A specialized tuning system for harps, possibly a historical or regional system of tuning harp strings to specific pitches.
A compound of harp (Old English hearpe), way (Old English weg, 'method or path'), and tuning (from tune, from Old French ton). The compound suggests a particular methodology or tradition for setting harp pitch.
Historical harp tuning was incredibly complex because different regions and time periods used different tuning systems—Celtic harps, concert grand harps, and Renaissance harps all required different approaches, which is why specialized tuning traditions developed with regional names like this.
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