Now that you know more about tuners that you ever wanted to, you might be wondering what you should be doing with the one you selected! Because no matter how ritualized you make your tuning, in the end, you want to get to playing – so you might be wondering,
“I have a tuner…now what?”
Good question. Since tuning is pretty essential, people who’ve been at it a while might forget to initiate others into the mysteries of it all – like what you should do when you sit down to tune.
First, some ground rules:
- There is no one way to tune. Just like there is no single way to play the harp, there are multiple ways to approach tuning. Play around with the suggestions here and find the approach that works for you. Or hybridize them, or make up your own.
- No matter how you go about the act of tuning, in the end, be focused on the goal – which is to have a harp that is in tune. Anything that pulls you away from that goal is not serving you as a musician.
- It is a good idea to tune your harp with all the levers OFF – no matter to what scale you’re tuned. Tuning with the levers engaged doesn’t make a lot of sense – if the levers are doing their job, turning the pin to tighten or loosen the string will have to work against the lever which is designed to hold the string in place – tautly! Just don’t. Take the levers off and then tune.
So here are some thoughts on the HOW of tuning:
- The Linear Method* – Start at the bottom of your harp and tune each string, in order, until you get to the top. Yup, easy-peasy. There’s no getting lost or forgetting where you were. And if you do get lost, as soon as you hear the string you think was next, you’ll have auditory proof that you’re right (or not). You can also go from top to bottom – there’s no magic in starting at the bottom, so it’s up to you.
- The Linear Octave Method – Start at the bottom of your harp (my bottom string is a C) and tune that string. Then tune each successive string of that note up your harp (e.g., C6 – C5 – C4 – C3 – C2 – C1). Once at the top of your harp, go back to the bottom and do the next string (e.g., D6 – D5 – etc.). Iterate until you get to C5) and you’re done. As with the Linear Method, you could also start at the top and work your way down.
- The Circle of 5ths Simple Method – This approach is a little more complicated in that it assumes you know and are comfortable with the complete Circle of 5ths**. In addition, you have to pay attention so you don’t forget where you are! Start with your favorite pitch (I start with Ab) (If that doesn’t mean anything to you, and if your harp is not tuned to Bb or Eb, start with A)( If that doesn’t mean anything to you, and your harp is tuned to Bb or Eb, let me know and I’ll address it another time!). Tune all of the strings of that pitch, then move to it’s 5th and tune all those, move to its 5th and tune all those, etc. until you get back where you started.
- The Circle of 5ths Less Simple Method – This method is a little more complicated. Here you really have to pay attention so you don’t get lost! Again, start with your favorite string (I start with Ab3) (If that doesn’t mean anything to you, it’s the Ab above middle C). Then tune the octave below it (for me, Ab4). Next tune the octave above it (for me, Ab2), back and forth until all of the strings of that pitch have been tuned. Then move to its 5th and tune all those, again going below then above, etc. around the Circle until you get back where you started. This really does require that you pay attention because you have to remember what you have tuned and where you’re going (both direction and 5ths).
- The Random Walk – I don’t recommend this approach, but I have seen some beginners use no pattern. They just pick a string and tune it and then go on to some other string (and it appears random to me, with no discernable pattern). This really would take a great deal of concentration and it’s likely that you’ll miss a string (or 6). But I’m not going to tell you not to do it this way – as long as when you’re finished your harp is actually in tune!
Since you might ask, my favorite way to tune is the Less Simple Circle of 5ths Method. I like it best because everything about it helps me tune – tuning the strings against each other helps me hear them better, using the Circle makes harmonic sense, and for me, not going straight up an octave helps me focus more. But to be honest, I use all these approaches at various times, depending on the circumstances. The best method is the one you’ll actually use! In addition, even the most complicated approach becomes easy if you practice doing it!
Additional Thoughts
Remember there’s more to tuning that slavishly adhering to the tool. Your tuner is not smart. And while it “listens” it doesn’t “hear”! So, when I have “finished” tuning, I have an additional step to hear that my harp is in tune. I use this step to correct tuning that might be off. There are a couple of ways to do it:
- Play octaves – play a 2 handed one octave scale of octaves from the bottom to the top of your harp. You know how to do this, you learned when you were first playing the harp – play the lowest octave in the left hand (e.g., C6 and C5) and the next higher octave in the right (e.g., C4 and C3) and play a scale straight up until you get to the top of your harp. Listen to what’s coming out of your harp and fix any notes that aren’t sweet.
- Play triads – just like above but with triads rather than scales. I like this method best because it really helps me hear when a note is not right. Sometimes, that note will have read right on the tuner and sounded good in the octaves, but played against its 5th (or sometimes its 3rd) then I can hear that it’s just not quite right. The other advantage is that I can quickly tell exactly which string isn’t right (not just which note) so I don’t have to guess or redo them all (it’s not all the Bs, it’s just B3, for example). And it’s typically not out by, much so I can correct it fairly easily.
Handy hint – harps are built to be resonant. I place my hand flat against the lowest strings when I’m tuning the middle (remember, I usually start in the middle) – this way the tuner (and my ear) hears the string I’m playing. Otherwise, those lower strings are resonating sympathetically and the tuner hears that, but since, at that point I haven’t tuned those lower strings yet, what the tuner hears might lead me astray. Then my tuned string is not actually as well tuned as I think and I will have to go back and retune it after I’ve finished tuning – how pointless is that!?!
