Description

The harp is a stringed musical instrument which has a number ofindividual strings running at an angle to its soundboard, which areplucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity inAsia, Africa, and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3500BCE. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during theMiddle Ages and Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide varietyof variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe'scolonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America. Whilesome ancient members of the harp family died out in the Near Eastand South Asia, descendants of early harps are still played inBurma and in Sub-Saharan Africa, while other defunct variants inEurope and Asia have been revived by musicians in the modern era.