and exclusive interviews—all in one.
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Harp E by Joris Beets
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Electro Acoustic Harp by Joris Beets
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Joris Beets Harp E
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Joris Beets Electro Acoustic Harp
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Harp E Electro Acoustic Harp Press Releases
Access press releases crafted for Harp E in these languages: English.
Harp E Electro Acoustic Harp Translations
Harp E in your language: we provide project translations across multiple languages: Electro Acoustic Harp EN, Elektro-Akoestiese Harp AF, Harpa Elektro Akustike SQ, ኤሌክትሮ አኮስቲክ በገና AM, القيثارة الصوتية الكهربائية AR, Էլեկտրոակուստիկ Տավիղը HY, Elektro Akustik Arfa AZ, Harpa Elektro-Akustikoa EU, Электраакустычная Арфа BE, ইলেক্ট্রো অ্যাকোস্টিক বীণা BN, Elektro Akustična Harfa BS, Електроакустична Арфа BG, Electro Acoustic Harp MY, Arpa Electroacústica CA, Ang Electro Acoustic Harp CEB, Electro Acoustic Zeze NY, 電聲豎琴 ZY, 电声竖琴 ZH, Arpa Elettroacustica CO, Elektroakustična Harfa HR, Elektroakustická Harfa CS, Elektroakustisk Harpe DA, Elektro-Akoestische Harp NL, Elektro-Akustika Harpo EO, Elektroakustiline Harf ET, Elektroakustinen Harppu FI, Harpe Électro-Acoustique FR, ' Ann An Clàrsaich Electro Acoustic GD, A Arpa Electro Acústica GL, ელექტრო აკუსტიკური არფა KA, Elektroakustische Harfe DE, Ηλεκτροακουστική Άρπα EL, ઇલેક્ટ્રો એકોસ્ટિક હાર્પ GU, Elektwo Acoustic Harp HT, Garaya Acoustic HA, Ka Harp Acoustic Electro HAW, נבל אלקטרו אקוסטי HE, विद्युत ध्वनिक वीणा HI, Electro Acoustic Harp HMN, Az Elektroakusztikus Hárfa HU, Rafhljóðharpa IS, Ụbọ Akwara Electro Acoustic IG, Harpa Elektro Akustik ID, An Chláirseach Leictreafhuaimiúil GA, Arpa Elettroacustica IT, エレクトロアコースティックハープは JA, Clempung Akustik Elektro JV, ಎಲೆಕ್ಟ್ರೋ ಅಕೌಸ್ಟಿಕ್ ಹಾರ್ಪ್ KN, Электроакустикалық Арфа KK, Electro Acoustic Harp KM, Inanga Ya Electro Acoustic RW, 전자 음향 하프 KO, Çenga Elektroakustîk KU, Электроакустикалык Арфа KY, Electro Acoustic Harp LO, Electro Acusticus Citharae LA, Elektroakustiskā Arfa LV, Elektroakustinė Arfa LT, Elektroakustesch Harf LB, Електроакустична Харфа MK, Ny Harpa Electro Acoustic MG, Kecapi Akustik Elektro MS, ഇലക്ട്രോ അക്കോസ്റ്റിക് കിന്നാരം ML, Arpa Elettro-Akustika MT, Ko Te Harp Acoustic Electro MI, इलेक्ट्रो अकौस्टिक वीणा MR, Цахилгаан Акустик Ятга MN, इलेक्ट्रो एकाउस्टिक वीणा NE, Elektroakustisk Harpe NO, ଇଲେକ୍ଟ୍ରୋ ଆକ୍ୟୁଷ୍ଟିକ୍ ବୀଣା OR, الکتروکوسټیک هارپ PS, چنگ الکترو آکوستیک FA, Harfa Elektroakustyczna PL, Harpa Eletroacústica PT, ਇਲੈਕਟ੍ਰੋ ਐਕੋਸਟਿਕ ਹਾਰਪ PA, Harpa Electro Acustică RO, Электроакустическая Арфа RU, Electro Acoustic Harp SM, Електро Акустична Харфа SR, Electro Acoustic Harp SN, برقي صوتي هارپ SD, විද්යුත් ධ්වනි වීණාව SI, Elektroakustická Harfa SK, Elektroakustična Harfa SL, Kataarad Acoustic Ah Oo Elektaroonik Ah SO, Electro Acoustic Harepa ST, Arpa Electroacústica ES, Kacapi Akustik Elektro SU, Kinubi Cha Acoustic SW, Elektroakustisk Harpa SV, Ang Electro Acoustic Harp TL, Арфа Электроакустикӣ TG, எலக்ட்ரோ அக்யூஸ்டிக் வீணை TA, Электро Акустик Арфа TT, ఎలక్ట్రో ఎకౌస్టిక్ హార్ప్ TE, พิณไฟฟ้าอะคูสติก TH, Elektro Akustik Arp TR, Elektro Akustiki Arfa TK, Електроакустична Арфа UK, الیکٹرو ایکوسٹک ہارپ UR, ئېلېكترو ئاكۇستىكىلىق چالغۇ UG, Elektroakustik Arfa UZ, Đàn Hạc Điện VI, Electro Acwstig CY, Elektro-Akoestyske Harp FY, Uhadi Lwe-Electro Acoustic XH, עלעקטראָ אַקוסטיש האַרפּ YI, Duru Akositiki Elekitiro YO, Ihabhu Le-Electro Acoustic ZU.
