Video 1: Listening to Sean the Harp Tune

Whenever we get unpacked there's a bit of tuning that needs to be done. Sometimes it's more than other times. Some days it is different every time, some days he's happy and stable. How we travel, temperature and humidity, where we are all have their say in his temperament.


Tuning is all about listening and hearing.


I tune in fifths downwards and octaves up and down, followed by a scale and a chord sequence up and down to hear if there's anything that I didn't hear. Doing it daily makes me pretty adapt at it. But some days are better than others. Ears are far from reliable when you take into account invisibles like air- and blood-pressure.


This afternoon I was playing my last ward for the afternoon and had just unpacked Sean the Harp. He'd just been brought from a warm office, outside through the halls into a warm dining room.
Listening back to this tuning sequence, there's a problem or two three in the lowest octave. It stems from the relationship of the a'  (440 Hz) b' and c' (the a b and c above middle c).
The upper half of the harp (notably the highest e and g) has been giving me trouble. So the lower half doesn't always get the attention it deserves.


My ears hear all, multi-tracking distractions, while my eyes lead on the fingers patterning chords around red and blue strings.
By the time we come to a' the ears are tuning in, waiting, reaching, for that minor third at the top, the unfulfilled disappointment of a sunken g plummeting from the top of the root position C major.


The top turns out to be fine.


If I were my teacher I would say:


Relax the fifth, pinkies, more. Especially in the improvisation  the more energy goes into digits that aren't playing the more tension sits in the hand.

Support the left wrist more: relax the wrist more inwards and have a strong frame so the underarm can be more horizontal.


In general try and sit better. So on the front of the sitting bones, with a strong core  and long spine. Relax the neck upwards.


Everyday practise makes us learn something every day. Also some things we need to be reminded of every day, sometimes even as often as we can be reminded of them.




Live and learn. :)