The thirteen to sixteen strings of the harp angle upwards from the string bar to the string bindings on the lower part of the curved arch of the neck. Traditionally, tuning was accomplished by twisting and adjusting the string bindings. Recently constructed harps have machine heads or tuning pegs to make tuning easier. The traditional silk strings have also been supplanted by nylon strings, but silk-stringed harps can still be seen.
A full-sized harp has a body of about 80 cm long, 16 cm wide, and 16 cm deep, and the arch rises about 60 cm from the body. Smaller harps have been made for smaller players.
The harp is played by sitting on the floor with the body in the lap, and the arch on the left.[3] The strings are plucked with the right hand fingers from the outside. The left hand is used to dampen the strings to promote clarity and produce staccato notes. Stopped tones are produced by using left thumbnail to press against the string from the inside to increase its tension.