HARP UNDER WATER
The attractive harpist who is shown above comfortably submerged in 5 feet of water is illustrating one of science’s newest gifts to music: the underwater harp. This invention is not as silly as it might seem. Ever since David first serenaded King Saul, harpists have been at the mercy of moisture. Damp days changed the tune of their strings, mostly made of gut, and sometimes even caused them to snap . This problem was not solved until Melville Clark, a harp manufacturer of Syracuse, N.Y. who is a harpist himself and used to accompany Tenor John McCormack, developed strings made of nylon. These not only outwore the gut strings but also successfully resisted the elements.
Recently Clark went himself one better, produced a completely waterproof Irish harp and induced the NBC Symphony’s pretty harpist, Elaine Vito, to plunge into a glass tank with it. Miss Vito had a difficult time staying under water because both she and the harp showed a tendency to float. She did stay down long enough to pluck a few aquatic arpeggios and to prove to her satisfaction that the harp definitely withstood wetting. It had kept its tune and showed, as she put it, “an enchanting liquid tone.” Mr. Clark has already begun preparing to go into mass production and he expects his new harp to sell for $99.50. “It will be ideal,” he says, “to accompany bathtub singers.”
Notes
bigbadhodad-blog liked this latterdayrudy reblogged this from retrozone
aihasu liked this
isaywaterlemon liked this
britishpianochick reblogged this from retrozone
tamrix reblogged this from retrozone
young-tender-blog reblogged this from retrozone
deepak0430 liked this
namelessbullet liked this
brassman388 liked this
ksink42-blog liked this
bigmima liked this 8sandcastles liked this
ecdysozoa liked this
musthavesav reblogged this from red---rum
red---rum reblogged this from retrozone
birdsonwind reblogged this from retrozone
blueguitar reblogged this from retrozone
kiddmunster-blog reblogged this from retrozone
darkarcadian-blog reblogged this from retrozone
- fuzzybuttons-blog liked this
xxxxxxxlfaith liked this
cyrusbieber2012-blog liked this
retrozone posted this - Show more notes