Minneapolis based Reuben Correa, Harpist, weddings, Parties, Private Lessons, composer, recordings: Journal

ANNOUNCING A PHOTO CONTEST
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * WIN A CD!!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
--Reuben needs new performance photos for his web site. At this time he doesn’t have paparazzi; following him around so he depends on others to share their pictures.(maybe his attitude about paparazzi will change in the future),
--We’re asking you to send interesting pictures of Reuben Correa playing the harp at your event. If he chooses your photo, you will win one of his cd’s and he’ll sign, date and send it to you. You can request a copy of SEA WHISPERINGS, OUR BEAUTIFUL BABY, ROCK OF AGES, or MANTLE OF PEACE. And pretty soon; FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HARP, will be available again.
--You can send as many photos as you like, from different angles, with or without other guests in the picture. ( and hopefully he isn’t doing something embarrassing when you snap the picture!)
-- Send a photo OR disc by snail mail, or email. If you want the media returned, please send a self addressed stamped envelope for that purpose.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanks and Good Luck. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ribbon the Gift of Choice
Choose one of 9 different gift collections in exchange of monetary discount if your wedding is on a Sunday - Thursday and if you have booked me for at least a wedding plus 1 hour.

Name Description Brands

ARRIVAL . . . Oh Baby! . . Fisher – Price, Ugg-Australia, Graqco, Saftey first, Cuisinart

CHOICES . . . Your best choices . . . Nutrilite, XS, Artistry, Body Blends, Tolsom, Simply

Delicious . . . Tasteful Extravagance . . . Black Angus, Cuisinart, Chicago Cutlery, Proctor Silex, Presto

GUY GEAR . . . Toys for Boys . . . Howard Miller, Milwaukee, Cutter & Buck, Oreck, Rubbermaid, Sharp

PAMPER . . . Indulge Yourself . . . Thymes, Revlon, Root Conair, Pollenex, Body Blends

PERSONAL ACCENTS. . . Fulfill Your Desire . . . An array of Necklaces, Earrings, Watches and Bracelets in sparkling Austrian crystaks, cub ic zirconia, beads, natural stones and much more

SWEET . . . Teen Interests . . . HP Levi’s, Unionbay, Wenger

UNIQUE . . . Singular Sensations . . . Nambe, Dooney & Bourke, XOXO, Chicago Cutlery, Cobra, Marquis by Waterford

Variety . . . . . Spice of Life . . . Adidas, Dr. Scholls, howard Miller, Homedics, Totes, Royal

Here's what you get when you download music from the cdbaby Music site:
* - You can buy the entire album as one zip download, which
includes the MP3s, a JPG of the album art, and a text file of song
titles, album notes, and links back to Reuben's other websites!

* - They're regular MP3 files that play easy on ANY MP3 player you
use, whether iPod, cellphone, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia,
Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.

* - The MP3s are encoded at top-audiophile-quality (~200k VBR),
higher than iTunes or any other major store.


Here they are:

REUBEN CORREA: Our Beautiful Baby`
http://cdbaby.com/cd/reubencorrea



REUBEN CORREA: Sea Whisperings
http://cdbaby.com/cd/reubencorrea2


REUBEN CORREA: Mantle of Peace
http://cdbaby.com/cd/reubencorrea3


REUBEN CORREA: Rock of Ages
http://cdbaby.com/cd/reubencorrea4

You'll be glad you did

From things I've heard from the many many brides that I've worked with.
The number one comment is usually said with a woeful tone of voice.
These wedding plans are driving me crazy!!!!
The best thing you can do for yourself especially if your wedding is in late summer fall or winteris: take a week off now and then.
The result will be to come back with a fresh perspective, and you won't be driving yourself or your family and friends crazy with each new little detail or developement.
Believe me when I say that if you are reporting each new little development to your family friends and co-workers, they are going to start avoiding you. Out of love of course you must consider that before you were getting married you were a whole person, not needing to discuss every dream plan or realization of the very important upcoming event.
After you get married you will be a whole person not needing to discuss every dream or realization of how the very important event went.
Is it important YES! but don't let it consume your every waking and sleeping moment.
Go to the movies, out with friends, and do other activities and concentrate on not talking about the big event. Even if your friends ask about it.
Tell them you are taking a wedding break. You are not gathering ideas, not discussing plans and definitely not taking advice.
You'll be surprised at how much more relaxed and happy you'll be.

Celebrate your exciting news!!

Money saving tips:
*If your wedding or celebration is on a Friday night, Save $15.00 on your wedding music.
*If your wedding or celebration is on a Sunday or a weekday through Thursday save $25.00!
Choose between the discount or a Ribbon Gift of Your Choice. There are nine different Catalogs to choose from:
Name . . . . .Description . . . . . Brands

ARRIVAL . . . Oh Baby! . . Fisher – Price, Ugg-Australia, Graqco, Saftey first, Cuisinart

CHOICES . . . Your best choices . . . Nutrilite, XS, Artistry, Body Blends, Tolsom, Simply

Delicious . . . Tasteful Extravagance . . . Black Angus, Cuisinart, Chicago Cutlery, Proctor Silex, Presto

GUY GEAR . . . Toys for Boys . . . Howard Miller, Milwaukee, Cutter & Buck, Oreck, Rubbermaid, Sharp

