Re: [Harp-L] tuning octave harp

[Rick Epping <rickepping@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Brian,

A reed's pitch is affected by the environment in which it is played,
including the geometry of its reed cell, the embouchure of the player's
mouth, the pitch of any other reeds in the airstream, and the temperature
of the harmonica and ambient air. A reed mounted on its reed cell and
played by mouth will usually play some degree flat of its plucked, or
natural frequency, so fine tuning should be done after the reedplate and
comb are assembled.

If two reeds are tuned in a perfect octave the higher one can get somewhat
lost in the sound of the lower, so the octave is stretched a little to give
it an edge, but not so much as to cause the two reeds to beat.

Best regards,
Rick

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>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2013 12:06:33 -0600
> From: "Brian Stear" <brianstear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> 'brianstear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx');>>
> Subject: [Harp-L] tuning octave harp..
> To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx');>>
> Message-ID: <12B1819CE2544793BFE01F030B4B6937@joe1953>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> I love my 2-sided Comets.....just started tuning one up. But I have a
> problem....
> When I tune it and use my endcap ( Thanks Matthew! ), it can be a bit
> sharp. But as soon as I put it on the comb and play it, it goes flat. WAY
> flat.
> Funny thing is, I can tune it some more, and its way sharp. But on the
> comb, it stays almost the same, even screwed down.
> Is it karma, or?
> Another question....do you guys tune your octaves a little off from each
> other? I know I do that on my diatonics, just to fatten up the sound.
> Lastly, does anyone have an e-mail address for Joel Andersson. I had it,
> but lost it. I know he tunes his octave harps.
> Thanks!
>
> Brian
>
>