What is the history of the plucked psaltery lap harp?
There have been many forms of plucked psalteries dating back many years. In fact, a passage from the Bible in Daniel 3:10 states”…everyman that shall hear the sound of cornet, flute, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick shall fall down and worship…”. Basically, a psaltery consisted of a series of wires strung over a flat soundboard and were made in different sizes. Medieval varieties often used gut or horsehair for the strings. Now metal wire is used. There was little interest in the lap harp in more recent centuries until about 18 years ago when TK O’Brien’s got actively involved in promoting his version as as wonderfully simple and satisfying instrument that gives non-musicians immediate rewards in making music. Since then there has been a huge resurgence in its popularity causing a lot of builders to try their hand at it as well. In fact, some of the big box stores have even started importing them.
