There's loads of detailed info on tuning in the main forum. A lot of it is pretty involved and some requires special kit.
But I just wanted to relate my one experience which is that some basic tuning isn't that hard. More in the territory of 'gapping' in terms of difficulty.
When early on it became clear that many people adjusted their harps, I tried working on a cheap instrument. I had bought some Hohner Bluesbands, which was a mistake in hindsight but I didn't know any better at the time. The higher keys are genuinely unplayable - I don't care what anyone says about technique. The lower keys did work but had gaps all over the place and it was easy to hear that they were not in tune.
You'll read that there is no one perfect system of tuning, even theoretically. And for the harp in particular, it's more about making choices of desirable features like chords sounding smooth or melodies sounding sweet. Plus when you play a harp at any volume the notes go flat anyway. So normally the reeds are tuned a bit sharp. A bit like playing a violin, you are supposed to listen to your pitch as you play and adjust accordingly. So as far as I can see, you need to tune to account for how you yourself play.
What I did was get a harp that did seem to be in tune (a SP20 in this case) and use a tuner to find out how sharp each reed was set, and clock how it changed with increasing volume. Quite a lot as it turned out. Then I copied that to the other harp to get it roughly right. Then tweaked it to get the octaves from beating and the 2nd position root notes in tune with each other (2D, 6B & 9B). It all worked, and I found out something about how much material you have to remove to alter the pitch.
I've not found any gross tuning problems with any quality harps I've bought (although they often need gaps adjusting). But just for fun I've tweaked the octaves to reduce beats. Again, they might have been technically fine, but maybe my playing flattens one or other note a tad, who knows.
I enjoyed working on the instrument. I tried some embossing too. I fully expected to destroy it, but actually it's still fine and I carry it around on the basis that it only cost £5 or something so no problem if I lost it. However it has had more love and attention than any other harp, so maybe I need to rethink that and put it in a glass case.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Oct 03, 2015 3:46 AM
Yes that's very useful. Lots of good ideas in there. For example, using the hairdryer. I took the plates off to tune, but so much easier leaving them on.
I wonder why Andrew uses the 5 cent tool for some tuning and a rotary tool for others?
Unless I've read this wrong, it does mean that the octaves are only properly in tune at one breath-force level. The point being that the octave tuning technique using beats relies on one reed being flattened more by increasing force than the other one.
Tell me otherwise, but this reinforces my assertion that you have to tune be right for your own playing force/style?
I won't tell you otherwise. Tuning is a compromise. People who tune harps for others often seem to go a bit quiet when the topic is raised. Some things I've found about harmonica are not especially obviously intuitively logical...but I think once you gather some knowledge about tuning, you can start to trust your logical inferences. A bit. The pitch of a reed will change somewhat with breath force, embouchure, condensation. So how do you tune it to be 'in tune' at any moment? Well, I think you can only do your best. A guitarist who uses a whammy of some kind will usually only be in tune immediately after they tune up. This is why I tell customers who are expressing great fussiness about tuning that they really should learn to do it for themselves. I can tune a harp to play great for me, for the things that are important to me, the way I play. And most folks I tune for are happy with what I provide. But truly, even after one has precisely tuned the harp to play well within the perceived dynamic range likely used by the player, the tuning can still drift over time. It just makes sense to me that especially for diatonic players, they should learn to keep their harps in tune.
Maybe I should say though, that the sweet spot re breath force has some breadth, so you see Andrew in the video above setting up for 'normal' breath force...which is neither 'very light' nor 'hard', but it is a range
I see. I think that understanding that tuning is a compromise, not just theoretically but practically too is helpful.
With all the electronic keyboards and computer tech around, it's tempting to think that there is a 'correct tuning', but I think other acoustic instruments have practical compromises too. Certainly tuning a piano isn't simple. Iceman mentions this from time to time. When I was learning the piano I learnt some basic maintenance too - out of interest and to save money - and there were various wrinkles once you get beyond the simple "it's a vibrating string".
I just remembered your question about why AZ uses rotary tool for some and 5c tool for other...he has the 5c tool inserted in the slot when working the free end, so it's otherwise occupied. I've just been tuning some reed plates for a player who has something of a profile...I'm normally tuning to a scheme that works well and is largely as AZ describes but this time I'm feeling the pressure of expectation...maybe just my expectation...my draw plate octave splits are getting much better... Blow plates I think are much more difficult. I love it when I get a plate which is nice and flat and works well with my 'masterharp' tuning table. Pat Missin describes tuning a chromatic, finding a nice place to work. I can relate to that. Yesterday I was for a time working in a room where there was just a little non-intrusive noise...primarily birdsong. My frame of mind was great. I was enjoying the work. Later, after a break I returned to the work but before I could begin, someone began playing piano in the house. It didn't interfere with the tuner or my ability to hear the reeds I was tuning, but it was distracting and my mood was gone...tuning became a drag. If I could establish sufficient credibility for people to pay me well to tune harps...I might enjoy it. I think it has potential. A beautiful repetitive exercise in creating harmony... Ah...I doubt there's a living in it...but I believe there is pleasure to be found there
Oh yes I see. But he could use the 5c tool for everything? It looks useful. I used a small file, but I think that tool would be better. There was a small difficulty with the file that if I filed near the edge of the reed, it created a little burr that could catch on the slot. Easy enough to correct, but scratching would be better.
I could imagine tuning is therapeutic, or frustrating - depending.
What about the dangers of turning your hobby into a paying profession? You not worried about that?
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Oct 09, 2015 10:05 AM
Intent on not becoming a business. If I accepted every job I would have zero time for anything else. And if I put my prices where they reflect my time I expect I'd have zero jobs. I'm doing it ATM because I'm interested and find it satisfying. And because I feel I'm contributing. And I get to meet people within the 'harmonica community'. It's really quite a strange thing to do, but.. I wore out the engraving head on my rotary tool, but I like a file just as well so I haven't replaced it. And I often use (Richard Sleigh's) draw scraper for working on the fixed end. The burr of which you speak is a hazard associated with the file, not just at home. Fairly simple to deal with though. I think hohner still tune using files, Seydel use a rotary tool of some type on the SS reeds and Suzuki use laser...not sure how they do it The Seydel crew seem to push pretty hard with the tool. I've seen reeds which are discoloured from the heat, and it's common to be able to see a convex dent in the other side of the reed. I've been tuning steel reeds, using the file I bought from Seydel. I won't use my draw scraper or 3 square file on the steel reeds as I want to keep them sharp for the brass. I doubt the scraper would be very effective on SS anyway...although it's doubtless a higher grade of steel. But if you have a tool which will remove metal in a controlled way, you can use it to tune reeds. I have some sanding wands made for manicure which I use often. After I've been filing and the reed surface is roughed, the sanding wand seems particularly effective. As they wear out or clog up, I snip off the used part to get a fresh section, somewhat analogous to sharpening a pencil. This seems effective, even on SS One thing which bothers me a little is the thought of inhaling brass and steel filings...another reason I like to use the tuning table where I can. I know there is a lot of brass in the ultrasonic bath when I'm cleaning up after tuning. Really not sure what the ohs impact may be from this work...
