The harp guitar is a type of stringed instrument that is similar to a regular guitar. It has extra strings that are not pressed against the fretboard and can be plucked individually. The name "harp guitar" comes from the way these extra strings look, similar to the strings on a harp. A harp guitar must have at least one string that is not fretted and lies outside the main fretboard, usually played as an open string.

This group of instruments includes many different designs. American harp guitars often have hollow arms, double necks, or frame-like structures to hold extra bass strings. European harp guitars, also called contraguitars, are another type. Other harp guitars have additional strings in the treble or mid-range areas, or multiple sets of floating strings combined with a standard guitar neck.

Electric harp guitars

Most people who play harp guitars use acoustic instruments, but some also use electric ones. Well-known musicians who play electric harp guitars include Tim Donahue, who uses a fretless guitar section, and Michael Hedges. American musician William Eaton both creates and plays electric harp guitars. The Japanese noise band Solmania made their own harp guitars. Yuri Landman designed a 17-string electric harp guitar for Finn Andrews of The Veils. This instrument has an extra movable bridge on the harp section, which lets players adjust the pitch of the harp part to be higher or lower.

Players

Historical harp guitar players include Polish guitarist and expert Marek Konrad Sokołowski (1818-1884), German composers and guitarists Adam Darr (1811–1866) and Eduard Bayer (1822–1908), and Italian experts Pasquale Taraffo (1887–1937), Mario Maccaferri, Italo Meschi (1887-1957), and Luigi Mozzani. Viennese and French experts who often played instruments with extra, floating bass strings include Carulli, Coste, Giuliani, Mertz, Padovec, and Sor.

English guitarist John McLaughlin played a harp guitar, especially with the group Shakti, and often used the harp strings to create sounds inspired by Indian music, such as long, sustained notes and open chords. Michael Hedges sometimes used a harp guitar from the 1920s, like in his song "Because It's There."

Andy McKee plays a harp guitar in some of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" and "The Friend I Never Met," the latter of which honors Hedges' song "Because It's There." Robbie Robertson of The Band used a harp guitar on the main theme for their concert film The Last Waltz and is shown playing the song on the instrument in the film's final scene. Don Alder uses the harp guitar in songs like "Sayonara.calm" and "Man from Ladylane," a song dedicated to Stephen Bennett, founder of the Harp Guitar Gathering and a leading modern harp guitar player. Antoine Dufour occasionally uses the instrument, such as in his song "Paroxysm."

Oleg Timofeyev mainly plays a traditional Russian seven-string guitar with floating sub-bass strings. American harp-guitarist Gregg Miner owns the world's largest collection of harp guitars ("The Miner Museum") and manages harpguitars.net, a website focused on teaching about and promoting harp guitars. With Stephen Bennett, he has organized, attended, and recorded every Harp Guitar Gathering since it began.

Alfred Karnes (1891–1958) was a singer and guitarist who performed Old-time Country and Southern Gospel music. He recorded songs like "I'm Bound for the Promised Land" and "To the Work" during the famous Bristol Sessions in 1927. His recordings are the only known examples of the harp-guitar being used in Old Time Music.

(in alphabetical order)

Gallery

• A Gibson harp guitar is shown on the left.
• Harp guitars are displayed at the Museum of Making Music.
• Several different models are on display.
• A Dyer Style 8 model from around 1915.
• A harp guitar is on display in Berlin.
• A model created by Severino Riva in 1911.
• An electric harp guitar made by Finn Andrews.