Does the harp belong to folk music or Western music?

The harp (English: harp, Italian: Arpa, German: Harfe, Persian: ), is a large plucked stringed instrument. The harp belongs to the Western musical instruments.

The harp is one of the world's oldest plucked string instruments, originating in ancient Persia (Iran). Early harps had only strings arranged in a natural scale and played in a limited number of keys. The modern harp was designed by the French piano maker S. Ellar in 1810, with forty-seven strings of different lengths and seven pedals to change the pitch of the strings to play all tonalities.

The traditional Chinese instruments Konghou and the harp are more similar in appearance, but Konghou is a little smaller and has no pedals. The range of tones is also different. They are two different instruments.