Why am I the Rogue Harpist? Because I love to stretch the harp beyond its traditional mould. Since its very early beginnings as a simple lyre, the harp has come on a long way. It now has a great many more strings (47 on concert harps) and seven pedals - one for each note of the scale. It is an extremely versatile instrument and yet this is hardly ever fully realised. While it is naturally a wonderfully calming instrument when playing classical and folk music, it can also really come alive when playing jazz. The pedal slides, deep bass strings and drum-like soundboard make it perfectly suited for jazz, rock and a whole range of other exciting contemporary music. In recent years harpists have composed some really innovative pieces for harp that exploit the full potential of the harp. I have been inspired particularly by Deborah Henson-Conant.