that’s not for harmonica? Doesn’t have to be trad. Just acquired a 30 string levered Webster for about what the levers would have cost and an active forum would be helpful…
Of course my first post in a whistle forum is about the harp!
I don’t know of any message boards, per se, but there is an EXTREMELY active yahoo group called the Harplist. It’s a listserv that averages about 600-1000 emails a month. It’s got about 2000 members and they are very helpful with questions. If you do sign up, I’d choose the digest version of the list. The individual emails are far too frequent.
They are at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Harplist
I’ve been a harpist for about 8 years now and have 4 lovely harps: a Dusty Strings FH32 in Maple, a Triplett Christina 25 in Maple, a Hummingbird 29 in Walnut and an Argent Fox 22 in Cherry.
I can do my best to answer any questions you have! How about an exchange of info (as I’m just starting on the whistle)? 
The Harp Column stays pretty busy…especially the “Amateur” and the “Beginning in the Middle” boards:
There are probably more classical harpists than traditional harpers over there, but they’re a nice bunch of folks. I’ve gotten a lot of good advice over there over the past few years. I post there under my “real” name (Audrey).
I’ve been playing for a little over two years now. My primary instrument is a Dusty Strings Ravenna 26 (proudly featured in my avatar), but I also have a Harpsicle that I take with me when I travel.
Oh, and on the whistle front: I’ve been playing for 30-some-odd years, and I also do a lot of singing (I’m learning Irish sean-nós singing), so if I can be any help on any of those fronts, give a holler!
Redwolf
So here’s the story. A few months ago, a woman in my office asked me to research a price on a harp she had- maybe left by a relative. The maker is local to Detroit but not particularlyl well-known so I found nothing to compare it to. I explained that the levers alone for a 30-string could cost $350+ and the instrument was probably worth more than that. That was enough for her- she just wanted it out of the house and sold it to me for $350.
This weekend, I asked my brother-in-law if I could start playing in the band at church. He’s not crazy about the idea because he’s only heard the soft side of harp and doesn’t think it would fit in with his arrangements- he uses trumpet and sax along with piano, bass & lead guitar, percussion & harmonica. I think a miked harp could hold it’s own but need a good non-trad piece to work up to convince him to write in a part for harp. It could be contemporary, jazz or old gospel- doesn’t even have to be religious- just a departure from stereotype. Any suggestions on where to go for something like this? I’ve spent quite a bit of time searching the 'net but when I type in blues or jazz harp, I of course get harmonica…
Well, I would definitely ask at the Harp Column. There are rock/jazz harpers, and someone there should be able to suggest something.
A problem you may run into is the fact that the lever harp isn’t fully chromatic. That could be an issue for some of the music you’re describing. Still, I’m sure there’s material out there.
In fact, I just did a search phrasing it this way:
Lever harp & jazz
Lever harp & blues
And got several hits at music stores offering jazz pieces for harp (the real harp, not the harmonica!). The thing you’ll want to look at, though, is whether they’re intended for pedal or lever harp. Pedal harp arrangements may have more accidentals or require more range than you have, or may be in an awkward key. You may want to contact the stores directly.
You might also have a browse here:
They carry just about everything possible for the harp, including all kinds of sheet music, and might be able to help you find something suitable for your instrument and your level of experience.
How long have you been playing, by the way? From your first post, I assumed you were a beginner to the harp, but your most recent post implies you’ve been playing for a while.
Redwolf
My husband built a 23-string from a Musicmaker’s kit years ago. That harp has a great tone but we didn’t know enough then to understand how limiting the small number of strings and lack of levers would be. I took lessons for about a year but my teacher didn’t have a harp as small as mine so we used different harps she had in her showroom. Some days I felt like I was paying for supervised practice as there were some things I couldn’t do at home but that’s not really a bad thing as the techniques seem to have stuck. Guess you could say I’m a person with limited experience rather than a beginner.
You know, fewer strings doesn’t really have to be a terrible liability. A good teacher will help you find workarounds. My Ravenna has 26 strings, and often there are ways I can rework the left hand if the music goes beyond my range…or even play coupled hands, as the wire harpers do. I bring my own harp to my lessons. Sounds like your teacher wasn’t doing all she could to help you work with the harp you had. I also have an unlevered Harpsicle that I use for a travel harp, and you’d be amazed at how much music you can play without levers.
It’s always nice to have a bit more range, however (whistle players speak of having “WhOA” – Whistle Obsessive Acquisition disorder. We harpers get “SAD”: String Acquisition Disorder. 
