Harpejji


The harpejji is an electric stringed musical instrument developed in 2007 by Tim Meeks, founder of Marcodi Musical Products, and is a descendant of the StarrBoard. The instrument aims to bridge the gap in sound and technique between the guitar, bass guitar, and piano. The playing surface has a layout arranged in ascending whole tones across strings, and ascending semi-tones as the strings travel away from the player with a five octave range from A0 to A5. The first harpejji model, the 24 string d1, was produced from January 2008 through May 2010. It was subsequently replaced by the k24 which also has 24 strings. The latter model includes updates to the internal electronics, a simplification of the fretboard marker system, and a change from maple to bamboo as the primary wood for the instrument. In January 2011, the g16, a smaller 16 string model with a four octave range and mono output, was introduced. All harpejjis use an electronic muting system to dampen unfretted strings and minimize the impact of sympathetic vibrations.

Technique

It is primarily played with a two handed tapping technique. It differs from other tapping instruments, such as the Chapman Stick, by way of the orientation of the instrument to the player. The instrument rests on a stand like a keyboard, with the strings perpendicular to the player. The instrument allows for the musician to use all 10 fingers to fret the strings, and a single hand can cover a two octave range. New techniques for playing the instrument are beginning to surface, such as strumming with a pick. Unlike the piano, no formal pedagogy has been established for the harpejji.

Players and recordings

was an early adopter of the harpejji and was among the first to appear with the instrument in public. The first commercial harpejji recording was made by Jordan Rudess for the soundtrack to the God of War III video game. Rudess has also used the harpejji in the band Dream Theater. Stevie Wonder played his hit song "Superstition" on a 16 string harpejji on the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. Wonder has also used the harpejji in recent live performances, such as at the A Concert For Charlottesville on September 24th, 2017. Wonder guested with the Dave Matthews Band and performed three songs with the instrument.
Two time Grammy and Oscar awards winner A.R Rahman has been using Continuum in several of his recordings and live shows. His Oscar nominated song If I rise from 127 Hours featured Harpejji. In the opening episode of Season 3 of Coke Studio India, he played Harpejji in two songs - Ennile Maha Oliyo and Jagao Mere Des.
The band Walk Off The Earth and guest Scott Helman can be seen playing the harpejji in their music video cover for . The video shows the four playing the instrument simultaneously.

