Argent Instrument de Musica · 2023
Harp E Arpa Electroacostica
by Joris Beets
- A' Design Award d'Argent 2023 in Instrument de Musica
- CLIENT: Joris Beets Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 648,135
- Verification code C846090EB9 · Verify this award
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About Harp E Arpa Electroacostica
Harp-E es l'arpa electroacostica de qualitat professionala la mai accessibla del monde. Amb una repensar e un redisseny estructural complets, l'arpa antica, complicada e elitista es devenguda un instrument simple, elegant, en kit plat e d'automontatge. Tot çò que vos cal per lo montatge es una clau hexagonala. Es un cambiament de paradigma, concebut per totas las personas e totes los contextes, de las salas de classa als festivals. Totas las pèças fragilas son intercaladas dins l'armadura solida; Harp-E es portabla, empilabla, personalizabla, que se pòt portar sus lo còrs, ajustabla, tot en presentant un son superior, de còrdas e una electronica d'excelléncia, tot aquò a una fraccion del prètz e del pès.
About the A' Design Award d'Argent
Harp E Arpa Electroacostica a ganhat la distincion A' Design Award d'Argent, una reconeissença extraordinàriament prestigiosa acordada a de designs d'ort de gamma, esplendids e impressionants. Los ganhaires de l'Argent son d'òbras terriblament brilhantas e extrèmament creativas que illustran l'experiéncia, lo talent e la finessa excepcionals de lors designers. S'espèra que Harp E Arpa Electroacostica siá una òbra meravilhosa e de referéncia, notablament professionala e prigondament innovanta. Aqueste design ganhaire de la distincion A' Design Award d'Argent es una invencion fòrça notabla e admirada, que fa un ben e fa avançar las frontièras de l'art, de la sciéncia, del design e de la tecnologia. Harp E Arpa Electroacostica es una creacion immensament envejada que desrevelha de desirs, aduch de sentiments positius e fa néisser l'estonament e l'esmaiment.
Press Kit
- 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.
