Tuning without specialized tools
Hello Everybody;
I want to start tuning my harmonica. I already got the Cleartune app and I have noticed that several notes are out of tune in my Marine Band Classic (C).
I would like to have a go at tuning it, just for practice. The problem is that I don´t have access to specialized tools and there is no place to get them because because of the Coronavirus.
So my question is. Can I use alternative tools to scrap the reed like a pointy knife of or something of that sort? To lift the blowing reeds I don t see a problem doing it with a toothpick and holding the reed with a piece of paper.
What do you think, is it possible to have a decent result like this?
Thanks for the feedback;
Steve
Hey Steve, good to hear from you and great lesson from Winslow!
If you had not already done so, David and I created a series of Harp Tech Studies and I would strongly recommend you make time to watch the segment on tuning--before you dig in.
https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harp_tech_studies_3
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation I truly appreciate it.
I got the Cleartune app which lets me set it at A442 and the Temperament is also set to Equal.
So, with the tuner set at A442 and also set at Equal Temperament should I aim at 0 or do I still have to look for the cents deviations that you mention?
Thanks
Hello there Kinya;
You bet...I am devouring your Tech Studies. They are very well put together and so useful, thanks for them.
I am going to start with the reed gaping (saw your tech studies about it) and then tackle the tuning (saw your tech studies as well) but I want to make sure I understand correctly if I need to be at 0 with the Cleartuner set properly, or if I have to aim to the cents deviation (I play blues).
I am Swiss but writing from Barcelona Spain where we have been confined at home for nearly 30 days because of the Covid19, so it is the perfect time to mess with my oldest harmonica....
Thanks
If you set it to equal and tune all the notes to a 0 offset, you'll get notes that match piano notes but will make the chords sound harsh.
Use the offset values I mentioned and the chords will sound in tune, but individual notes may not always sound in tune with piano pitches.
This is the set of compromises that harmonica players live with.
Pretty much all the classic blues harmonica records were made with just intonation and not with equal. One of the aspects of getting that classic sound is using just intonation (either the 7-limit used originally, which makes Draw 5 really flat as a melody note but marveously in tune with the rest of the draw chord, or the 19-limit just used nowadays that sacrifices a bit of the smooth chord sound in favor of a more in-tune melody note).
Super!, thanks!
Ah so--shelter in place. How do you think I am able to post so much new content on this Forum ;o)
Here is my Compromised Just recipe that many players enjoy:
- 1 blow = 0c
- 1 draw = +2c
- 2 blow = -8c
- 2 draw = +1c
- 3 blow = +1c
- 3 draw = -8c
- 4 blow = 0c
- 4 draw = +2c
- 5 blow = +8c
- 5 draw = -8c
- 6 blow = +1c
- 6 draw = +3c
- 7 blow = 0c
- 7 draw = -8c
- 8 blow = -8c
- 8 draw = +2c
- 9 blow = +1c
- 9 draw = -8c
- 10 blow = 0c
- 10 draw = +3c
Legend: c [cents] - [flat] +[sharp]
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Thank Kinya !!
Is your Marine Band really out of tune?
The default setting on a tuning app is that the reference pitch of A above Middle C vibrates 440 times a second (A440), and that the rest of the notes are tuned equally in relation to that (equal temperament, or ET).
Both are wrong for the Marine Band and for harmonicas in general, and they will read as being out of tune even when they are in tune, because they are tuned to different standards, and for good reasons.
First, harmonicas are tuned higher than A440 because breath pressure pushes pitch down. Harmonicas are generall tuned to A441, A442, or A443, somtimes even as high as A446. If your tuner is set to A440, most (but not all notes) can appear to be tuned way too sharp (high).
Second, the equal temperament used on pianos will make harmonica chords sound really harsh, and only a few models (such as the Golden Melody) use equal teperament. Instead, they use either Just Intonation (both temperament and intonation refer to the fine tuning of notes to make them sound better), or some compromise between euqal and just.
On a Marine Band, Blow 3, 6, and 9 will be about 2 cents sharp of ET, while Blow 2, 5, and 7 will be 14 cents flat. The entire draw plate will be tuned slightly sharp, with Draw 2 being the refence point. Relative to Draw 2, Draw 1, 4, and 8 will be 2 cents sharp, Draw 6 will be 4 cents sharp, Draw 3 and 7 will be 14 cents flat, and Draw 5 and 9 will be about 0 (on older Marine Bands, they'd be about 30 cents flat).
Play your harp, listen - especially to chords and two-note combinations of neighboring holes played together - and ask yourself, does it sound out of tune? If the answer is no, then resist the templtation to mess with it.
To answer you questions about tools, if you can scrape metal away without damaging the reed or deforming its placement, it's probably OK to use.