The violin, viola, cello and double bass each have four strings, but the harp has 47!
As well as plucking complicated patterns with both hands on the strings, a harp player uses seven foot pedals to change the pitch of its strings.
The harp is a member of the string family. In the orchestra, it can play the melody, or it can play beautiful chords to fill out the harmony. It can also provide different textures to the sound by the plucking the strings, or by rapidly running fingers across the strings.
The harp is one of the oldest instruments in the world. Wall paintings of ancient Egyptian
tombs dating back to 3,000 BC show an instrument that closely resembles the harp.