1. Do I need a harp synthesizer?
2. Do I need to install a sequencer program to be able to use HarpTime?
3. Why is HarpTime a VST plugin rather than a standalone program?
4. What is better: a harp sample library or HarpTime VSTi?
5. What are the differences between the Pro and the Fun version?
6. Does HarpTime support microtuning?
7. Why is tuning per note so important in HarpTime?
8. How does the polyphony work in HarpTime?
9. How do I play or program realistic harp parts?
10. Which features might appear in the next version?
11. What is the CPU usage like?
12. What are "Bray Pins ", and how do they affect the sound of HarpTime?

Answers

1. Do I need a harp synthesizer?

Maybe. The harp has a beautiful sound which is usable in very many musical styles (mediaeval period music, classical, ambient, film music and ballads, for example).

However, samples can only reproduce a limited, and somewhat 'static' snapshot of a particular real instrument being played.

In comparison, physical modeling allowed us to build a VSTi which reproduces the characteristic of a variety of real harps, with more flexibility, control, and dynamics than a sample set will normally provide.

Using HarpTime, anybody with a PC and a MIDI keyboard can enjoy playing a good sounding virtual harp.

2. Do I need to install a sequencer program to be able to use HarpTime?

No. HarpTime comes complete with a free small 'host' program which means that all you need is a soundcard, and some kind of MIDI keyboard. This can be a real keyboard, which is recommended if you wish to be able to play dynamically (louder or softer notes etc..) or you can use a 'virtual keyboard' program which you control with your PC's mouse and keyboard. (For 'virtual keyboard' software, you can search http://www.whiterabbitdesign.co.uk/stuff/docs/www.google.com for GMKbd or Bomes Mouse Keyboard)

Tip: the program "Chainer" is a very small, full featured host, which very easy to use and it also lets you play directly from the PC keyboard. An almost fully-featured demo version is available at http://xlutop.com/html/downloads.html

Forte Solo is another, similar freeware host and can be found at http://www.brainspawn.com/

(Note : The included mini-host, and the other two hosts mentioned above are only suitable for playing 'live'. To write record and write music in MIDI format you need

a VST2 host with sequencer, as mentioned in the next question)

3. Why is HarpTime a VST plugin rather than a standalone program?

The VST plugin standard allows HarpTime to be used within a variety of compatible software packages (called 'hosts' or 'VST hosts'), at the user's choice. This is much more flexible than standalone software.

An amazingly wide range of programs are available which can host plugins like HarpTime. These range from basic freeware packages, to expensive fully-featured professional-class software.

There are effectively three 'types' of VST hosts which you can use to control HarpTime:

• with MIDI input only (like the one included with HarpTime)
• with internal sequencing only (mostly free programs, called 'trackers')
• with full MIDI input, recording, and sequencing (such as Cubase, Logic, Sonar, Orion etc...).

A sequencer allows you to write music which can be saved, and replayed. A Sequencer with MIDI input allow you to record notes in real time as you play, then edit, save and replay them.

For more info about available sequencers visit http://kvr-vst.com/

4. What is better: a harp sample library or HarpTime VSTi?

This actually depends on your needs. But we think that HarpTime has several significant advantages.

• Flexibility - Because the HarpTime sound is generated in 'real time', and the model features a variety of parameters which directly affect that sound, many variations of the harp can be simulated.
• Complexity of Sound - Samples are static snapshots of a particular instrument in a particular place, played a particular way. Using velocity layers and software modulation you can 'animate' the sound somewhat, but the variation would still be something dependent on what was recorded. For a physical model such as HarpTime, every note is a new acoustic event, created in real time, just like it would be in a genuine wood and strings instrument. Moreover in HarpTime many factors interact, resonate and intermodulate with each other, producing a sound which is far more complex and detailed, just like in a real harp. The sum is much more than the parts.
• Price: Quality sample libraries can be expensive, and you would also need a software sampler to play them, which could cost a large amount of money as well. HarpTime can be bought for a tiny fraction of those costs.
• Size: HarpTime doesn't use samples, so uses very little memory and space on your hard drive, almost nothing when compared to a quality sample library.

However we must admit sample libraries have the advantage of Low CPU usage - Very little computation power is needed to crossfade and play samples.

One other area where sample libraries currently have an advantage is in recreating the classical concert harp. The full, long ringing tone of a big pedal harp is technically possible to model, but its computation cost would be far too heavy, so this has not been implemented in HarpTime. A high-quality sample library would currently be a much better alternative. However, it is possible that the HarpTime engine will be capable of modeling the concert harp in future.

