TETRAHARP

TETRAHARP

The “TETRAHARP” (aka “New World Harp” or “Pyramid Harp”) is a three-sided triangular harp that Tymon designed and first started building back in 1984. The instrument apparently made it’s first appearance on stage with Tymon’s new band The Quikening at their March 21st 2006 Spitz gig in London. From an August 2007 email, Tymon said this about the instrument: "I first started building this instrument in 1984 when I was cat-sitting for Paloma (Palmolive) who had given up drumming in the Slits and gone to the States for a visit with her new husband Dave. I told him I had an idea for a new instrument and he said 'we've got a lot of wood in our shed, get on with it mate!' The development of the tuning changed up until 1992. It marries rhythm and melody in the same way as African Kalimbas and Marimbas do. The thought behind it was to make an instrument to blend many chords and in building it I discovered the power of shape." The instrument has been said to sound like a cross between a harp and a twelve-string acoustic. The following illustrated diagram and information further explain this instrument.

Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA (Audio excerpt from 9 Lives of Tymon Dogg, Merrill Aldighieri Copyright © 2008)

The tetrahedral harp is made with a metal or fibreglass tetrahedral frame for the strings, with a wooden or fibreglass tetrahedral sound box. Metal strings or gut strings are used according to the sound required. Many different tunings such as diatonic, pentatonic and chromatic can be applied to each of the three tetrahedral faces simultaneously. Wood, metal, or bone bridges between the tetrahedral sound box and the strings are used for a different or louder sound. A harmonium can be attached to the base as in Figure 4. where (10) shows this can have a chromatic keyboard or selection of harmonium reeds that can be set for continuous drones. The attachment is built into the base of the harp and can be powered by hand bellows or an electric pump. The harp is also an electric instrument which uses magnetic pick-ups or contact microphones placed at the base of the frame, or on in the sound box. Light beams pass through the frame from the base to the vertical sides. The space and shape where the tetrahedral sound box can be a synthesizer module. By breaking the light beams the notes are sounded. The multi-sided harp is formed from a tetrahedral frame (1-6) defining three harp faces and a tetrahedral sound box (8), located within the tetrahedral frame (1-6) and containing the triangular base thereof. Figure 1. – Illustrates the tetrahedral framework. Figure 2. – Shows the tetrahedral soundbox located within the framework of Figure 1. A tetrahedral sound box (8) is shown positioned within the tetrahedral frame with the sides of the tetrahedral sound box contacting the members (4), (5) and (6) define the base of the tetrahedral harp. Figure 3. – Shows one face of the tetrahedral harp with strings tuned to a diatonic scale. The instrument has also recently been affectionately called "Tymon's Toblerone" by "Vision of A Homeland: Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros" author and friend Ant Davies.