Harp E Electro Acoustic Harp Media Articles
Access our collection of Harp E articles, ready for use and offered in languages: Korean, Japanese, Russian, English, Spanish, Turkish, German, Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Arabic (Standard) and French.
Unique Properties
It’s the world’s most affordable, professional grade electro-acoustic harp. The ancient and complicated instrument was completely redesigned from scratch into a simple, elegant, flat-pack, self-assembly instrument. Some call it the people's harp. A complete structural rethink makes it a paradigm shift: all fragile parts are sandwiched inside the sturdy frame; Harp E is portable, stackable, adjustable, while boasting superior strings and electronics - all at a fraction of the price and weight.
Tags
Music, instrument, harp, education, DIY, self-assembly, democratization, inclusive design, electro-acoustic, electric harp
Production Technology
The core of the design is a revolutionary lever system, reducing hundreds of metal parts down to just two, with the rest CNC-ed out of the same sheet of beech plywood as the frame, like a near-wasteless jigsaw. Sandwiching the strings inside two thin frame halves, held together by standard stainless steel fasteners, allows for less wood and higher string tension. This and the custom designed pickup and preamp system, immune to EMI and with perfect frequency response, result in a superior sound.
Design Challenge
A hundreds of years old status quo of harp levers was they were either good and very expensive or cheaper but poor quality. Simply put, harpists and teachers wanted a minimum of 24 strings, fully levered and of the right quality, but target cost price made that impossible. That was tackled by integrating all individual levers into a single mechanism with an entirely different working principle (changing the string tension instead of length to change the pitch), a shot in the dark, but it worked!
Project Duration
The project started in 2019 when Dutch charity Het Leerorkest challenged us, who had just taken the harp world by storm with his Delta harp, to design an affordable, professional grade harp. Harp E was designed between London and Amsterdam. The first 10 prototypes were shown on Dutch National television with 300 more crowdfunded by the charity. Harp E was presented at the World Harp Congress in July 2022. Now also available D2C online, it is played by children and adults worldwide.
Operation Flow
Harp E arrives as a DIY kit with an assembly manual and can be put together with just a standard Allen key. It’s easy to customize with paint, hacks or mirroring the entire harp for the left handed, a world first. It can be played on its height adjustable stand or worn like a guitar, acoustically or amplified by simply plugging it into a small amp setup, a smartphone, or a professional PA system. This offers a world of interaction modes and sound possibilities, imagine a harp with guitar effects!
Research
Throughout the project we observed, interviewed, surveyed, co-created and tested 9 rounds of prototypes with: teachers, students, parents, maintenance, harpists and would-be harpists, assembly volunteers, school managers. Varying from group to 1:1, lab-based to contextual ethnographic (e.g. in classrooms) or quantitative (surveys), to fully understand the complex and contradicting web of requirements, deep insights that allowed design decisions making the harp both functional and desirable to all.
Inspiration
Triggered by a charity telling him about the absence of affordable, quality harps for the thousands of students they aim to provide with instruments of their choice, we went on a mission to democratize the harp. Between a violin, a flute and a harp, many children choose the harp: it’s intuitive, embracing and immediately sounds good. But today harps are dissuasively expensive, thus remain elitist and produced in small numbers - which maintains their price high. Harp-E breaks this cycle.
Project Overview
Harp E Electro Acoustic Harp has been a Silver winner in the Musical Instruments Design award category in the year 2022 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
Image Credits
For design images and photos please credit Joris Beets.
Silver Recognition
Joris Beets was recognized with the coveted Silver A' Design Award in 2023, a testament to excellence of their work Harp E Electro Acoustic Harp.
Joris Beets Press Releases
We provide a series of press releases on Joris Beets that journalists and press members can freely incorporate into their narratives. Now available: Immediate access to 1 press releases for journalists.
Introducing Harp E: The World's Most Affordable Electro-Acoustic Harp
Joris Beets revolutionizes the harp industry with Harp E, a paradigm-shifting, affordable electro-acoustic harp designed to democratize the instrument, available worldwide since 2022.
Joris Beets Newsroom
Access Joris Beets Newsroom to delve into the world of top-tier design and accolades.