Redwolf
It’s always nice to have a bit more range, however (whistle players speak of having “WhOA” – Whistle Obsessive Acquisition disorder. We harpers get “SAD”: String Acquisition Disorder.
Or as I’m in the process of experiencing: harplust.
I’m just getting ready to purchase harp #5 (a Triplett Eclipse).
Regarding mics and harp amplification, there’s a great deal of information from Stephen Vardy here: http://www.alisonvardy.com/harp-info/harp-amplification-pickup.htm
I purchased a Barcus Barry pickup for my Dusty FH32 and it works really well. I use a Crate Taxi amp (battery powered with 2 inputs) and it’s been a fairly inexpensive and very versatile setup!
Regarding tunes that rock, are you planning to sing with the harp, or just play? If you are looking to sing, one easy way to intrigue the musicians is to just play something “unexpected” on the harp. I started off playing in coffee houses and doing covers of 80’s tunes. I just used a typical lead sheet and then created a fun accompaniment. One that I do that always amazes people (or horrifies them…) is “Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club.
Once people hear that on the harp, they usually agree that the harp is not just for ballads. 
BTW, if you want to increase the usability of your Musicmaker’s harp (it’s always nice to have a small harp to travel with), you can still install some levers on it, or have them installed. You don’t have to do a full set. I’ve got levers on my C’s and F’s and on my B’s…I tune in “F.” That gives you a pretty decent range of keys without a huge financial outlay. I think Musicmaker even stocks Loveland levers.
Redwolf
My husband thinks that I should work out the intro to “Dueling Banjos”! I frequently play with another adult student of my teacher, and it would be kind of a cool way to open a set!
One of these days, I also want to work out the riff for “Smoke on the Water”
Now, for some really rocked-up harps:
http://www.electricharp.com/ (I love that clear one!)
Midyne Spear also does some great blues stuff on her Camac electric harp.
For something totally different, here’s a harp my husband wants to build for me:
How cool is that? I can just see me taking it to the Highland Games and, when the trad nazis get their knickers in a bunch, saying “I’m reasonably certain they have plumbing in the Highlands these days!”
Redwolf
Hmm- A PVC harp! There’s been some discussion about instruments for canoeing & kayaking over on the paddling.net board. We’ve seen good examples of whistles, flutes & NAF-style flutes out of materials not affected by water as well as backpacking mandos & guitars but PVC harps would be really cool and kinder from a wilderness ethics standpoint than a lot of other instruments. I love to take my little harp outside on a breezy day and listen to what the wind does with it!
As for my harp teacher’s preference for using her harps, my lessons were during a lunch hour and $30 per half-hour. Any harp I brought would have then been left in car on days where extreme temps could have damaged the instrument or at least thrown the tuning out. It was easier to play hers since they were already in tune.
I may look into getting levers for some of the strings on my little harp, though. Don’t know why that never occurred to me.
Doubt I will ever be singing but you never know- the church lady could talk me into stepping way out of my comfort zone. Think I’ll go pull out some old Ry Cooder albums…
Sadly, the pvc harp looks like it would be a bit large to take paddling. It looks to be about the size of my Ravenna (even though it has fewer strings), and the 'Venna will just barely fit in the back seat of my Toyota (small it is, a lap harp it ain’t). Kind of cool as a novelty item, though.
If you look into levers for your lap harp, I’d recommend getting C’s and F’s first and tuning in C…that will give you three keys (C,D & G) and their relative minors (Am, Bm & Em) without retuning. If you can afford one more set, get B’s and tune in F (it’s nice to be able to play in a flat key, especially if you’re doing church music). It’s also useful to learn how to retune a string on the fly…often, if something is in an inaccessible key, simply retuning one string will make it workable (for example, I play a version of “The Chanter’s Tune” that is in G…but only the high F# is needed, so if I’m playing on my unlevered Harpsicle, I just retune that note).
Redwolf
Hi springrobin
This is “trad” and Scottish beside, but not your usual harp playing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X8HiENig8E
David
Edited to add these
Smoke on the Water is actually pretty easy on the harp: it’s a pentatonic scale, which fits right in with a lot of old Irish stuff. When I’m feeling silly I medley Smoke on the Water with Brian Boru.
Another silly thing you can do: get a vocalist to sing Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird and play the Pachelbel Canon in D underneath it. It works!
I am SOOOO using this at my next gig. Thanks!