The Lap Harp is a great introduction to stringed instruments.
My daughter received a lap harp for her birthday from a thrift store, and it's an awesome instrument. The sad part is, silly her mother placed it up on a shelf for a couple of months before finally buying a $3 tuner. Once that glitch was out of the way (It's so much better to play instruments that are in tune!), we have been having a lot of fun playing the lap harp.
Because I didn't have any sheet music to go with it, I decided to create my own, placing the notes on color-coded bands that match the general colors of our website. I also made a blank template that only has the colored bands as a guide so they can read music and play from color-coded music. My own kids have played songs from our own songbooks as well as music from Preschool Prodigies.
An Instrument for Everyone!
One of my favorite things about the lap harp is that it is very easy to get started. One does not need to be able to read music to play a large variety of music. Simply slide customized sheet music underneath the harp and pluck the strings above the notes.
Playing the correct rhythms can be done either by ear in the case of familiar songs, or by reading rhythmic notation if they are familiar with it. Young children, senior citizens, and special needs individuals are perfectly able to enjoy this instrument, as well as anyone else. I love how it gives children meaningful exposure to pitch, introduces them to stringed instruments, and gives them one more outlet for musical expression.
I've noticed that a lot of homeschooling programs and catalogs include Lap Harps and specialized music, which is how our family was introduced to them. While one can certainly devote oneself to a serious study of harp music through premium instruments like the Zither, and many individuals have gone on to learn the classic harp after playing an instrument like this, my favorite use for the Lap Harp is as an educational toy. Sure, I don't store it in the toy box, but this is an instrument that I don't keep up on a high shelf, and I don't require the children to practice the Lap Harp. I personally think the Lap Harp's best use is as a serious (but still fun!) toy for those who wish to give their children an educational environment. It has served that purpose well for us through the years.
Enter below to win a lap harp!
Enter to win a lap harp (that comes with a tuner!) below. This is a lower-end lap harp, but will be sturdy enough for children to use it. We had similar-quality lap harps as I was growing up and we had a lot of fun with them. The winner will also get a collection of 10 color-coded printables from our members area. We will be running the giveaway through the month of February, 2017.
Learn more about the lap harp we chose for the winner on Amazon.
(This video will give you an idea of how the Lap Harp works, but is not the same model as our giveaway.)
It’s good to see you back! I never thought about introducing a lap harp to my kids, but what a great idea! I love that you’ve created color coded music too!
Yeah, I took a little Christmas break, then a “kids are sick” break, but I’m still here! Glad you are too!
It looks awesome. I remember playing these in elementary school.
I love this instrument. It is a great way to introduce kids to strings,
I think this is one of the neatest musical instruments that i have ever seen for children, especially younger children. I absolutely love that this is not something insanely loud like a drum. lol i actually appreciate that very much. I think my daughter would really enjoy the music and creating the sounds herself. i think my son would be very intrigued about how it works, he’s much more mechanical. I love the entire idea and product! i had never heard of it before and I thank you for sharing it!
My Sunday School teacher had a lap harp when I was a pre-schooler. We all thought she walked on water for being able to play our favorite songs on it, right in our classroom. Reading this, it just hit me that now my oldest child is the same age I was then. Oh my.
I love teaching my students and seeing their excitement when they learn a song. Thank you for sharing this opportunity!
This is a great way to get children excited about music. Thank you for this opportunity!
Love it-thx so much!!
I think my granddaughters would like this.
I love the Lap Harp. It a nice sized instrument that can be played anywhere. I like that you can slide sheet music underneath the harp to help the player play a song. My girls would really enjoy it.
I remember seeing these in catalogs when I was younger, and it always ended up on my Christmas wish list. I never got one (which is totally fine–I got other instruments for Christmas). Because there is specific sheet music for the lap harp, I think this would be incredible for the confidence of some of my students when they play some of the classroom instruments.
I think the lap harp is a great instrument for children!
I love this! This looks like a wonderful tool to teach my sons music!
I find this very interesting and think my children would love learning to play songs on the lap harp.
The Lap Harp is a very cool and the perfect size!
I love that it’s the perfect size for kids. Most instruments are too big for the smaller children and become too difficult to hold, but this looks just right! My students will love it!
I remember playing an autoharp in my earlier days. Being a portable instrument, the sounds gathered many of us near to sing and perform. I have fond memories of music making being so much fun! Thanks for this wonderful opportunity. Best wishes to all!
I think the lap harp looks like a lot of fun! My daughter is interested in guitar and this might be a good place for her little fingers to find the dexterity.
I love adding new instruments to our collection! This looks like the perfect add this year, portable and lots of fun!
It looks awesome. My niece would love it.
I’ve never played a lap harp before but it would be a great addition for my nieces. They are both beginning to play the ukulele and I can see how great this would be for them. Thanks for the chance.
I think the lap harp is terrific. I Iove the sound of harps.
I really like it!
I think it’ really cool. My grandkids would love it. They like anything musical so this would be great.
Oh this is so neat! I have not seen one before, oh we would have so much fun with this! We love to play musical instruments! So fun for the whole family!
I had one when I was a kid, and I loved it!
i think the lap harp is really cool and something my kids would love!
I think it is very unique! My nephew would LOVE it.
I love this! Such a great instrument for my son to learn on!
I think this would be a lot of fun! My sister actually had one of these growing up. 🙂
This would be an easy way for children to make beautiful music!
I think this is something my grandson would enjoy, he is always trying to make music on anything that makes a sound.
I think my grandson would love this and so would I
I think it is fascinating and I would love if one or both of my kids would be interested in learning to play a lap harp.
I think the lap harp is a handy instrument that my grandkids would love 2 learn to play.
I love the lap harp. I would love to see one of my grandkids pick it up!
I love the arts and this is the coolest instrument I have seen.
This looks like a great way for kids to learn about music.
I think that the Lap Harp sounds like a blast.
How much fun! Thanks for the walk diwn memory kane to the days i homeschooled my own littles! I have two little grand-daughters, now, that would enjoy a lap harp!
This is awesome!
It looks like such a wonderful instrument for children to learn about music with! Because it is also small and portable, I think it would be especially appealing.
I think the lap harp is amazing great instrument for the kids to play and so enjoy hours of fun making music
I love this lap harp. This would be great for my granddaughter. Thanks!
I think this is an awesome idea! It’s also educational. This would be awesome for both of my children to learn from!
I think it would provide a super way of getting a child interested in music.
I saw this, and I think thatthe Lap Harp instrument would have been just great for my grandchildren. to use.
I believe that my grandchildren could really have used this Lap Harp instrument to learn about music with, too.
I have this lap harp (nepenenoyka but I am missing the music. Would you please send me what I need to purchase the music? I want this for my grandson who shows a lot of interest in music.
Hello Barbara! Our lap harp music and colored insert printables are here: https://www.teaching-children-music.com/course/10-lapharp-songs/
Thank you for your interest! I hope he enjoys it. 🙂