JOHN KOVAC HARPS by DAVY C
Affordable Paraguayan-Styled Folk Harps, Kits & Plans!
Whether you desire an entry-level harp as a student, perhaps, as a harpist looking to upgrade from a tiny, portable or cardboard harp or, are looking for your Forever-Harp, you can find one here, just for you!
"You can play virtually any type of music on these harps, from classical, pop, Celtic, hymns, folk, country, blues, jazz, Latin, whatever." - Maestro John G. Kovac, Harpist & Harp-Maker, Harpmaking Made Simple
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* Harp Kits * ParaHarps * Books * Accessories & Hardware * Strings
Professional Reviews:
Maestro John G. Kovac: "Just a triangle with some strings!"
"John Kovac's approach to harp making is direct, cheerful, and simple... Building a harp of his design doesn't require a lot of time or woodworking skills. The brilliant sound of these harps rivals the best that can be found." - John Lozier, Harper, and Harpmaker - https://www.harpingforharmony.org/
"John Kovac's gift is his ability to simplify harp making; making the construction of this most difficult instrument a possibility for many more people." - James Jones, Master Luthier - https://www.jamesjonesinstruments.com/
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All the above background photos are from the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, USA, taken in July 2020.
This region is where Maestro Kovac's harp shop was located, until just before he had retired from full-time harp making.
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John G. Kovac's Harp Making Tradition
Maestro John G. Kovac
November 1945 to July 2022
World-Beloved Harpist, Harp Maker, Inventor & Mentor
Greetings & Hola!
I'm Davy Clark, the John Kovac Harps by Davy C website owner, sales agent & harp maker. I am a member of the International Society of Folk Harpers & Craftsmen and am a certified, Level 1 Clinical harpist. And, as a harp maker & previous harp-making apprentice under the late, Maestro John G. Kovac (November 1945 - July 2022), I had the privilege to get to know John & his wife, Judi (and, their fine canine, Nandu') over a number of years up to John's passing.
Like so many others, I first found John on YouTube where his prolific number of videos introduced us to the brilliant sounds and performance of the Paraguayan Folk Harp and, so fortunately for all of us, how to make our own Harps!
The Paraguayan folk harp is quite similar to its cousin, the Celtic (or, Lever) Folk Harp. Both harps can be played in the same manner. Yet, the Arpa Paraguaya (Paraguayan Harp) can also be played in a beautiful style & tradition all its own (check out some AWESOME LINKS above).
Yet, not only that, but John was also a prolific maker, teacher, mentor, and inventor of harps & various musical gadgetry, and other witty inventions.
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Why Go with the Paraguayan-Style Folk Harp?
Paraguayan Harps have the following advantages when compared to common North American, folk lever harps:
See John Kovac's short YouTube video on the advantages of the Paraguayan harp here.
1) Much lighter in weight than similar sized lever harps. This advantage is good for children & senior adults who cannot heft around the much heavier, standard folk, lever harps.
2) Are smaller than similar sized lever harps. This point means one can carry around a lighter weight harp with a smaller footprint, making it much easier for children & senior adults to handle their harps with far less difficulty. Moreover, this makes clinical harp work much more comfortable carrying harps around in tight institutional spaces with long hallways & stairs to have to deal with.
Plus, a smaller instrument is easier to stow in a car, aircraft or in the living room.
3) String tension is comparatively moderate to light, meaning players can get a louder & fuller sound with less finger pressure. This attribute is suitable for children or beginning adults to learn to play with higher quality sounds more readily.
4) String spacing is comparatively a bit closer together, making it ideal for children and smaller adult hands to play over the whole sweet spot of the harp.
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Passing the John G. Kovac Harpmaking Legacy on to a New Generation
The Legacy Continues...
"I loved John Kovac's easy DIY harp making approach and the sweet musical tones of his Paraguayan harps so much, when he retired, I bought his company."
- Davy j Clark, Harp Maker & Clinical Harpist, July 2020
A Small Glimpse Into Making A Harp
We take rough-sawn lumber, finish-mill it at our shop, create the components and put them all together before creating the new harps strings & finally adding the strings. Then, we tune the harp, over & over & over again(!) until its tuning stabilizes.
Did you know, even for this smaller 26 String harp it uses well over 310 components, parts & pieces?
Did you also realize its Paulownia-wood Soundboard is not one piece of lumber but is made of many smaller sections of finely milled, very thin yet, superb tone-wood all connected together as one unit?
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Harp Making Blogs
Is Imperfection Acceptable?
In Memoriam: Maestro John G. Kovac, November 1945 - July 2022
