The Evoharp Hymnal Model Harp

The original 21 Bar Chromatic Evoharp was designed and intended to perform best in the keys most commonly used by acoustic stringed instrument musicians. We believe that it serves that need very well. However, many players want to use their harps in worship services playing with a piano or organ. The keys used in hymnals are much different and, for that purpose, the keys available on the 21 Bar Chromatic Evoharp are not the optimum selection.
We performed a study using five hymnals from four different publishing houses to determine what keys should be provided to best meet the needs of this musician. That study is attached. We determined not only what keys were used in the hymnal but also what percentage of the selections in that hymnal were supported by each of three harp models, The Oscar Schmitt 21 Bar Autoharp, the original 21 Bar Chromatic Evoharp, and the new Evoharp Hymnal Model. The five hymnals differ quite a bit in the keys used but in all cases, the Evoharp Hymnal Model supports more selections than either of the others.
The Evoharp Hymnal Model is not simply a harp with different chord bars mounted on it. You could do that with any chromatic harp but the result would not be very satisfying. To work well you need to alter the string gauges and tuning to provide good support for the chords from bass to treble and good tone over that range. The Hymnal Model has a custom string set and tuning optimized to match the chord selection and offers a full, rich voice on all chords.
The question of which harp supports the keys needed is not the only one that should be asked. The other questions are the richness of the voice and the construction of the instrument. The attached chart gives the answer about keys supported but you must try the Hymnal Model to realize the difference in the voice. The construction of the Evoharp speaks for itself.
The Evoharp Hymnal Model is a proud addition to the line of Evoharps. It is priced the same as the 21 Bar Chromatic Evoharp at $935.00 retail. Lead time for delivery is also typically 6 weeks.

 Keys of Selections As Written In Various Hymnals

Percentage of selections in key Hymnal C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B Cm Gm Em A 7.0 3.1 4.9 14.7 0.6 15.0 0 16.2 18.7 3.1 16.5 0 0.3 0 0 B 3.1 5.3 7.5 15.9 3.1 11.5 0 17.7 17.3 5.8 14.2 0 0 0 0 C 12.1 1.7 14.4 13.6 3.0 17.8 0 21.2 5.3 3.9 6.0 0 0.2 0.2 0.6 D 9.4 6.9 5.9 13.1 1.7 12.3 0 14.6 15.6 5.4 15.1 0 0 0 0 E 10.5 1.4 3.6 16.7 0.7 22.5 0 17.1 13.8 1.8 11.6 0 0 0 0 Total 9.3 3.4 8.5 14.4 2.0 16.1 0 17.9 12.5 4.0 11.6 0 0.1 0.1 0.2
Keys supported by harp models
(A "supported key" means that the I or tonic chord, the IV or sub-
dominant chord and the V7 or dominant seventh chord are available).

Oscar Schmitt 21 bar standard Autoharp
Keys of C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, Gm, Dm, Am, Em.
Evoharp standard 21 bar Chromatic harp
Keys of F, C, G, D, A, Gm, Dm, Am, Em.
Evoharp Hymnal model 21 bar harp
Keys of Ab, Eb, Bb, F, C, G, D, Fm, Cm, Gm, Dm.

Percent of Hymns in each Hymnal supported by model of harp Harp Model Hymnal A Hymnal B Hymnal C Hymnal D Hymnal E Total All
Hymnals OS 21 77.4 67.3 89.8 75.8 83.8 82.1 Evoharp Std 21 46.2 45.6 70.2 47.6 55.5 56.1 Evoharp Hymnal 93.3 87.2 90.9 86.0 95.8 90.5 Best Model Evoharp Hymnal Evoharp Hymnal Evoharp Hymnal Evoharp Hymnal Evoharp Hymnal Evoharp Hymnal
Hymnals used in this study
A = Heavenly Highways Hymns (Stamps Baxter Music)
B = Christian Gospel Hymns (Scoville Publishing)
C = Hymnal A Worship Book (Brethren Press, Faith and Life Press, Mennonite Publishing House)
D = All American Church Hymnal (Benson Publishing)
E = New Songs Of Inspiration Number Nine (Benson Publishing)