Sizes


ImageSize = width:700 height:175
PlotArea = left:0 right:0 top:0 bottom:20
AlignBars = justify
Colors =
id:legend value:gray # background of top and bottom legend bars
id:legendtext value:gray # text in top and bottom legend bars
id:sp value:gray # spacer between bars and content
id:h1 value:rgb # light violet = top of hierarchy
id:h2 value:rgb # light red-violet
id:h3 value:rgb # light red
id:h4 value:rgb # light red-orange
id:h5 value:rgb # light orange
id:h6 value:rgb # light yellow-orange, bottom of hierarchy
id:gridlines value:gray # vertical gridlines
BarData =
bar:pitch
bar:Hz
barset:ranges
bar:pitch2
bar:Hz2
Period = from:0 till:651
ScaleMajor = increment:72 start:2 gridcolor:gridlines
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
  1. positions points used by the bars
  2. Cx4 = middle C
  3. Cs4 = middle C sharp
Define $Cx0 = 6 # 16.35Hz
Define $Cs0 = 12 # 17.32Hz
Define $Dx0 = 18 # 18.35Hz
Define $Ds0 = 24 # 19.45Hz
Define $Ex0 = 30 # 20.6Hz
Define $Fx0 = 36 # 21.83Hz
Define $Fs0 = 42 # 23.12Hz
Define $Gx0 = 48 # 24.5Hz
Define $Gs0 = 54 # 25.96Hz
Define $Ax0 = 60 # 27.5Hz
Define $As0 = 66 # 29.14Hz
Define $Bx0 = 72 # 30.87Hz
Define $Cx1 = 78 # 32.7Hz
Define $Cs1 = 83 # 34.65Hz
Define $Dx1 = 89 # 36.71Hz
Define $Ds1 = 95 # 38.89Hz
Define $Ex1 = 101 # 41.2Hz
Define $Fx1 = 107 # 43.65Hz
Define $Fs1 = 113 # 46.25Hz
Define $Gx1 = 119 # 49Hz
Define $Gs1 = 125 # 51.91Hz
Define $Ax1 = 131 # 55Hz
Define $As1 = 137 # 58.27Hz
Define $Bx1 = 143 # 61.74Hz
Define $Cx2 = 149 # 65.41Hz
Define $Cs2 = 155 # 69.3Hz
Define $Dx2 = 161 # 73.42Hz
Define $Ds2 = 167 # 77.78Hz
Define $Ex2 = 173 # 82.41Hz
Define $Fx2 = 179 # 87.31Hz
Define $Fs2 = 185 # 92.5Hz
Define $Gx2 = 191 # 98Hz
Define $Gs2 = 197 # 103.8Hz
Define $Ax2 = 203 # 110Hz
Define $As2 = 209 # 116.5Hz
Define $Bx2 = 215 # 123.5Hz
Define $Cx3 = 221 # 130.8Hz
Define $Cs3 = 227 # 138.6Hz
Define $Dx3 = 233 # 146.8Hz
Define $Ds3 = 239 # 155.6Hz
Define $Ex3 = 244 # 164.8Hz
Define $Fx3 = 250 # 174.6Hz
Define $Fs3 = 256 # 185Hz
Define $Gx3 = 262 # 196Hz
Define $Gs3 = 268 # 207.7Hz
Define $Ax3 = 274 # 220Hz
Define $As3 = 280 # 233.1Hz
Define $Bx3 = 286 # 246.9Hz
Define $Cx4 = 292 # 261.6Hz
Define $Cs4 = 298 # 277.2Hz
Define $Dx4 = 304 # 293.7Hz
Define $Ds4 = 310 # 311.1Hz
Define $Ex4 = 316 # 329.6Hz
Define $Fx4 = 322 # 349.2Hz
Define $Fs4 = 328 # 370Hz
Define $Gx4 = 334 # 392Hz
Define $Gs4 = 340 # 415.3Hz
Define $Ax4 = 346 # 440Hz
Define $As4 = 352 # 466.2Hz
Define $Bx4 = 358 # 493.9Hz
Define $Cx5 = 364 # 523.3Hz
Define $Cs5 = 370 # 554.4Hz
Define $Dx5 = 376 # 587.3Hz
Define $Ds5 = 382 # 622.3Hz
Define $Ex5 = 388 # 659.3Hz
Define $Fx5 = 394 # 698.5Hz
Define $Fs5 = 400 # 740Hz
Define $Gx5 = 406 # 784Hz
Define $Gs5 = 411 # 830.6Hz
Define $Ax5 = 417 # 880Hz
Define $As5 = 423 # 932.3Hz
Define $Bx5 = 429 # 987.8Hz
Define $Cx6 = 435 # 1047Hz
Define $Cs6 = 441 # 1109Hz
Define $Dx6 = 447 # 1175Hz
Define $Ds6 = 453 # 1245Hz
Define $Ex6 = 459 # 1319Hz
Define $Fx6 = 465 # 1397Hz
Define $Fs6 = 471 # 1480Hz
Define $Gx6 = 477 # 1568Hz
Define $Gs6 = 483 # 1661Hz
Define $Ax6 = 489 # 1760Hz
Define $As6 = 495 # 1865Hz
Define $Bx6 = 501 # 1976Hz
Define $Cx7 = 507 # 2093Hz
Define $Cs7 = 513 # 2217Hz
Define $Dx7 = 519 # 2349Hz
Define $Ds7 = 525 # 2489Hz
Define $Ex7 = 531 # 2637Hz
Define $Fx7 = 537 # 2794Hz
Define $Fs7 = 543 # 2960Hz
Define $Gx7 = 549 # 3136Hz
Define $Gs7 = 555 # 3322Hz
Define $Ax7 = 561 # 3520Hz
Define $As7 = 567 # 3729Hz
Define $Bx7 = 572 # 3951Hz
Define $Cx8 = 578 # 4186Hz
Define $Cs8 = 584 # 4435Hz
Define $Dx8 = 590 # 4699Hz
Define $Ds8 = 596 # 4978Hz
Define $Ex8 = 602 # 5274Hz
Define $Fx8 = 608 # 5588Hz
Define $Fs8 = 614 # 5920Hz
Define $Gx8 = 620 # 6272Hz
Define $Gs8 = 626 # 6645Hz
Define $Ax8 = 632 # 7040Hz
Define $As8 = 638 # 7459Hz
Define $Bx8 = 644 # 7902Hz
Define $max = 650
PlotData=
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barset:ranges
color:h1 from:$Ax0 till:$Ax5 text:K24
color:h3 from:$Cx2 till:$Cx6 text:G16
color:h6 from:$Cx2 till:$Cx5 text:U12
color:h5 from:$Cx3 till:$Cx6 text:U12
color:legend textcolor:legendtext align:left fontsize:7 mark: width:12 shift:
bar:pitch
from:0 till:$max
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bar:Hz
from:0 till:$max
at:23 text:20 Hz
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at:105 text:44
at:153 text:70
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at:262 text:200
at:304 text:300
at:344 text:440
at:392 text:700
at:430 text:1000
at:472 text:1500
at:502 text:2000
at:544 text:3000
at:583 text:4400 Hz
bar:pitch2 # exact copy of bar:pitch
from:0 till:$max
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at:$Cx8 text:C8
bar:Hz2 # exact copy of bar:Hz
from:0 till:$max
at:23 text:20 Hz
at:65 text:30
at:105 text:44
at:153 text:70
at:190 text:100
at:232 text:150
at:262 text:200
at:304 text:300
at:344 text:440
at:392 text:700
at:430 text:1000
at:472 text:1500
at:502 text:2000
at:544 text:3000
at:583 text:4400 Hz