Profession harp maker

Harp makers create and assemble parts to create harps according to specified instructions or diagrams. They sand wood, measure and attach strings, test quality of strings and inspect the finished instrument.

Personality Type

• Enterprising / Conventional
• Realistic / Artistic

Knowledge

• Metalworking

  The process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large-scale structures.

• Types of strings

  Vibrating elements that generate sounds in string instruments. They can be classified into two categories, namely the decorative and the wound strings, and they can be made of different materials such as steel, gut, silk or nylon. Winding materials include aluminium, chrome steel, silver, gold and copper.

• Musical instruments

  The different musical instruments, their ranges, timbre, and possible combinations.

• Musical instruments materials

  The characteristics of composite materials, felts, glues, leathers and skins, metals and precious metals, woods and wood derivatives to create musical instruments.

• Tuning techniques

  Tuning pitches and techniques and musical temperaments for the various instruments.

Skills

• Sand wood

  Use sanding machines or hand tools to remove paint or other substances from the surface of the wood, or to smoothen and finish the wood.

• Assemble musical instrument parts

  Assemble parts together such as the body, strings, buttons, keys, and others to create the final musical instrument.

• Tune stringed musical instruments

  Tune any parts of stringed musical instruments that are off-key, by using various tuning techniques.

• Create musical instrument parts

  Design and create parts such as keys, reeds, bows, and others for musical instruments.

• Repair musical instruments

  Attach new strings, fix frames or replace broken parts of musical instruments.

• Apply a protective layer

  Apply a layer of protective solutions such as permethrine to protect the product from damage such as corrosion, fire or parasites, using a spray gun or paintbrush.

• Create smooth wood surface

  Shave, plane and sand wood manually or automatically to produce a smooth surface.

• Decorate musical instruments

  Create designs on musical instruments by using methods such as embossing, piercing, painting, woodworking, weaving, and other methods.

• Produce harp components

  Choose the appropriate tonewood and other materials and tools, and build the different harp parts such as the column, sound board, pedals, tuning pins and strings.

• Manipulate wood

  Manipulate the properties, shape and size of wood.

• Maintain musical instruments

  Check and maintain musical instruments.

• Restore musical instruments

  Restore old musical instruments to their original condition and conserve them in that state.

• Join wood elements

  Bind wooden materials together using a variety of techniques and materials. Determine the optimal technique to join the elements, like stapling, nail, gluing or screwing. Determine the correct work order and make the joint.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB