RE: [Harp-L] Suzuki's Fabulus....Rant...

[Steve Shaw <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

> Yes. 
> 
> Not always, though. It depends on how much you change the gap, which part of the reed, etc.
> 
> Gap first, tune second (if needed) - no the other way around.
> 
> If you have a harp where you like how it's tuned but not how it's gapped, play each reed at normal playing volume into a tuner and note whether it's on pitch, or above or below (and by how much).
> 
> Then regap the reeds you want to change. 
> 
> Once they play the way you want them to, plink them several times to help them settle (plinking is lifting the reed a few millimeters with a fingernail or something similar, then releasing it to let it vibrate). If you've done really radical changes to the red profile, you may want to let it sit overnight to settle further.
> 
> Then you can play each regapped reed into a tuner and see whether its pitch differs from what you noted before gapping. Make any adjustments to tuning at this point.

 

I suppose.  I've found that carefully-done gapping on a new harp hardly ever affects the pitch of the reeds to any significant extent, i.e. to the extent that would bother me. ;-)   Though a few minor adjustments may be needed for one's personal style, only an extremist would have to get so radical with a stock harp's gapping that pitches would be altered.  Clumsy, hurried gapping can have that consequence, of course.  I think that if your gapping technique causes significant pitch-lowering, your harp's days are prematurely numbered.   Here's an original idea that I think I'll take out copyright on:  practise on old harps first.  ;-)

 

Incidentally, if you're a hard blower, a good way of checking whether your gaps need to be opened slightly is to test each note by playing it with a sudden, hard "t."   This works for both blows and draws.  If the note hesitates to sound (chokes) when you do that, but will sound with a softer approach, you could profitably open the gap a tad.  Overblowers, look away now. 

 

Steve  

 

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