McNeela 12 String Baby Harp

The McNeela 12 String Baby Harp is a miniature lever harp, perfect for aspiring harpists. This beautiful instrument can serve as a starter instrument, or can be played long into your harp journey. Its compact size means you can take it anywhere!

With just 12 strings, spanning a one and a half octave range, the McNeela Baby Harp is ideal for learning the basics of traditional Irish music. You can focus on perfecting your right hand melody playing, developing finger dexterity, navigating the levers and mastering basic technique, before moving on to a 27 or 34 string harp.

The McNeela miniature Irish harp will help you take those all important first steps, helping you on your way to becoming a master of the Irish harp. With its carved beechwood body, this stunning instrument is an ideal gift for the Irish music lover in your life.

Features of the McNeela Baby Harp:

• Miniature Irish folk harp
• Traditional design
• 12 strings
• 12 levers
• 1.5 octaves
• Height: 20"
• Nylon strings
• Beechwood body & soundboard
• Colour coded strings & levers
• Tuning wrench
• Great for travel and busking
• Choose from a Natural Wood finish or a lush Forest Green finish.

Bonus Features:

• Free harp case with carry handle included 

Think the baby harp is just a toy?

Listen to O'Carolan's Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór and Carrickfergus played on a baby harp. 

This McNeela harp is perfectly suited to learning the basics of traditional Irish music. With 12 strings, spanning one and a half octaves, this harp is  smaller in stature than a full size harp, making it great for beginners or young harp players.

So if you want to learn to play the Irish harp, this is the starter instrument for you. It looks good, it sounds good, it’s expertly crafted from quality materials and best of all, thanks to its compact size you can bring it anywhere.

Strings

Despite its size, the strings are well spaced. This makes it incredibly easy to transition on to a new instrument in the future as the player will have learned the correct playing technique and movement right from the start.

Design

Much like a piano, the harp becomes part of the furniture, and this miniature harp, with its beautiful curved neck and bow and carved beechwood body, will make a beautiful addition to any room.

Sound

McNeela instruments are built to sound good right from their very first note, and our miniature Irish harp is no exception. This harp has a bright, clear resonant tone, and it holds its tuning well so you won’t have to spend hours re-tuning your strings.

It’s important to start out on an instrument that sounds good as it will really give your playing a boost. It makes practising much easier and far more enjoyable when you like what you hear.

Value 

If there’s one thing we love at McNeela Instruments it’s making music accessible to everyone. We offer quality instruments at affordable prices, designed specifically with the needs of student musicians in mind, and now we’ve set our sights on the Irish harp.

The Irish Harp

The harp is the oldest instrument within the Irish music tradition and has been played in Ireland for over a thousand years. This iconic instrument serves as the national emblem of Ireland, and in 2019 it was inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, recognising its unique place in Irish music and cultural life.

Today the Irish harp is played by musicians all over the world.

What is a Baby Harp?

The baby harp is one of the smallest members of the harp family and is also known as a lap harp. Like the full size harp it is a chordophone instrument that is played by plucking one or more strings with the fingers.

Baby harps are similar in appearance and playing technique to the full size harp - the main difference is its smaller size and range. Baby harps usually measure approximately 21 inches (53.34 cm) in height, and feature only 12 strings. This gives the baby harp a range of roughly one and a half octaves.

The McNeela Baby Harp is fully levered, allowing for easy changes of key, and chromaticism. 

Good to Know:

• 14 day money back guarantee from the day you receive the McNeela Baby Harp. See our Shipping & Returns Policy.
• One year warranty. All our new harps offer a one year guarantee for parts and service.
• If purchased before 12pm (Monday-Friday), we ship it the same business day.