The harp’s range in notes and hertz
| Sounding | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme low | B0 | 30.87 Hz |
| Practical low | C2 | 65.41 Hz |
| Practical high | A6 | 1760.0 Hz |
| Extreme high | F♯7 | 2960.0 Hz |
A lever harp’s range is its string count — 22, 26, 34 and more. The concert pedal harp, with 47 strings, runs from C♭1 to G♭7 with every pedal flat, which is the extreme range here.
Written and sounding pitch
The harp reads at concert pitch in treble and bass clef: a written note sounds as written, so the range above is both the sound and the page.
Range by size
| Size | Sounding | Span |
|---|---|---|
| 22-string lever harp | A3–A6 | 3 octaves |
| 26-string lever harp | D3–A6 | 3.6 octaves |
| 34-string lever harp | C2–A6 | 4.8 octaves |
Instruments with a similar range
The instruments whose normal range shares the most notes with the harp’s:
- Cello · C2–A6 58 notes shared
- Marimba · C2–C7 58 notes shared
- Piano · A0–C8 58 notes shared
- 7-string guitar · B1–C♯6 50 notes shared
- 8-string guitar · F♯1–C♯6 50 notes shared
- Guzheng · D2–D6 49 notes shared
Tune it, play it
- Harp tuner — tune by microphone, with the harp’s own target notes.
- Play a harp online — the same range, playable in your browser.
Songs that fit the harp
34 songs from our public-domain library fit inside the harp’s range, each written out in the notation harp players read:
- Hot Cross Buns
- Lightly Row
- Going Home (New World Largo)
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Happy Birthday
- Ode to Joy
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Jingle Bells
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas
- Yankee Doodle
- Silent Night
Frequently asked questions
What is the range of a harp?
The harp’s normal range runs from C2 to A6 — 65.41 to 1760.0 Hz, about 4.8 octaves. At the extremes it reaches B0–F♯7.
What is the lowest note on a harp?
B0 (30.87 Hz), on instruments that have it; the usual bottom is C2.
What is the highest note on a harp?
A6 is the top of the normal range, and F♯7 (2960.0 Hz) is reachable at the extreme.
Sources
- The chart behind our playable harp, itself checked note by note against published charts.
- Wikipedia, Pedal harp