Harp Guitar & Related Articles
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PDF Articles PDFs can be accessed here or from Gregg Miner's Academia.edu page. Original format Web articles here All articles by Gregg Miner, unless otherwise noted |
| History (Organology, Terminology & Timelines) | |
| What is a Harp Guitar? My original web site thesis that addressed the complex topic for the first time. |
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"Harp Guitar":
What's In a Name This paper surveys the wide variety of instruments collectively known today as harp guitars. It examines the group from a modern organological viewpoint, and includes an overview of historical forms and configurations. Additionally, it investigates the provenance and conflicting definitions of the term "harp guitar," which has been unsystematically applied to various plucked stringed instruments for over two centuries. In addition to analyzing and comparing these instruments, this paper examines the large number of harp guitars that have been known by many other names. Finally, justification for new terminology and modern organology will be given, as well as a consolidated modern definition. |
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"Harp Guitar" Labeling: Have I Created a
Monster? An Exercise in Context and Perspective A "real world" case of determining proper labeling of harp guitars and related instruments for museums and others. |
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Super-Treble
Strings: To Infinity and Beyond In which I explore the fascinating history and evolution of non-bass harp strings incorporated into guitars to form harp guitar variants. |
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Floating Strings: The Remarkable Story of the
Harp Guitar in America Museum of Making Music, 2017 Our accompanying exhibit book - the history of the harp guitar in the U.S. and beyond. |
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Some Truths About Lyres An organological re-examination of lyre forms of plucked stringed instruments. (HInt: They are NOT all "guitars.") |
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The History and Organology of the Modern
Archguitar The first modern organology for the instruments with this name. |
| Instruments (Specific Historical Makers & Inventors) | |
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The Guitarpa The re-discovery of the incredible Gallegos Guitarpa! |
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Charpentier, Munchs & Louis: The Guitare-multicorde a Harp Guitar 190
Years Ahead of Its Time Unlocking the mystery of the Guitare-multicorde in the Brussels Musical Instrument Museum. |
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The Harp Guitars of Mario Maccaferri The complete story of the distinguished career and rare harp guitars of Mario Maccaferri. |
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Harp Guitar at Half-Mast The unique harp guitar instruments of Mast and son. |
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Norwegian Wood The Incredible Imagination and Instruments of Chris Knutsen are fully explored in the 90-page accompanying book to Gregg Miner's groundbreaking 2018 album. |
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Dyer Symphony Harp Mandolins The complete history of the line of Harp Mandolins and the Symphony Harp Plectral Ensemble built by the Larson brothers for W. J. Dyer & Bro. |
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Cracking the Dyer DNA Code Sometimes a single historical photograph can provide the final smoking gun to settle questions in musical instrument research. In this case, it confirmed the circa date of the earliest W. J. Dyer & Bro. harp guitar in America. |
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Delving into the Vagaries and Mysteries of Early Gibson Guitar Strings An examination of strings used on Gibson guitars, mandolins and harp guitars in the early 1900s. |
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Weymann
Harp Guitars Exploring the extant harp guitars of the unsung American guitar manufacturer H. A. Weymann & Son company of Philadelphia. |
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A Vega Harp
Guitar Examining the sole surviving harp guitar by Boston's Vega Company. |
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Altpeter's Harp Guitar Patent and Double-Harp Ukulele A look at the patent and sole surviving instrument - a double-harp-ukulele - of harp guitar inventor Franz Altpeter of Chicago, Illinois, with additional images and information from his descendants. |
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The Behee Lyric Harp Guitar The fascinating multi-generational story of the Behee family and the Lyric Harp Guitar. |
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The Weird and
Wonderful World of Bowed Zithers German and Austrian "bowed zithers" were at one time a popular and very common instrument. Here, I showcase those in the Miner Museum. |
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Stanford White's Musical Instrument Treasures A look at the rare musical instruments collected by infamous architect Stanford White. |
| Players (Historical) | |
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Walter A. Boehm, the Gibson Harp Guitar and Their Influence on America's
BMG Community The most well-known harp guitar player of America's early BMG movement, Boehm is virtually unknown today, even though he created the tunings for the Gibson Company's harp guitars. |
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Carl Jansen: American Harp Guitarist The career and instruments of early American harp guitarist Carl Jansen |
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The James Shaw Family A Hawaiian Musical Dynasty Part 1 The first chapter of the incredible story of James Shaw and his musical family in Hawaii and America explores his famous colleagues and their appearances at early World Fairs. |
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The James Shaw Family A Hawaiian Musical Dynasty Part 2 Part 2 explores the Shaw family, which for several decades made music together and separately. |
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The James Shaw Family A Hawaiian Musical Dynasty Part 3 This final chapter highlights some of the Shaw family's many musical friends and colleagues, both known and unidentified. |
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America's Harp Guitar Playing Evangelist
Preacher Southern Gospel Singers An investigation into the careers and use of the Gibson harp guitar by Alfred G. Karnes and J. Warren Lowman. |
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Peruvian Harp Guitarists The stories of two obscure harp guitarists from early 20th century Peru. |
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Hermann Walecki's Hollywood Harp World The harpist friends of Hermann Walecki, music store icon of 1930s-1960s Los Angeles. |
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