Professional Harpists Review HARP Scenes in Historical Dramas

Hannah Flowers and I are both professional harpists who work full-time as performers, teachers and arrangers of both lever and pedal harp. We also enjoy watching historical dramas!
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What did we miss in our reactions? Comment below!
Have a harp scene you'd like us to react to? Comment below! (Specific scenes, episodes, movie titles, etc. appreciated.) We are planning to do an episode on harps in TV episodes, and possibly a couple more on harp in various Fantasy/Sci-fi or animated contexts. Your suggestions are welcome.
HISTORICAL DRAMAS:
Little Dorrit (2008)
Persuasion (1995)
Dangerous Liasons (1988)
Outlander (2014) "The Way Out" Season 1, Episode 3
Mansfield Park (1999)
David Copperfield (1999)
The Little Colonel (1935)
Don't Lose Your Head (1967)
Dickenson (2019) "Wild Nights" Season 1, Episode 3
Bridgerton (2020) "An Affair of Honor" Season 1, Episode 4
Bridgerton (2020) "Capital R Rake" Season 2, Episode 1
Bridgerton (2020) "The Viscount Who Loved Me" Season 2, Episode 8
Downtown Abbey movie (2019)
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MUSIC
All the background harp music was recorded by Stephanie Claussen. Most of it is available on her albums (all major platforms) or her KZbin channel.

[@lisablythe3450]

“We do not send regards to her mother” 😂😂😂 you have made my day. Love the horrified looks

[@StephanieClaussen]

I'm so glad there are fellow Austen fans who can appreciate!

[@sirnamir1200]

Came here to say this XD

[@MaryJ-M]

Hilarious - thank you for that! Whenever I see someone in a movie' playing' a musical instrument I always try to figure out if they are truly playing it or faking it. You would think they would actually try to be accurate if faking it. Just a note about the sheet music stand on the right side of the harp where you look through the strings to read the music: I play that way the majority of the time. Got the idea on Harp Column. Someone said they first saw it when a concert harpist played that way on stage. Others that tried it all said they preferred it that way, so I had to try it. It is nice to not have to move your head between strings and music. Don't knock it until you try it!

[@StephanieClaussen]

Thanks for watching!! That's so interesting to me that you like playing with the music stand on the other side. I do end up playing that way occasionally in my students' harp lessons, when I'm playing with them, or demonstrating, but I really don't like it. Just goes to show there are lots of different ways to do things I guess. I appreciate you sharing!

[@lizziesmusicmaking]

My harp likes to break strings in the middle of the night. It's in my bedroom, so you get woken very suddenly by a musical gunshot noise.

[@hannahflowersharp]

It’s the most terrifying thing!

[@StephanieClaussen]

That has definitely happened to me too.

[@Parkerharps9966]

a) Welsh playing (Left shoulder) was in use by pedal harpsist as well as triple harpists well into the 20th C b ) Compound pedaling... I often fold a pedal up so I can move say F and A with the same foot at the same time. c) Sons Angelique d) 18th C stand placement d) Augé's méthode for the 'small harp' c. 1775 e) The origins of the Naderman thumb f) The harp 'of small stature' is a 'Grecian... it may be small now, but was the concert grand of the day... g) Bochsa gives instructio0ns in his 1814 méthode on how to oil your harp strings ( or rather how your servants can) )h) the harp in the Bridgerton dance scene is an Erard Gothic, which wasn't in production until 1836.... Have a look at the harp assassination scene in 'Our Man Flint'...

[@StephanieClaussen]

I was hoping you would comment! I'm especially interested in the Naderman thumb and 18th cent stand placement - I will have to look into these further! And I'll give that Bochsa method a look. I learn so much from the comments after making these videos and do very much appreciate it.

