Re: [Harp-L] harp tuning with chromatic tuner

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It's very dificult to play a note for tuning the same way you're going
to play it in a performance.  When you're tuning you need regular,
consistent air pressure, sounding the note constantly while you look
at the reading on the tuner.  When you're playing you might hit the
note harder or softer, faster or slower, bend into it or bend out of
it, or any of a huge number of variations that make up your style.  

When tuning it's best to try and make the harmonica consistent.  That
way you know what to expect when you hit a note.  I choose a reference
pitch that's somewhat higher than A=440 (10 cents sharp, which is
about A=442.5), with the idea that it's better to be a little sharper
than the other instruments than flatter.  It also helps to soften the
impact of the lowering of several pitches that's required to harmonize
the chords, which can be as much as 14 cents for 19-limit just, or 29
cents for true 7-limit just.  

-tim


--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Jim McBride <jpmcbride@xxxx>
wrote:

Tim,
   
  I should hav ebeen more specific. The harps from my case that I
checked against the tuner were off from the tuning chart in different
directions on different reeds (some flat, some sharp). However, my
Korg tuner is able to change the reference frequency which I did and
it appears that the harps are closer when the reference is set to
441hz. I can tell by ear that some notes are out of tune so the major
problem is probably my harps. I don't have that great of an ear for
tuning but I can hear problems with octaves in particular - on some of
my SP20's and Bushmans the 1-4 draw octave has a very obvious beat
frequency.
   
  So this brings me to a question about tuning harps. I've heard that
they are often factory tuned to 441hz or 442hz to compensate for reeds
going flat when played hard. It seems to me that if I tune my harps I
should set my tuner to a reference frequency of 440Hz and tune them
correctly for the way I play, with the amount of air I typically use.
Is this what you harp tuners out there are doing?
   
  Jim McBride

			
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