A musician is battling to pluck the image of the harp from its quaint world into the rock arena.

And to create its new funky sound, Fiona-Katie Roberts has turned to making her own unique instruments.

Her aim is to give her "rock harp" the high profile image that Nigel Kennedy and Vanessa Mae have won for the violin.

She is stringing the harps together out of plywood, angle irons and fishing line in the kitchen of her rambling farmhouse home in Marsh, Oxenhope.

And the thumping bass sound she creates, coupled with the beat she raps out on the body of the harp, is nothing like the soft whimsical tones of the traditional concert harp.

She has already been on gigs with a rock band and is winning followers throughout the country and in the USA, where she is planning to perform in the Cape Cod area later this year.

It has taken her two years to develop the harps, which involved making copious notes and practical experiments.

"I wanted a nice bass sound -- something that's in your face and not the sweet and pure sound of the traditional harp," she said. "I'm a composer and I wanted to develop something unique and push out the boundaries of what is accepted.

"The public are amazed when they hear it because it's not like they expect," said Katie, who unlike traditional players stands to perform.

The task has also called for her to develop joinery skills -- still being perfected.

"I just went out and bought a jigsaw and a drill and got on with it," she added.

She has now devised special templates for the body parts of the rock harp and copies are being flown out to the USA so they can be cut out and assembled when she arrives -- armed just with the strings.

She has so far made four instruments to join her collection of 22 harps, representing the instrument from the 11th Century to the present day.

She will be performing at Nidderdale Fair, in St Cuthbert's Church at Pateley Bridge, next Friday at 8.15pm. Tickets are £5.