[@Parkerharps9966]

@@StephanieClaussen hello there.. so you see a number of paintings showing the stand, often a desk-type stand on a table, placed in such a way that the player would be reading through the strings... I know Rose Adelaide is only tuning in her self portrait, but this shows it.. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose-Ad%C3%A9la%C3%AFde_Ducreux#/media/File:Rose_adelaide_ducreux_color.jpg If you read 18th C méthodes, the first hand positions described, are with the thumb low, and the fingers more vertical, due to the the low tension on 18th C harps. It isn't until post 1785 that the left hand drops consistently, unless you are playing what Elouis calls 'Sons angelique' in which you play right up against the mechanism, giving a distant, but clear sound. Bochsa starts pushing string tensions up, and describing a position with the fingers very much down, and the thumb much higer, but it is Naderman in the 1830's who starts asking for the thumb-up fingers-down shape that would go on to be the basis for French technique described by Renié, Grandjany etc.... The Russian technique developed from the same basis and grew in in parallel, from French players traveling to the Court of St Petersburg. Salzedo is largely based on Challoner, and Horn, who describe sitting low, with the shoulder of the harp behind the head, rather than with the neck of the harp level with the lower part of the face, and with the elbows elevated. I have theories about position changiong as neck curve changes, and tension goes up, but also as the cut of costume changes... I'm convinced that Bochsa's 'harp on the bicep' position of 1814 is to do with corset bones....

[@hannahflowersharp]

@@Parkerharps9966 Oh this is fascinating! Thanks so much for commenting. There's so much to historical harp practice that so many of us don't know much of anything about. I love learning more from the expertise of others through these videos!

[@StephanieClaussen]

@@Parkerharps9966 Very interesting. I'd seen the portraits with music stands on the other side, but always assumed the artist had adjusted the scene so as not to obscure the harp! But at least one other harpist commented on this video that she also prefers to play with the stand on the other side, so I suppose there are all sorts of ways of doing things. Do you have any thoughts on whether the stand was always on the opposite side of the harp at that period, or perhaps simply not yet standardized?

[@Parkerharps9966]

@@StephanieClaussen definitely not standardized, but things change when you start getting into longer pieces, and you need to turn pages... then having the stand on the right side is an issue....

[@SarahWebb336]

I have to claw rather than close because of my disability, and it's always funny to see non-disabled characters playing my way

[@janetmyrick8063]

Good fun! Thanks for making this video and sharing it with us!

[@StephanieClaussen]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! We had fun making it.

[@cranberr1]

I appreciate you girls for making this video, and the commitment to wardrobe changes was fun to see

[@StephanieClaussen]

Thank you for watching! We have a lot of fun making them. 😊

[@yomo4u]

So fun! Thank you!

[@SharonCullenArt]

Hahaha 😂you only have them in December! Merry Christmas 🎄 It’s funny I watch Bridgerton and remember the scene but I was so focused on the women that I never even noticed that harpist before! And Downton Abbey, I wasn’t playing harp at the time! I just live these videos. They’re so much fun to laugh at.

[@hannahflowersharp]

It’s amazing how much you miss when just casually watching things. I’ve seen many of these movies but hadn’t taken time to truly break down exactly what’s wrong with the harp portrayal until now!

[@StephanieClaussen]

Thanks Sharon! I hadn't seen Bridgerton before; friends had told me roughly where the harp scenes were, but then I spent a lot of time just looking for harps. "Oh, there's one!" "No, that's a better angle there." It was fun.

[@shannonsharpstory]

Hilarious! You would think that a historical drama would at least TRY to be accurate! Love your commentary! More, please! 👏♥️

[@hannahflowersharp]

Thank you! We have plans for more. There’s just so many movies/shows to critique (and laugh at)!

[@StephanieClaussen]

So glad you enjoyed watching!

[@CurtisLoretta]

Great video!!!! I love these so much. Thank you !!

[@hannahflowersharp]

Thanks Loretta! We had a ball making it.

[@cackleberrycottage2340]

Poldark. Elizabeth plays the harp.

[@StephanieClaussen]

Ahh! I'm sad we missed that one!

[@paulabhagyam]

That was great! So funny. My eye specialist was wondering if I could put the harp on my left shoulder and my music on the right (for the benefit of my sight) - lol.

