The Gaelic triangular, wire-strung harp has always been known by the feminine term cruit but by 1204 was certainly known by the masculine term ' clàr ' ( board ) and, by the 14th century, by the feminine form of ' clàr ', i. e., ' clàirseach / clàrsach '.

The clàrsach or harp was the most popular musical instrument in later medieval Scotland and Ireland and Gaelic poets portrayed their Pictish counterparts as very much like themselves.

The Scottish medieval clàrsach ' Queen Mary harp ' Clàrsach na Banrigh Màiri, ( c. 1400 ) now in the Museum of Scotland, is a one of only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps.

* mp3 recording of the Skene tune played on an early clàrsach by Simon Chadwick

Other instruments can be played successfully by a guitarist, i. e. ; hi-hat cymbals, organ pedals, bass drum, nose harp, etc.

Depending on its size, which varies, a harp may be played while held in the lap or while it stands on a table, or on the floor.

The concert harp is large and technically modern, designed for classical music and played solo, as part of chamber ensembles, and in symphony orchestras as well as in popular commercial music.

The pedal harp is played with the fingertips, with force from the hand and arm, and ultimately the upper body.

Many passages for solo harp can be found in 19th century ballet music, particularly in scores for the ballets staged for the Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg, where the harpist Albert Zabel played in the orchestra.

In Hong Kong, a notable example of harp in pop music is the song " Tin Shui Walled City " ( 天水圍城 ) performed by Hacken Lee with harp played by Korean harpist Jung Kwak ( Harpist K ).

Also, Björk sometimes features acoustic and electric harp in her work, often played by Zeena Parkins.

The folk harp or Celtic harp is small to medium-sized and usually designed for traditional music ; it can be played solo or with small groups.

Often the folk harp is played by beginners who wish to move on to the pedal harp at a later stage, or by musicians who simply prefer the smaller size or different sounds.

According to tradition, Brian Boru, ' High King ' of Ireland ( d. at the Battle of Clontarf, 1014 CE ) played the harp, as did many of the gentry in the country during the period of the Gaelic Lordship of Ireland ( ended c. 1607 CE with the " Flight of the Earls " following the Elizabethan Wars ).

" ( KJV ) This may be a reference to the kind of harp played, e. g., by David during Old Testament times.

Strictly speaking, " diatonic " denotes any harmonica that is designed for playing in only one key ( though the standard " Richter-tuned " diatonic can be played in other keys by forcing its reeds to play tones that are not part of its basic scale ; see Blues harp ).

The music played by African Americans increasingly began to use electric amplification for the guitar, harp, double bass, and a crude PA system for the vocals.

The sound of a kora resembles that of a harp, though when played in the traditional style, it bears a closer resemblance to flamenco and delta blues guitar techniques.

Lemmy has occasionally played electric or acoustic guitar, notably on the acoustic song " I Ain't No Nice Guy " from Motörhead's March Ör Die album, the title track on 1996's Overnight Sensation, " Limb from Limb " on Overkill ( on which he plays the second lead break ), " Boogeyman " on Rock ' n ' Roll, and a mouth harp on " Whorehouse Blues " from the Inferno album.

Its size can vary greatly from a harp that can be played in one's lap to a full-size harp that is placed on the floor

Uaithne, also known as " the Four Angled Music ", was a richly ornamented magic harp made of oak which, when the Dagda played it, put the seasons in their correct order ; other accounts tell of it being used to command the order of battle.

" Chico's own piano composition " I'm Daffy Over You " would be played again in their next feature film, Monkey Business, by Harpo on the harp.

When music on two staves is joined by a brace, or is intended to be played at once by a single performer ( usually a keyboard instrument or the harp ), a great stave ( BrE ) or grand staff ( AmE ) is created.

When playing the piano or harp, the upper staff is normally played with the right hand and the lower staff with the left hand.

Bragi is shown with a harp and accompanied by his wife Iðunn in this 19th-century painting by Nils Blommér.

Bragi, holding a harp, sings before his wife Iðunn ( 1895 ) by Lorenz Frølich.

David plays the lyre ( depicted here as a harp ) to the king " tormented by an evil spirit.

Prescriptive attempts to distinguish the glissando from the portamento by limiting the former to the filling in of discrete intermediate pitches on instruments like the piano, harp, and fretted stringed instruments have run up against established usage of instruments like the trombone and timpani.

Later, a second row of hooks was installed along the neck to allow for the double-action pedal harp, capable of raising the pitch of a string by either one or two half steps.

" The strings run in two divided ranks making it a double harp, they do not end in a soundboard but are held in notches on a bridge making it a bridge harp, they originate from a string arm or neck and cross a bridge directly supported by a resonating chamber making it a lute too.

Many other scales, both diatonic and synthetic, can be obtained by adjusting the pedals differently from each other ; also, many chords in traditional harmony can be obtained by adjusting pedals so that some notes are enharmonic equivalents of others, and this is central to harp technique.

