Harmonium temperament/ tuning

[Carl Teplitski]

Have been reading the posts re. tuning of these wonderful instruments.? !
I have had some experience with these honeys, and in my opinion, we
shouldn't "complicate" matters as to what pitch they're in.. Most
times I have found them to be in questionable condition. Very much like
a piano which hasn't been tuned properly for a long time. Hard to tell if the
piano should be at A435 or ? ? ? ? I feel the same about these beauties.
" YOU " must decide the pitch to tune them to, but my problem is with the tuning
mechanics . I would suggest getting a flat tool similar to a razor blade, but
longer
and not sharp.! !  It must be thin so it can be inserted under the reed tongue, so
tuning
can take place.
Determine if the reed is flat or sharp of desired pitch.  A fine file, like one
used for sharpening saws would be appropriate. For smaller reeds, a file can be
obtained
at a jewellers shop . When a reed is filed near the moving tip, it becomes
lighter, so will
vibrate faster. When it is filed near the base, it makes the reed heavier at the
tip so will
vibrate slower, thus lowering pitch. A tighter string vibrates faster, in a piano.
( no ? )
If the reed is flat, low in pitch, insert the tool under the" end" of the reed and
make 2 or 3 swipes of the file near the end of the reed. File should follow a
parallel path to the reed, and not a steep path. If the reed is sharp,  insert the
tool further under the reed so filing can take place about a 1/3 of the distance
from the rivet which holds the reed in place. File across the reed in this area,
taking care not to file all things around , including adjoining reeds, etc.
I have usually tuned these reeds aurelly, orelly,  orally , . . . .  uh ,   ...
by ear. ( aurally )
An ETD is very handy in determining pitch of other reeds which appear allright.
Care
must be taken, or a reed can be ruined very quickly. ( no need to ask how I know,
is there )

Carl / Winnipeg




A440A@aol.com wrote:

> Tom writes:
> >  I personally find the piano sounding less than sweet on many of the "white
> > note" chords, and I think I'm going to round up or down some of these values
> > on the next tuning.
> > Here are the offsets from that harmonium temperament:
> >        A :     0
> >        G# :    -3.7
> >        G :     0
> >        F# :    -1.7
> >        F :     -2.2
> >        E :     -1.1
> >        D# :    -3
> >        D :     -3
> >        C# :    0.5
> >        C :     -5
> >        B :         -3.2
> >        A# :    -4.1
> >
> >Alot of negative values;  I offset RCT to measure A as 0.  It was actually
> > 17cents sharp, meaning that many of the negative values are closer to 440.
> > It occurs to me that it is possible that the harmonium is simply out of
> >tune.
>
> This is fairly close to a well temperament centered on F#, C# or Ab.  There
> is the abberation for the G and the Eb, but that may be tuning,  (I think the
> G could be lowered about 3 and the B raised about 2 cents and *some* order
> would be restored).
>    Harmoniums are usually not centered around C, but rather, the keys like
> F#, C# .  Try the drones and see what they are tuned to,  you might find that
> the drones are are likely to be droning on the nicest sounding keys.
>    As far as tuning these things, (if you want to "westernize it),  I have
> had good luck with a small drop of CA and if needed, a touch of baking soda
> dropped on it to flatten things.  If you need to raise the pitch,( Unusual)
> as Dremel tool can be lightly used with the cutoff wheel to thin the tip out.
>  Don't cut it short, as that will affect the air passage through the reed
> slot.
> Regards,
> ED Foote RPT
>
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