Re: [Harp-L] Re: Embouchure for tuning

[Joe Spiers <harpwrench@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've never found pitches needing to settle after filing or scraping to tune. If you're tweaking any gaps in the process, that can throw them.

On May 20, 2013, at 7:24 AM, Lasse HÃi <hoeilasse@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Thanks guys, it makes a lot of sense and confirms my initial assumptions.
> 
> Another question: Do you do anything in particular to make the reeds
> settle between filing and readings? Because it seems that a reed that
> was tuned up will rise a little more after some playing time.
> 
> My ideas are:
> - Simply playing a long note on the newly tuned reed
> - Wide blow/draw chords in rapid patterns for 10 seconds or more
> - Bending each hole a couple of times
> - Temperature cycling, e.g. heating it up to about 65 or ? degress
> Celsius (65 C is what i use in my ultrasonic cleaner)
> 
> 2013/5/20 Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>> Lasse wrote:
>> So... should I always try to adjust my embouchure to get the highest
>> possible pitch?
>> 
>> Steve responds:
>> Tuning harmonicas is not an exact science, in fact it can be a very
>> confusing area to deal with. Playing every note at its highest possible
>> pitch when tuning minimizes potential confusion. I do this by breathing (as
>> Joe Spiers wisely recommends) softly from the diaphragm and often also allow
>> a little air to pass between my lips and the instrument in order to minimize
>> the pressure difference between inside and outside. You need to relax and
>> also learn to listen closely to the sounding pitch of the reed so you can
>> hear if it's resonating at its highest possible frequency, or if there's
>> still some headroom because you're bending it down. I tune without covers as
>> it's more convenient and haven't really noticed any major variance between
>> tuning values with and without covers when breathing in this way.
>> 
>> The reason for doing it like this:
>> The highest pitch which the reed can produce is the only constant available.
>> Any pitch below the highest one possible is basically a bent note, its
>> intonation is dependent on the player. The degree to which reed pitch is
>> unintentionally lowered varies considerably from one person to another. When
>> tuning to any given set of tuning values, the actual result can therefore
>> vary widely if you're not playing the reed at the highest possible pitch. If
>> you're tuning your own harps, you may well be able to achieve the desired
>> result using a higher air pressure and tuning to "playing pitch", but if
>> you're doing it for anyone else, the results may diverge quite a bit from
>> what they want. I use a basic reference tone of A=443Hz when breathing as
>> described above, this generally works out OK when playing with other
>> instruments.
>> 
>> Steve Baker
>> www.stevebaker.de
>> www.european-music-workshops.com
>> www.harmonica-masters.de
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>