5. What are the differences between the Pro and the Fun version?

   • Polyphony - 'Pro' version has 12 voices, 'Fun' version only has 8
   • Pro version sounds a bit fuller than Fun
   • Pro has per-string controls for "Exciter","Tuning" ,"PikPosi","PikBrig"
   • The CPU usage is about 20% higher in the Pro version
   • Presets can be exchanged between the two versions
   
   
6. Does HarpTime support microtuning?

Yes. Each of the 12 notes can be transposed up to 100 cents up or down.

This allows "just intonation" for perfect modal playing, as well as the creation of several diatonic modes.

For example you can tune E and A to -100 cents, so the scale played on on the white keys becomes C D Eb F G Ab B, which is C minor. This way you can make glissati in minor keys easier.

7. Why is tuning per note important in HarpTime?

This feature is only supported in the Pro version of HarpTime.

The range of each tuning control (12 knobs) is -100..+100 cents (+1..-1 semitone).

Small offsets from the standard tuning help to get the best resonance relative to the tonality (musical key) played. For example if one is playing in C Major, retuning E and G will give you the perfect consonance for many harmonics of the notes of the C major scale, and thus a richer resonance for the harp sound.


Big offsets of 1 semitone let you modify the mode of the scale. This can be useful in two cases:

1. When you recorded a MIDI part in one mode (e.g. C Major C D E F G A B) and you wish to play it in another one (e.g. C Db E F G AB Bb, which would require that D, A and B were each detuned down 1 semitone).
2. When you want to make it easier to play easy a part on the white keys (e.g. glissandi) but the scale would normally use some of the black keys. (e.g. tune the scale to C dB Eb F Gb A Bb to have a diminished glissando on white keys)

8. How does the polyphony work in HarpTime?

HarpTime is fixed at 12 voices of polyphony. This cannot be reduced since each of the 12 voices corresponds to a string which contributes to the sympathetic resonance of the harp as a whole. This resonance is always active, so even if only one string is plucked, all twelve 'strings' are made to vibrate. Thus the load on the CPU is constant, no matter how many of the twelve voices are being used for plucked notes.

By turning on the 'Damp' control, you can change the model so that only the strings actually played by MIDI will resonate, which will reduce CPU usage if you play only a few notes, but this also reduces the accuracy of the harp model. This reduces the number of active voices, but not the total polyphony.

9. How do I play or program realistic harp parts?

• Arpeggiate! It may seem obvious, but playing arpeggio is an intrinsic part of the technique of a harpist..
• Strum softly, avoiding cluster chords.
• Use glissando. This performance 'motif' is probably most familiar from classical harp music; it is not used much in folk harp music.
• Don't quantize too perfectly, or to precise time-divisions. The timing of playing a harp is always oscillating: a bit faster, a bit slower.
• Avoid repeating the same note consecutively too many times - this will result in an unwanted percussive effect.
• Use a wide velocity range. Alternate weaker notes with stronger notes.
• Listen to real harp tracks.

10. Which features might appear in the next version?

HarpTime is in constant development. Many suggestions for the future already been made, such as extending the number of scales available from the Automated Glissandi feature (controlled by the ModWheel ).

We are also working on optimization of the CPU load, and a richer resonance model.

An arpeggiator designed to simulate typical harp playing styles is another possibility.

11. What is the CPU usage like?

A distinct aspect of the harp's sound is the rich resonance caused by the interactions of the large number of freely vibrating strings. This requires much more computational power than many 'normal' synthesizers... HarpTime performs real-time simulation of 12 interdependent vibrating strings using 36 delay lines all at the same time. This is much more complex than a single separate resonator like a reverberation effect, because the sympathetic resonance of HarpTime is constantly changed by the strings actually playing - it changes realistically as part of the performance.

As a guide,


On a Pentium III running at 1400 Mhz, the maximum CPU usage is 30%.

On a Pentium 4 running at 2530 MHz the maximum CPU usage is 21%.

What are "Bray Pins ", and how do they affect the sound of HarpTime

Many harps in 15th century paintings had bray pins, which served the double function of holding the string to the soundboard and could also be turned and delicately positioned to touch the strings in such a way that a buzzing, humming sound resulted. The bray pins both changed the timbre and increased the volume of the sound produced, so that the gothic harps with very slender bodies and thin, small soundboxes had a tone capable of good projection in appropriate acoustics.

http://www.harpspectrum.org/historical/fulton_short.shtml

bray harp: Medieval and Renaissance harps which use "bray pins", adjusted to lightly touch each string to create a loud buzzing tone. Bray pins are usually L-shaped, can be moved away from the string for a "regular" tone, and have the additional function of attaching the string to the soundboard.

http://www.harpspectrum.org/glossary/glossary.shtml#bray