Transporting your harp

Hello guys! So you have your harp, you want to take it to other places but you don't know how to go about it. Right now I'll be focusing on two ways to transport your harp: by car and by cart. First of all, when you're taking your harp around, you may want to protect it with a harp cover. Harp covers are like gloves for harps with zippers, generally looking like this:

Of course, they'll vary in size depending on the harp. Harp covers are designed to, well, protect your harp. It'll be handy in cold weather, and when you're carrying the harp. I have a cover as well, but it's temporarily lost, so my poor harp has scratches on it from being bumped around in my small house whilst being moved. I'm sorry Troubadour! :'( But if you don't have a cover, a blanket or quilt will do. Make sure the blanket can't catch on the pegs or on the bits of string that stick out, because then you'll have threads pulled out of the blanket. For those of whom who aren't aware, there are holes in the back of the harp. 

Yeah, those ones. Much of the sound from the soundboard of the harp comes out though those, and they're good for gripping on to help hoist the harp up or to attach amp wires into. How I carry mine: my right hand is in one of the bottom holes and I hold the curved front with my left. This is a very awkward way of carrying your harp, which I'm sure is kind of obvious already; but being so, it's prone to being scratched without a cover. Because it's big and awkward to carry, you can't see on all sides to see if it's touching anything, so it's easy to bump it into doorways and walls. If you have a 26-29 string lever harp then one person can carry it fine; a 36 lever harp, one person can but it's incredibly hard, anything bigger you may want a couple people helping to move it. You may be able to carry a small pedal harp alone, but again, it's really difficult. Them's HEAVY instruments! Most likely you'll be transporting the harp around by car, but make sure it's the kind of car with a big enough flat surface to accommodate your harp, like a van or a pick up truck. If it's in a van, laying the harp diagonally across on its side, I find, is easier. But if you can manage to put a seat down you can lift the harp onto it, so the harp lies straight in the back of the van. Oh, it may be helpful to put some blankets under the harp so it sits more comfortably and is less likely to move around. Also make sure if there's anything else loose in the back, move it away. Anything heavy could slide around and hit your harp on the road (this is for those who don't have harp covers.) Some of you are probably not as paranoid as protecting your harp as I am, but that's okay. This is just in case. If you're going to rest your harp on its back so that it's lying vertical instead of its side, make sure it's stable. When laying your harp on its side, lay it on the PEG SIDE. Don't lay the harp on the side with the levers, strictly on the pegs. If you have the same kind of harp like I do, it's 38 pounds of unnecessary weight on those levers and probably will cause some damage to them. 

Alright, so if you're playing at somewhere else, and you don't want to have to carry your harp because A: you don't have the energy or B: it's too darn heavy to carry, then a harp cart may be your next choice. Here's an example of a harp cart:

Frame, two large wheels, and a platform for the base of the harp to rest on. Some of them come with straps to create more stability for your harp. Well, this doesn't look so bad right? Let's look at how much this one costs:

$350.00

Yes. They cost a lot. Almost as much as lever harps cost. This one is from www.harpsetc.com. I confess, though, I myself don't have a harp cart, or dolly. I don't because I saw the prices for harp carts and I wanted to find a cheaper alternative. I looked at Canadian Tire garden carts and wagons. Hah! You might look for other options too. If you do, the base of your harp has to mostly fit on the platform of the cart. Okay, I'll warn you, I once got a flat platform...wagon thing. It was literally a grey flat platform, a handle and wheels. That was it. Cost 100$ or so. I got it to carry the harp to the Fringe Festival where I busked. We used bungee chords to strap the harp to the handle. Do not use something like that for your harp! The handle would not stay locked in place and it was a pain to pull the wagon around and try to keep the harp stable at the same time. So be careful when finding something other than a harp cart or dolly. 

Anyway, that's it for today! Questions, comments? Let me know!~