I played piano pretty seriously as a teenager, but then university and jobs got in the way and I dropped out of music altogether. About 6 years ago, I decided I wanted to do something musical again, so I decided I like the sound of the harp, and decided to learn to play it. Knowing nothing about harps, I bought my first harp, which was a lap harp 2'nd hand, and then found a teacher through the Royal Conservatory of Music. After 1 year I realized I needed a bigger harp, and bought a 38 string lever harp (subsequently sold), then after about 5 years I decided that since I play mostly Latin and classical it made sense to go all the way and get a pedal harp. I still take lessons once a week through the Royal Conservatory. It's a pretty hard instrument to learn to play well.