Page "Harp" Paragraph 62

Folk harps with levers installed have a lever close to the top of each string ; when it is engaged, it shortens the string so its pitch is raised a semitone, resulting in a sharped note if the string was a natural, or a natural note if the string was a flat.

Lever harps are often tuned to the key C or E-flat.

Using the E-flat scheme, the major keys of E-flat, B-flat, F, C, G, D, A, and E can be reached by changing lever positions, rather than re-tuning any strings.

Many smaller folk harps are tuned in C or F, and may have no levers, or levers on the F and C strings only, allowing a narrower range of keys.

Blades and hooks perform almost the same function as levers, but use a different mechanism.

The most common type of lever is either the Camac or Truitt lever although Loveland levers are still used by some makers.