The Reverie Harp: soothing and relaxing musicotherapy

The Reverie Harp is not an Harp itself, it's a kantele or gusli like instrument (more than an harp should be related to zithers or psaltery) but it is itself  a groundbreaking new instrument invented and designed by Music Makers in Minessota (USA) along with australian music thanatologist Peter Roberts. An instrument  that's opening doors to musicians and non-musicians alike, providing soothing music therapy with little or no practice or training because of being tuned to pentatonic (five-tone) scale all notes are in harmony to create pleasant melodies when strumming its . With no wrong notes it i's very simple to  play  it and render a heavenly enchanting  penetrating and in words of many healing sound wether plucking individual or multiple strings, strumming or even hammering with  dulcimer hammers and other tools. Thus the Reverie Harp® is quickly being embraced in children's hospitals, chemotherapy units, maternity wards, surgery recovery, hospice centers and by music therapists as a music therapy tool to calm and comfort patients to soothe stress becoming a must-have a must-have tool for music therapists, visitation ministers/chaplains, activity directors, and nursing homes care-givers.

The instrument comes with a tuning template (standard tuning is pentatonic scale C but others are available) and a tuning wench  (you may need to buy or have an electronic tuner to assist you in this task).  They also provide padded gig bags, instructional materials and other accessories you may need for your instrument.  The official site is from the instrument creators Music Makers but is commercialized worldwide by Harp kit

If you're lucky you can find it often reverie harps in ebay too, sometimes with slightly cheaper auctions or second hand.

The instrument  has a solid cherry  timber frame and solid red wood mahogany soundboard providing a great quality to the sound but is small (50x32cm)l, lightweight (4 lbs/ 1.80 Kg) and easy to hold with no sharp edges and it features a lovely carved tree rosette making it also pretty to look at. It's smooth, egg-like shape is inviting and designed to be held on a lap or shared between two players, such as a music therapist and patient.   With 22 wire strings its unique design requires no skill to play, yet produces beautiful,   soothing harmonies with the stroke of a finger.  Easy to hold, easy to play. Small stringed instruments like the kantele, the lap harps (both of which we previously covered here in our Cool Music instrument blog), or the reverie harp are known worldwide because of its ability to calm and relax both the player and listener and convey really deep emotion in a very easy way.

The Reverie Harp® (reverie means a state of daydream or meditation)  is a universal instrument that requires no practice or musical training because it is tuned to a pentatonic (five-tone) scale in which all notes harmonize to create pleasing melodies. As a result, there are no wrong notes to play and people are captivated by this simple instrument. Care-givers from around the world are sharing stories of how this new instrument is helping people relax, restore, and relate.

Useful links:

-How to tune your Reverie Harp (video)

-Reverie Harp playing Techniches (video)

-Reverie harp kit (PDF): document explaining  how to assemble the kit if you purchase the kit instead of the built instrument. (which is cheaper if you're crafty it is a 10-15 hours project and requires some tools)