[@StephanieClaussen]

Oh funny. I've tried playing on the left shoulder just for fun and it's amazing how much mental and physical work it is to try mirror everything after 30 years of playing it the other way!

[@Denise-SA]

Bravi! Great review. Very entertaining with great 'points' brought out to watch for! Thank you for this humor and joy ~ with educational points.

[@StephanieClaussen]

I'm so pleased you enjoyed watching!

[@Svartalf14]

In the Dorrit wrong shoulder scene, I notice that even if she's not even finger synching the tune, at least she got her arms in the correct position, consdering she's playing left handed. and I did not even notice the pedals, I never graduated to classical harp.

[@StephanieClaussen]

You are right about the arms - it definitely makes sense to have the arm that's wrapping around the harp to play the upper notes, and the free arm to play the lower notes. :)

[@melora-on-harp]

I laughed so hard. You two are hilarious! 😂 The worst was seeing the downward glissando while hearing the upward arpeggio.

[@StephanieClaussen]

Right?

[@thepost-itchronicles8217]

This made me laugh! Love the comment about random strings breaking and scaring the heck out of you. Had two go in one night and thought I was suddenly under attack. 🤣

[@StephanieClaussen]

They can be scary!

[@elainechambers7375]

Last time a string broke, I almost had to peel my cat off the ceiling!

[@glendaallaway]

This is such a fun video!! Aside from the first one, Bridgerton always get real harpists now ✨ But in scenes with talking they always slacken the strings so much so it doesn’t interfere with capturing a clean vocal audio. Even as a harpist, it makes it SO hard to mime convincingly! 😅

[@StephanieClaussen]

Yay for real harpists! And that makes total sense about lowering the tension on the strings. I know how hard it is to play a badly-out-of-tune harp and strings that are actually loose would make that even worse! (You sound like you have first-hand experience - have you played harp on Bridgerton or other film sets? How cool!)

[@tomiskind]

Fun post thanks! Did not notice anything you missed. I tend to catch lots of incorrect or unlikely things in movies and would have notebooks full if I wrote them all down. Only one that comes to mind is Roman soldiers are always shown using stirrups, which they never did. Keep smiling!

[@hannahflowersharp]

Haha that’s awesome!

[@StephanieClaussen]

While editing the video, I did actually notice some things we missed about the harps - we might need to do a little follow-up video!

[@tomiskind]

@@StephanieClaussen What? I thought I was the only one who missed stuff! Actually any number of follow-ups would be a treat. You guys are a great team; I still laugh remembering your "Musical Harps" at the renfest!

[@lauriejones5546]

What about Harpo Marx? I know he didn’t appear in historical movies (just hysterical), but I became interested in playing the harp after watching him. He could play, although he couldn’t read music.

[@StephanieClaussen]

Yes! We loved reviewing him in our vintage harp scenes video. :)

[@tiffanyharpandsong]

Oh good we needed another one of these!! Lol. Delightful. If you are doing one on Fantasy/Sci-Fi maybe do Thor: Love and Thunder! The harpist in Zeus' court is actually a harpist, and it cracked me up that he kept playing while all the mayhem was going on. A true harpist at a gig!

[@hannahflowersharp]

I thought the same thing when I saw the new Thor movie in theaters. Stephanie hasn’t seen this one so I can’t wait to see her reaction. 😂

[@StephanieClaussen]

Yes! We will _definitely_ review the Thor movie.

[@acolleenjones]

This was great fun to watch!

[@tinovanderzwanphonocave544]

when you are a keyboardist (i play harpsichord) you tent to play the harp in mirror aka the hands are wrong in possition but i get sound out of the thing so whatever floats your boat go with it!

[@claireroche4486]

Ah the genius Harpists ! I play and sing with Erard Harps. I believe the second harp you featured is a Grecian Erard . I now perform with a ‘Gothic Erard’ dated circa 1820 or 1850. It is a pity that film makers do not research the way we play today , even if the actor can not , understandably, play the piece .

[@StephanieClaussen]

I would love to play an Erard someday! I saw a beautiful black and gold model for sale a couple years ago near me, but I just couldn't justify buying another harp.

