William Close and the Earth Harp Collective

The Earth Harp is the longest stringed instrument in the world, with strings that extend up to 1000 ft in length. The first Earth Harp was invented and created in 1999 by artist/musician, William Close. The Earth Harp uses architecture and landscape as part of the instrument. The architecture becomes the instrument. The Earth Harp’s first installation featured the resonator mounted on one side of a valley with the strings stretched out nearly1000 ft to the other side. It turned the valley / Earth into a giant harp! How does the Earth Harp work? The Earth Harp is played using violin resin on cotton gloves and musical bows. The P performer’s hands are run along the strings to created beautiful cello like tones. The act of rubbing the strings creates a longitudinal compression wave. This vibration is similar to the vibration patterns that produce tones when you run your finger around the edge of a wine glass. It is also similar to the vibration patterns created while playing singing bowls. As William Close experimented with some of his early design concepts, he created a method of tuning the giant long strings; using a specially designed tuning block he discovered that the strings could be tuned to any scale. The instrument is typically tuned in an A minor scale……flats and sharps can also be included for certain installations, this is easily done by shifting the tuning block. Earth Harp History The first Earth Harp was created and installed in 1999 by artist/musician, William Close. This installation featured the Earth Harp resonator mounted on one side of a valley with the strings stretched out to the other side. William and his team ran the golden musical strings nearly 1000 ft. to the other side of the valley. Since that day in 1999, William and his performance company MASS Ensemble have created hundreds of Earth Harp installations all over the world…..from the Grand Theater of Shanghai to the Space Needle in Seattle, each installation is unique to it's own environment. An Earth Harp installation celebrates the architecture and landscape of its surroundings. The environment and architecture are transformed by the strings, forever changing the perception of those lucky enough to see the installation. MASS and The Earth Harp have performed at world-renowned festivals including: • The Grand Theater at the Shanghai International Arts Festival • Grand Auditorium at the Macau International Arts Festival • The Coliseum in Rome for La Notte Bianca • A 9th Century Mid-Evil Castle in Italy for the Verrucchio Festival • The Teatro Municipal in Sao Paulo for Virada Cultural • The Space Needle in Seattle • Bumbershoot • Lollapalooza • Coachella • Lightning in a Bottle • Sleepless Nights …..And many more. In addition, MASS and The Earth Harp have stunned audiences with their full-length performances at performing arts centers including: • The Kennedy Center • The Alys Stephens Center • The Van Weezal • The Carnegie Science Center • The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture • The Centre in Kerikeri, New Zealand MASS has also worked with Fortune 500 companies, including events for IBM, Samsung, Microsoft, CNN, Toyota, the NFL and many more. William Close / MASS created a permanent Earth Harp installation for Cirque du Soleil show "Ka" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Installation artist and musician who has developed over 100 new types of musical instruments including the Earth Harp - as seen on America's Got Talent!