Harpist Elaine Christy plays with both hands approaching the strings from either side of the harp ; foot pedals ( not shown ) can change the pitch of specific strings by a half step.

The harp found its early orchestral use in concerti by many baroque and classical composers ( Handel, J. C. Bach, Mozart, Albrechtsberger, Schenck, Dussek, Spohr ) and in the opera houses of London, Paris and Berlin and most other capitals.

There is a prominent harp part in " She's Leaving Home " by The Beatles in their 1967 album Sgt.

In the 1970s, a harp was common in popular music, and can be heard in such hits as Cher's " Dark Lady ", the intro of " Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves ", and " Boogie Nights " by Heatwave.

The Teifi semi tone developed by Allan Shiers is a development from traditional mechanisms and nips up the string with two forks similarly to a concert harp.

The Triangular Frame harp is depicted in sculpture from the 8th century Pictish stones in Scotland and in manuscripts ( i. e. the Utrecht Psalter ) from the early 9th century France.

Evidence for the triangular harp in Pictish Scotland dates from the 9th century.

The harp was adopted as a symbol of the Kingdom of Ireland on the coinage from 1542, and in the Royal Standard of King James ( VI of Scotland / I of England ) in 1603 and continued to feature on all English and United Kingdom Royal Standards ever since, though the styles of the harps depicted differed in some respects.

* The first European triangular harp designed by the Picts of Scotland.

The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom are " Quarterly, I and IV Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or England ; II Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules Scotland ; III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent Ireland ".

This Irish showband, with Morrison playing saxophone, guitar and harp, in addition to back-up duty on bass and drums, toured steamy clubs and US Army bases in Scotland, England, and Germany, often playing five sets a night.

The arms used in England were: Quarterly, I and IV, quarterly 1st and 4th Azure three fleurs de lys Or ( for France ), 2nd and 3rd Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or ( for England ); II Or a lion rampant within a tressure flory-counter-flory Gules ( for Scotland ); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent ( for Ireland, this was the first time that Ireland was included in the royal arms ).

As royal badges James used: the Tudor rose, the thistle ( for Scotland ; first used by James III of Scotland ), the Tudor rose dimidiated with the thistle ensigned with the royal crown, a harp ( for Ireland ) and a fleur de lys ( for France ).

The first and fourth quadrants represent the ancient Kingdom of England and contain three gold lions, ( or " leopards "), passant gardant on a red field ; the second quadrant represents the ancient Kingdom of Scotland and contains a red lion rampant on a gold field ; the third quadrant represents the ancient Kingdom of Ireland and contains a version of the gold harp from the coat of arms of Ireland on a blue field.

: Quarterly, first and fourth Gules, a three towered castle Or, masoned Sable and ajouré Azure ( for Castile ), second and third Argent, a lion rampant Purpure ( blazoned Gules ) crowned Or ( for León ), enté en point ; Argent, a pomegranate proper seeded Gules, supported, sculpted and leafed in two leaves Vert ( for Granada ), overall an inescutcheon Azure a bordure Gules, three fleurs-de-lys Or ( for Bourbon-Anjou ); impaled with quarterly, first and fourth Gules three lions passant gardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure ( for England ), second quarter Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules ( for Scotland ), third quarter Azure a harp Or stringed Argent ( for Ireland ), overall an inescutcheon quarterly, first and fourth Azure a lion rampant barry of ten argent and gules, armed or a bordure compony Argent and Gules ( for Hesse, modified ), second and third Argent, two pallets Sable ( for Battenberg ), a bordure Gules charged with eight lions passant gardant Or armed and langued Azure ( for England ).

The replacing ident started with the four sections of the saltire coloured red, yellow, blue and white merging to form a white diamond from which the saltire emerges upon a light blue background accompanied by a harp version of the Scotland the Brave jingle.

The oldest forms of music in Scotland are theorised to be Gaelic singing and harp playing.

Modern harpists have been encouraged by the use of the Celtic harp in Scotland, Ireland and Brittany, and include Quico Comesaña and Rodrigo Romaní.

Cultural icons in Scotland have changed over the centuries, e. g., the first national instrument was the Clarsach or Celtic harp until it was replaced by the Highland pipes in the 15th century.

On 4 November 2006 Cutler, Jon Rose ( violin ) and Zeena Parkins ( harp ) performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov, at the Glasgow City Halls in Glasgow, Scotland.

In paying homage to Scottish tradition ( although the composer never visited Scotland ), Bruch's composition gives a prominent place to the harp in the instrumental accompaniment to the violin.

However, the modern versions of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland used both in Scotland and elsewhere, and also the coat of arms of Canada, continue to feature an Irish harp in order to represent Northern Ireland.

Since 1603 the Royal coat of arms as they have appeared in Scotland have undergone numerous changes, however since 1837 the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland have remained unchanged ; showing the lion of Scotland in the first and fourth quarters of the shield, with those of England in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third.