[@claireroche4486]

@@StephanieClaussen I wish you great adventures Stephanie !

[@connieLo87365]

You ladies are amazing, this is great.

[@StephanieClaussen]

Thanks Connie - we appreciate you!

[@andreawittchen7821]

I really enjoy your videos. But in regards to the one where the string breaks, I wonder if you are aware that Peter Eagle, the harp professor at Indiana University in the early 70s, actually lost his eye when a wire string broke while he was tuning. A friend of mine who was his student told me that after that he always required that his students tune their wire strings from behind the harp so that if one broke, they would be protected. It was a little uncomfortable hearing you laugh about the harpist being hit by the broken string.

[@hannahflowersharp]

Oh my! No, I was not aware of that. What a horrible thing to happen! Thank you for telling us about it. Making these videos has been a wonderful way to learn from everyone who takes the time to comment and pass along their knowledge.

[@StephanieClaussen]

Hi Andrea. That's such a sobering thought. I'd never heard of someone actually being injured from a string breaking. Thanks for commenting!

[@kathydea]

These are great. Could you post a list of the movies you got these clips from--maybe next time in the credits?

[@StephanieClaussen]

I will add one in the description!

[@emblamiriam]

These are SO much fun to watch! Keep 'em coming, please!! If you are going to do a fantasy one, I seem to remember one of the Hobbit movies had some harp playing in it (when they are visiting the elves.) Not sure if it was an extended scene or not, though... I just remember the harp looked really.. interesting!

[@StephanieClaussen]

I have The Hobbit on my list!! I also thought that harp looked ... interesting. 😁

[@emblamiriam]

@@StephanieClaussen Yayy! Haha, I can’t wait to see your commentary on it! 😁🙈

[@hannahflowersharp]

Yes, we will definitely have to watch that scene!

[@emblamiriam]

@@hannahflowersharp 😀 Awesome!

[@CailynCara]

Ah yes the nasty weather change string snaps. I hate that sound. I will admit my strings are only 5/per though...

[@StephanieClaussen]

For me it's only the lower ones that are that expensive.

[@Aaron-xq6hv]

I didn't see a response about this, but for period Violins, Viols, etc the Oil for the Gut strings basically makes it so they are less susceptible to changes in humidity. I don't believe it would cause them to break or not, just that it makes them stay in tune better, though there are some issues with the oiling. (Not that I want to write a novel). You do tend to want to rosin your bow extra because of the Oil, not sure if this would really affect the harp.

[@StephanieClaussen]

You are the first to comment about the oil for gut strings! Thanks for the information. 🤩

[@suza.5306]

Hi Ladies - I have been dying to know what the song that Henriette plays in the 1995 Persuasion harp scene is (time stamp 1:28). Any ideas? Please let me know! Thank you!

[@StephanieClaussen]

It's lovely, isn't it? I don't recognize it.

[@suerichards7120]

Wasn't there a harp in the PBS series about Queen Victoria?

[@StephanieClaussen]

I see that there is! (I haven't gotten that far into watching the series yet.) Maybe Hannah and I will have to make a 2nd historical harp video. :)

[@hannahflowersharp]

@@StephanieClaussen Ooo I think a follow up may be necessary.

[@ShelleyE]

Love your analysis of harp playing in movies! Here's a historical question - in Bram Stoker's Dracula (with K Reeves, A. Hopkins, etc) @ 20min in there's a scene zoomed in on a harp. The C strings are green, the F strings are blue, and the rest are red. Is this stylistic or accurate to the time?

[@StephanieClaussen]

From what I've gathered from the harp community after Hannah and I made our vintage harp movie review, the green, blue and red string set was popular in the USA from the 1930s (?) to the late 1970s. All the Victorian harp photos are in black and white so it's hard to tell, but it seems to me that the harps at that time had the white, red and blue strings just based on the contrast. They were certainly using the white, red and blue strings at the beginning of the 1800s. It's a topic I'm really interested in, but am mostly going off of what people have told me, or what I can see in photos and paintings. :)

[@ShelleyE]

@@StephanieClaussen Very cool! This Dracula movie is in color, so I could see the string colors. (looked like a pro playing too)... so technically not a vintage film, although a vintage topic. Thx!

