BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
A few years ago, Australian pianist Andrew Rumsey took an overnight train to Melbourne. He had no idea that this trip would land him in the right place, at the right time — and that it would inspire him to launch a new business bringing a rare instrument to the country.
Andrew and his family founded Harmony Harp to introduce the Veeh Harp to players and listeners in Australia. The German stringed instrument was invented to make music more accessible: its designer Hermann Veeh spent years creating prototypes before finalising a harp that Andrew explains could be “played by anyone, regardless of age or musical ability”.
We have a chat with Andrew about the instrument and its unique notation — and how he came to discover it on that train trip to Melbourne.
Andrew, thanks for telling us the story of how the Veeh Harp landed in Australia! First of all, what can you tell us about this rare instrument?
The name of the Veeh Harp comes from its creator Hermann Veeh, who invented this unique instrument in Germany in the late 1980s. The real motivation to create the instrument was Hermann’s love for his son Andreas, who was born with Down syndrome. Andreas was very musical, but found traditional instruments and musical notation challenging to master. Herman decided to develop his own instrument for Andreas, which eventually became one of the world’s most accessible and beautiful instruments, able to be played by anyone, regardless of age or musical ability.
It has truly changed the landscape of how easy it can be to make music!
So how is the instrument designed to be more accessible than other commonly played instruments?
The harp is tuned in semitones like a piano, and covers a range of two or three octaves, depending on the model. Playing it can be as simple as plucking the strings towards you with the index fingers – that’s it! It doesn’t require a great deal of fine motor control to be able to create pleasing sounds, and the music uses a very simple notation to direct the player to pluck the correct notes in the correct order – so playing and listening can be a satisfying musical experience right from day one!
That notation is really interesting, because unlike music that sits on a stand, this one sits between the wood and strings — how does it work?
The sheet music is slid underneath the strings from either side and sits on the ebony bridge. Aligning the music correctly behind the right strings is easy to do and once that’s done, the player literally follows a solid black line down the page and plucks the string wherever a circle is present on the line.
Different sized circles represent different note lengths, and each piece has an easy version — just the melody, and a more challenging version — melody and harmony notes.
Because of this intuitive notation and ease in plucking the string, no prior music knowledge or experience is needed to play!
Considering this instrument wasn’t available in Australia before you launched Harmony Harp, how did you discover it for yourself?
In 2017, I undertook quite a lengthy performance tour of the United States and Canada, which included appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert. Just before leaving Australia, I travelled to Melbourne to spend some quality time with a friend before flying out. I was sitting on the overnight train from Sydney and began chatting to a lovely family sitting next to me. We talked for a few hours before I learnt that I had actually been sitting next to Barbara Veeh — Andreas’ sister, and the daughter of Hermann Veeh – obviously the significance of this would later become apparent.
It was truly a ‘sliding doors’ moment — thinking of all the potential variables, how serendipitous that I, a musician with a brother with Down syndrome, happened to be travelling to that city, on that day, on that train, in that seat, sitting next to that particular person, and that we talked long enough to discover a world of common ground!
I was so excited to learn about the Veeh Harp, and was very interested in obtaining one for my brother Danny on my return to Australia. I visited the manufacturers in Germany, and was so impressed by their vision and commitment to quality that I had absolutely no reservation in purchasing one.
Danny was so excited to receive his Veeh Harp, and he was able to play through complete pieces that very day. It opened a world of musical possibilities that was not previously accessible to him, and I began to think of how many other people could benefit from this amazing instrument. My family and I decided to create a business called Harmony Harp to facilitate importing the harps from Germany for people in Australia.
I started to develop my passion for music at eight years of age. My first musical love was the piano, but since then, no other instrument really ‘grabbed’ me until the Veeh Harp did. I saw so much potential in the Veeh Harp and its ability to positively impact people’s lives that I felt it would be a disservice not to open the door for others to have the same experience that my brother had.
Given how easy the Veeh Harp is to play, it can be ideal for anyone with a cognitive or physical disability, a mature person who never had the opportunity to learn an instrument before, children in group music settings, music therapy, music in nursing homes, dementia or trauma patients, or even anyone who enjoys something unique and unusual.
For people in Australia who are looking to explore the Veeh Harp, how can they get started, and what sort of music can they play on the instrument?
The manufacturers in Germany have kindly produced an introductory book of sheet music for people new to the instrument, which is a great way to get started. There is a wide range of music available in different styles, from baroque to blues, arrangements of well-known classical pieces, and new works composed especially for the Veeh Harp.
Some of the pieces available can be quite challenging, which also makes it appealing for experienced musicians as well. The instrument naturally lends itself to composing and arranging too, which can be done using a paper template or even computer software if you are really keen.
Notable Australian composer Sally Greenaway has been championing the instrument, and has recently composed some stunning pieces soon to be published!
Outside the Harmony Harp business, you have another entirely successful career in music, as a pianist! What’s next for you in your own performance career?
Making music is my happy place. My most recent significant project was a performance and professional recording of Michael Dooley’s Piano Concerto No.1 in Llewellyn Hall in July 2023. It was a privilege to perform Michael’s music as he’s both a brilliant composer and dear friend of mine. These are available for listening on:
As an AMEB examiner for New South Wales, I’m also keen to create some online tutorials to assist students in preparing for their exam and having the most positive experience possible. But more on this another time – stay tuned!
Learn more about the Veeh Harp in Australia on the Harmony Harp website, and follow on Instagram. Learn more about Andrew on his website.
