Harps in TV

Hey there! I’m Rylee Livingston, and I’m a harpist (AKA a person who plays the harp). I’ve been playing for 10 years, since I was 11 years old. I’ve started this blog to talk about all things harp!

For my first post, I want to talk about harps on TV. I’ve found four great shows that include harps.

Amy – The Big Bang Theory (2007 – 2019)

My favourite harp sighting is in The Big Bang Theory. Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) frequently plays the harp throughout the series. Mayim Bialik actually took several lessons from the Sylvia Woods Harp Center, and the Harp Center rented harps to both Mayim and the studio. If you are not familiar with Sylvia Woods, she is very well-known in the harp world as a composer and arranger. It’s hilarious to watch Amy play and sing several pop songs, including Bon Jovi’s Dead or Alive. If you want to learn more about this story, check out this article on the Harp Center Website: https://www.harpcenter.com/category/big-bang-theory-harps

And check out a clip of Amy playing “Girl from Ipanema” below:

Devi – Never Have I Ever (2020 – )

Season 1 of the Netflix hit series Never Have I Ever shows off a pedal harp. Main character Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) plays the pedal harp in her school orchestra. I can’t imagine having to drag my harp to orchestra every day! She plays in several scenes, and you can see her harp in the background of other shots in their house.

Ron Swanson – Parks and Recreation (2009 – 2015)

Now here’s an example where the harp isn’t actually played, but is instead built! In season 2, Ron Swanson builds an entire harp out of spite, because Leslie Knope believed that he was too drunk to drive home the previous night before. Ron makes harp making look easy. Check out the full clip below:

Elizabeth – Poldark (2015 – 2019)

Period drama Poldark also has a harp sighting. Elizabeth Warleggan (Heida Reid) is seen playing the harp in a few episodes of the series. This detail is taken from the books by Winston Graham, which both the old TV series from 1975 and the new TV series from 2015 are based on. The harp seen in the series seems to be an early pedal harp, which would be accurate to the 18^th century time period that the series is set in.

To listen to the audio version, please click below.