[@StephanieClaussen]

@@ShelleyE I guess the set design people must have purposefully been looking for a harp that looked older? Or else the harpist maybe still had her harp strung with those colors... I'm really curious now!

[@suerichards7120]

The Wurlitzer harp I played in the '50's had those colors. I was sad when it was changed to white.

[@tinovanderzwanphonocave544]

i had a string failure on my harpsichord 10 years ago it cut my scalp! string breaks arre dangerous!

[@StephanieClaussen]

Oh no! That sounds traumatic.

[@tinovanderzwanphonocave544]

@@StephanieClaussen it wasn;t just painful. stuff like that just happens when you are many hours at a big stringed instrument.

[@mesapdarecriminals0integri563]

1870s looks like an old single action

[@faithful2thecall]

Watching you ladies cringe at most of these scenes was quite amusing. You could do quite well as consultants for the entertainment industry, keeping them from having many of these cringe worthy moments.

[@hannahflowersharp]

Haha well thank you! We are waiting for our call from Hollywood to star as the harpists sitting in the corner of any upcoming movie or show. Preferably a costume drama, of course! 😂

[@StephanieClaussen]

I would be so excited if someone asked me to consult on a movie. (Or, as Hannah commented, to play harp in a movie!)

[@CurtisLoretta]

In the second clip, is it an Errard harp?

[@StephanieClaussen]

I feel so inept with my harp identification skills!

[@charpnatl]

Erard Grecian harps

[@richardgleichmann7671]

This is actually all just too painful to watch... LOL..

[@StephanieClaussen]

Haha!

[@Edmundgoins123]

Did you know that Celtic harp was traditionally played over the left shoulder? Perhaps you need a history lesson on the harp.

[@StephanieClaussen]

Yep! We talk about that a little bit in our other video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/enPSnZmPgrySmJY.

[@RonDelby]

I have been a left shoulder player for many years. You must know that in ancient Celtic times the harp the harp was played on the left shoulder, and I think it's snobby of you all to say it's the wrong shoulder. Do your history before you ever think you are a pro in what shoulder a person plays. There is no such thing as "wrong here. It appears you two make fun of folks...

[@StephanieClaussen]

I'm sorry you felt like we were making fun of people. Some people chose to play on the left and we are well aware of the historical precedent. That said, harps are designed to be either left shoulder harps or right shoulder harps and I do think it makes sense to play them accordingly. It results in better ergonomics, better access to levers, etc. People can do whatever they want, but it will always make me chuckle to watch actors playing a right shoulder harp on the left. Hope that helps.

[@RonDelby]

@@StephanieClaussen Thank you. I have played harp and accomplished a lot of hard to play songs. I did not mean to be so harsh, and I discovered your channel of a video you did with Celtic dancers in the woods. It hurt me some about the which shoulder issue, but Ann Heyman and Christy Lynn told me if I had played that long (1987) that I should continue on I am 73 years old. I think about it now, I had dyslexia growing up and words and even my harp playing is mirrored which dyslexia does that. The issue in the harp world has never addressed that. Peopl ask me which hand I write with, and I am a right-handed person. This has been a handicap in my learning the harp, but I have succeeded. I have tried right shoulder many times and it would be like you trying to play left shoulder. Try it and you will see what I mean. Dyslexia is a real thing and I believe that would be harpers tried the right shoulder technique and did not know that if they switched shoulders and they give up. I am glad you answered me and that means a lot. Perhaps people in the harp world should do some research on dyslexia. This might be a key to some striving harpers. Remember there are. reasons for everything before we speak. I know you are a good person, and I will continue to watch your videos. Do another woods Celtic one. I was amazed at it.

[@rondelby2482]

there you go again I have been told by harpists that if I play so called wrong shoulder and play good it does not matter. Im am unsubscribing because of the way you have treated left shoulder harp players..