How do you go about tuning? Do you have another approach? Anything that just really doesn’t work? Let me know in the comments!
* I’ve made up these names, they aren’t “official” but feel free to use them 😉
** Whether you use this method of tuning or not, you need to know and be comfortable and facile with the Circle of 5ths – it’s something we use a lot!
wow who knew there would be SO much interest about tuning? So many different ways…
Thank you so much Jen for continuing this topic…. it is an area that I have had lots of questions about that I have not taken the time to ask before. Thank you for giving me a forum to finally do so.
I spend my professional life in a clinical laboratory, so my natural inclination is to feel a) that there must be a “correct” way to approach tuning (an SOP to follow so to speak) and b) that the tuner “result” must be more accurate than my own ear. I love the way you addressed this…. that a tuner “hears but doesn’t listen”. That is something that I can hold onto and build trust around.
I also loved your suggestions for verifying the tuning… playing octaves, triads and fifths. These were new suggestions for me and I will enjoy incorporating them into my tuning routine. They will help tremendously to build the trust in my own ear that I crave. I will also start damping the lower strings while tuning the mid and upper ranges…. that makes perfect sense but (again) was a suggestion that I have not heard before.
I’m off to my music room to give these ideas a go….. thank you again for spending time on this topic!
Thanks Leslie! Have fun with it too and I’m looking forward to hearing how you did in your music room!
Jen, I confess, I am negligent, tuning maybe once a week on lesson day. Awful, I know. Maybe because it’s mostly only the metal bass strings that go out. But it is really probably because I am just lazy.
Today, I changed my tuning routine and started doing the octave strings pattern, down from the middle then up from the middle.(Yes, it is lesson day but will make an effort to aim for daily tuning.)
Then I experimented. I used my Korg tuner for one string and tried tuning the other, using just my flawed hearing. I have hearing loss in both ears but do not use the HAs while playing. Unfortunately, to my brain, music sounds are very distorted and I even get feedback sometimes.
I always thought that I did not have the ability to detect any dissonances except obvious ones like a wrong string plucked or I forgot to flip a lever.
I surprised myself, coming very close. So, diminished hearing but not completely deaf to my harp’s nuances. I like that.
Now, I am thinking I may have to add more ear training which is improving with all of the workshops I love to do. I, a book junkie, may even have an ear training book, languishing in a pile somewhere.
Kate, thanks for tip about the lowest C and D. Yep, my Korg said they did lose it!
Barbara – I’m making “lemon face” on your once a week tuning!😖 I’m so excited that you are hearing those differences-and maybe that will help you tune a little more often! And good on you to learn by ear more – you’ll find that the more you do, the easier it will be until you wonder why you waited so long!
Barbara, consider going back to your audiologist and bring the harp! They can adjust them.
Kate, I did have a conversation years ago with my audiologist. The new pair is better. I think I may need to wear them more while playing, lowering the volume then increasing gradually. Training my brain to filter out some sounds, maybe. Will add that to the daily tuning!
I tuned my pedal harp in the circle of fifths for years until tuners were invented. The circle is not perfect fifths all around; you have to do slight adjustments to make it come out.
And, I now keep my folk harp in three flats, but put those levers on so that it will be in perfect tune in the key of C. I think my levers are pretty good, but I don’t want to tune with all levers off.
Lastly, the harps in Celtic lands used to have two G strings below middle C, referred to as the “sister strings”. The LH didn’t play above that, the RH didn’t play below, bc of superstitions about male-female things. As a nod to that, I start turning on G ( but I only have one). And actually, this makes more sense if the harp is on the L shoulder; LH is feminine, RH masculine.
Thanks Sue! Good point about levers on/off. I use the on/off to test if it’s timefor regulation. I love your thinking on starting at G. I originally started on A becauseof the standard A, and just stayed there when I went to Eb tuning. We’ll talk about types of tuning next!
For me, it’s a little more complicated — or more simple, depending on how you look at it — because my “main” and longstanding instrument is the harpsichord and that instrument is never tuned to equal temperament which is what we use for the harp — I use a baroque tuning called Kirnberger for my harpsichord. Tunings from earlier periods contain quite a few pure intervals (fifths, fourths, thirds) while the only pure interval in equal temperament is the octave — all other intervals are tempered to some extent — so for me it would be very difficult to tune my harp using anything other than octaves, because I’m used to tuning by ear and listening to/counting the “beats” of one string against another. SO, all this to say I tune my harp using octaves starting with middle C (because the middle strings of the harp to me are the most clear in sound) and then going up the scale. I use the tuner and check each octave by ear (listening for any “beats” that would indicate the string isn’t quite in tune). Then I play some scales and arpeggios and if anything sounds “off” I adjust it. It’s not an exact science!
Thanks Sara! That’s a good point about the middle of the harp. I think we’ll talk about types of tuning next!
i tune in octaves, bottom up. then i check by playing 4ths , all the way up.
indeed, a string or two might agree with the Korg, but not my ears. i pull the octave with that string. sometimes, it’s just a funky string…. off in it’s own sound.
on my instrument ( 34 string), i tune the bass C and D last- they change with the tuning of the rest of the harp.
it’s like kids! some will eat peas, some not….
never thought of tuning Circle 5ths.
My harps might get confused,. I know that I would!