# PolyHarp — An extremely chorded zither.

> Virtual chorded zither instrument for music creation and harmonic theory exploration. (iPhone/iPad app by Henry Lowengard.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polyharp/id961772600 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Henry Lowengard](https://appshunter.io/developer/288419654)
- Category: Music, Music, Education
- Price: $4.99
- Rating: 4.91/5 from 11 App Store ratings · 9 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.4 · 16 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2018-11-29
- Data updated: 2026-06-01
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polyharp/id961772600/reviews.md

## What is PolyHarp?

PolyHarp is a virtual musical instrument and a thought experiment. 

It takes the basic idea of a chorded zither and extends it to large numbers of chord choices, made out of any kinds of intervals, multi-string courses, fretting,  and massive polyphony. It's a testbed for harmonic theory as well as a great multi touch simulation of the good old "idiot zither" you have in the attic. PolyHarp can translate many of these innovations to MIDI and is a powerful MIDI controller.

PolyHarp comes with a large number of presets, exploring many variants on stringed instruments, but its real power is its ability to build strange new chords, layouts, and controls into otherwise impossible instruments. 

PolyHarp supports Audiobus 3, including saving setups, and IAA.

## Key features

- Extensive chord customization
- Multi-string and polyphony support
- Harmonic theory testbed
- MIDI controller functionality
- Large preset library
- Audiobus 3 and IAA support

## Recent user reviews (9 of 9)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polyharp/id961772600/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Best midi controller

*2025-01-06, version 1.0.18*

on ipad. It‘s fun, deeply customisable and feels as musical and responsive as an acoustic instrument.

### 5/5 — very inspiring

*2021-11-27, version 1.0.17*

when you're into microtonal weirdness, this on is for you. would love to see mpe support for midi roundtrip to record the phrases played within polyharp.

the gui is something to get used to though.

### 5/5 — Masterpiece

*2021-05-21, version 1.0.15*

i love this App so much, i own several really innovative MIDI Controller like haken continuum or artiphon, but i am always coming back to this wonderfull fully customizable „MIDI strummer“.

### 5/5 — Wild

*2021-04-20, version 1.0.14*

Great idea. Loads of fun. AUv3 and MPE would be excellent additions.

### 5/5 — Weird and Beautiful

*2020-12-27, version 1.0.14*

Such a deep and deeply weird little app. A simple idea done extremely well. Do it!

### 5/5 — So much better than what you think it is.

*2020-06-27, version 1.0.14*

Simply brilliant and deep

### 5/5 — Complex and interesting

*2019-09-14*

I like challenging app that end up giving a very satisfying sound result. This is one of this type. But it does not come easy. For musician interested in experimenting.

### 5/5 — Dope

*2019-02-06, version 1.0.5*

Just needs to be made into auv3

### 4/5 — Brilliant genius

*2018-12-21, version 1.0.2*

This app creator must be an enlightened sound designer! This app is so intricate and Intense with its almost overwhelming. This thing so far is like a stringed blank slate with anything you want to create even odd harmonic subdividing it’s here. Midi out and your golden. All his apps are creative but this is the magnum opus

## Frequently asked questions about PolyHarp

### What is PolyHarp?

PolyHarp is a virtual musical instrument that expands on the concept of a chorded zither. It allows for extensive customization of chords, intervals, and string configurations, enabling users to create unique instruments for music creation and harmonic theory exploration.

### What devices does PolyHarp support?

PolyHarp is currently supported on iPads. It was released on 2018-11-29 and its latest version is 1.0.18, last updated on 2024-12-23.

### How much does PolyHarp cost?

PolyHarp is a paid application, priced at $4.99. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements associated with this app.

### Can PolyHarp be used as a MIDI controller?

Yes, PolyHarp can translate many of its innovations to MIDI, making it a powerful MIDI controller. It supports Audiobus 3 and Inter-App Audio (IAA) for seamless integration with other music production applications.

### What is the age rating for PolyHarp?

PolyHarp has an age rating of 4+. This indicates it is suitable for users of all ages, with no content restrictions.

### How often is PolyHarp updated?

PolyHarp was last updated on December 23, 2024, with version 1.0.18. This indicates ongoing development and support for the application.

### What kind of musical instruments can I create with PolyHarp?

PolyHarp comes with a variety of presets that explore different stringed instruments. Its core strength lies in its ability to build entirely new and unique instruments with custom chords, layouts, and controls, pushing beyond traditional instrument designs.

### Does PolyHarp have ads?

No, PolyHarp does not contain advertisements. The application is a paid product with no in-app purchases or ads.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.18 — 2024-12-23

A number of fixes, improvements like being able to paste parameters to all other string areas, more robust onscreen rendering, strings can be offset by hertz as well as cents, some rudimentary MPE support.  More to come, but this is somewhat exciting.

### 1.0.17 — 2021-11-22

Fixed some things that mostly annoyed me, having to do with using MIDI CC01 as a modulator destination, which was actually sending CC00.

### 1.0.16 — 2021-05-26

Fixed spurious crash when trying to edit a chord button!

### 1.0.15 — 2021-05-13

Bug fixes and things that annoyed me fixed.

### 1.0.14 — 2020-06-27

Bug fixes many of which I've forgotten! Some internal rejiggering of code too. Just trying to keep my faithful users in synch!
New labelled chord bars- and as an example, Pelog and Madenda Hammered instruments.

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## More apps by Henry Lowengard

- [SrutiBox](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/srutibox/id288419651)
- [Droneo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/droneo/id313811077)
- [Enumero](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/enumero/id390920716)
- [Synthicity Itself](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/synthicity-itself/id431319780)
- [Yes Session](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/yes-session/id441596152)

All apps by Henry Lowengard: https://appshunter.io/developer/288419654

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-01.*