A group of musicians, led by Gregg Miner, the “harp guitar pope,” and Stephen Bennett, founder of the annual Harp Guitar Gathering music festival, have formed The Harp Guitar Foundation, a non-profit charitable corporation. This entity, funded by individuals within a growing world-wide harp guitar community, is designed to serve as an umbrella organization to support both Miner’s archival site Harpguitars.net and the Harp Guitar Gathering festivals. Each compliments the other and has long served as the two most far-reaching means of promoting this rare and unique instrument, its history, and players and builders of both historical and modern variations.

What IS a harp guitar? The simplest way to describe the instrument – which exists in literally endless variety - is as a guitar with extra “floating” strings. Meaning the extra strings are plucked like normal but are not fretted with the left like the strings on the neck.

Why is it important? (and why have I never heard of it?) The harp guitar has a long, rich, diverse and history (since the mid-1600's!). Though called by many different names throughout history and the world, it has resurfaced at least once per century in some part of the world and for various musical purposes - some obsolete, some not. The most recent resurgence is our own late 20th Century re-discovery that has been growing for decades and continues to spread worldwide.

The Harp Guitar Foundation will serve to increase the public’s awareness and interest in the rich history and promising future of the instrument and its practitioners.

For more information, visit www.harpguitars.net.

Wall Spaces: Dealers Wall, Vintage & Collectors Wall, Exotic Wall