Harp E Elektro-Akoestische Harp by Joris Beets

Harp E Elektro-Akoestische Harp by Joris Beets is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award in Zilver in Muziekinstrumenten Ontwerp Competition Category.

ZilverMuziekinstrument· 2023

Harp E Elektro-Akoestische Harp

by Joris Beets

Client: Joris Beets Design

A' Design Award in Zilver Winner in Muziekinstrument Category

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The Design

About Harp E Elektro-Akoestische Harp

Harp-E is 's werelds meest toegankelijke elektro-akoestische harp van professionele kwaliteit. Met een volledige structurele heroverweging en herontwerp is de eeuwenoude, gecompliceerde en elitaire harp een eenvoudig, elegant, plat verpakt, zelfassemblerend instrument geworden. Het enige dat u voor de montage nodig heeft, is een inbussleutel. Het is een paradigmaverschuiving, gemaakt voor alle mensen en omgevingen, van klaslokalen tot festivals. Alle kwetsbare onderdelen zitten ingeklemd in het stevige frame; Harp-E is draagbaar, stapelbaar, aanpasbaar, draagbaar, verstelbaar en biedt tegelijkertijd superieur geluid, snaren en elektronica, alles tegen een fractie van de prijs en het gewicht.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award in Zilver

Harp E Elektro-Akoestische Harp is winnaar van de A' Design Award in Zilver, een buitengewoon prestigieuze erkenning die wordt toegekend aan topontwerpen die prachtig en indrukwekkend zijn. Winnaars in Zilver zijn enorm briljante en uiterst creatieve werken die de uitmuntende expertise, het talent en de scherpzinnigheid van hun ontwerpers illustreren. Harp E Elektro-Akoestische Harp wordt verwacht een prachtig paradepaardje te zijn dat opmerkelijk professioneel en diepgaand innovatief is. Dit ontwerp dat de A' Design Award in Zilver heeft gewonnen, is een hoogst opmerkelijke, bewonderde uitvinding die baat en de grenzen van kunst, wetenschap, ontwerp en technologie verlegt. Harp E Elektro-Akoestische Harp is een zeer benijde creatie die verlangens oproept, positieve gevoelens brengt en verbazing en verwondering doet ontvlammen.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

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.
Dimensions & Packaging: Harp E has 24 SilkGut strings 5C-2E, fully levered. Width 48cm x Depth 7cm x Height 87cm. The stand fully nests inside the frame, everything fits into the carrier bag of the same dimensions. Harp 3.6kg, stand 1.2kg. Adjustable to 3 heights: 87, 101 and 115cm. The single, self-shielding sensor avoids low hums and spans all strings. The smart preamp ensures high signal-to-noise ratio, zero latency and full compatibility with any effects, stage amps and studio equipment, powered by a 9V battery.
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!
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 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!
Patents: Patented. PCT/GB2022/000024. Joris Beets Design. 2022. United Kingdom, worldwide.
Copyrights belong to Joris Beets, 2022.
Trademark (2022) Joris Beets Design.