PAMPER . . . Indulge Yourself . . . Thymes, Revlon, Root Conair, Pollenex, Body Blends

PERSONAL ACCENTS. . . Fulfill Your Desire . . . An array of Necklaces, Earrings, Watches and Bracelets in sparkling Austrian crystal, cubic zirconia, beads, natural stones and much more

SWEET . . . Teen Interests . . . HP Levi’s, Unionbay, Wenger

UNIQUE . . . Singular Sensations . . . Nambe, Dooney & Bourke, XOXO, Chicago Cutlery, Cobra, Marquis by Waterford

Variety . . . . . Spice of Life . . . Adidas, Dr. Scholls, howard Miller, Homedics, Totes, Royal

($50.00 Value.)(See information about this by Clicking the LINKS button.)

Avoid the Pain and the Pitfalls of the Scam Artist (Scammers.)
By Reuben Correa Professional Harp Soloist


Below in the box is an excerpt from an email I received. Right away I discerned that it was a scam but allowed the exchange to go further because I wanted a sample for this article.

VARIOUS FORMS OF SCAMS

The scams come in different forms, sometimes they announce the death of somebody and are in need of somebody in America to transfer huge inheritance amounts and offer a 10% - 20% fee for helping out. Often it is a sad or tragic story meant to play on American sensitivities.
Many scams are the ridiculous but somewhat (hopefully) believable Lottery awards. These play on people who gamble online and can’t remember which lotteries they have recently gambled on. They also tout extremely high dollar or euro amounts but in the end they want you to send them 10% - 20% of the winnings for administrative costs.
The worst are for artists, musicians and people with valuables that they are selling online. My first scam was a huge let down but I got reliable information from a police officer about the existence of a monetary instrument called a ‘Q’ Cheque.
Scammers are really not artists but hateful people trying to make a buck off of the real artist. Real media or musical artists sadly are often low or out of cash and are unfortunately the most hopeful of being discovered by somebody with” real money.” Unless you have some policies in place to protect yourself you could easily be victimized.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Scammers often try to use the skills of the web site owner and make truly ridiculous requests. The e-mails that you receive are usually in poorly written, misspelled, grammatically incorrect English.
Often they don’t even understand what it is you do so they don’t understand how to answer you when you rebuff their request. The scammers are insistent that you do what they want and will often repeat their original claim or premise.
They will sometimes claim to have a couple of widely nonsensical employments. Like a popular one has to do with being a priest and at the same time a videographer, or journalist or TV reporter. It is because Americans especially artists want that print, or advertisement, and are perceived to have some strong religious ties.
They claim to come from European or American countries because the scammers know that very few people in their right mind are going to pay attention to anything from Africa and other third world countries. The scammer’s name is probably Ugabooga Ankawanka but they take on anglicized names like Thomas or Mme Williams to further the scam and therefore trust factor. Another naming technique is to bastardize movie star names and product names so that they sound familiar. One such example that I received was “Joshua Timberlake” and Mrs. J. Cadbury close but not close enough.

HOW DO THEY TRY TO GET YOUR MONEY?

Time is of the essence they want to get your money before you suspect anything is wrong. Usually, and this is especially difficult for musicians the performance is less than two weeks away. The main soloist has fallen ill or has a conflicting engagement, so you’ll be the honored stand in. Maybe the hiring party is planning a surprise party with awards, catering, and journalistic coverage often accompanied by a videographer or publicist for the event.
Most of the time these events are out of town and may even require out of state or country travel. The scammers include details that would boggle the mind in the first place and always have extravagant bits of information to tantalize the artist and cloud the issue.
The scammers will ask you for an estimate of what the costs will be for performance fee, travel, hotel, meals, costuming, sound amplification, lighting, staging, special effects, technicians, and whatever extra needs might be included.
They want to make their event sound really important so that you’ll spend as much as possible. Of course you’ll want to charge them as much as you can get away with, because after all this is short notice and you’ll have to rearrange your schedule for this important event. They’ll ask for your contract and bill, and address and your phone number
Now comes the money part: You send them the estimate of what it will cost and sooner than you know they will send you a check for double or even triple what you asked for. Your blood pressure will rise with excitement because if you are smart you have checked out the company name on the check and it does exist. But it is written on a “Q” – Cheque, however, if you don’t know what a “Q” Cheque is it looks legitimate.
Most people will gasp and promptly report to the hiring party that too much money was sent. Or in isolated cases when that doesn’t happen, they will report to you that the “accountant” sent too much money and could you please return the overage. Here comes the tricky part.
You will be told not asked to send the money by Western Union to an account in an African nation. When you ask why there? It is because the hiring party is on a missions trip or it has to be sent to pay the photographer who is on assignment with a magazine on a safari, or a journalist who is covering a story and needs the money to get back to America. All very strange excuses but perhaps believable if you are taking drugs or drinking a lot.
By now a lot of red flags should be forming in your mind. If you say no or make noises about waiting until the check clears you will receive stringent instructions by email, and phone and letter. None traceable by the way and the phone call will be very poor scratchy noisy reception with the person on the other end sounding very African and difficult to understand at all.
Many artists will actually run not walk to the Western Union office and promptly write a check to cover the overage based on the huge amount the check was written for and that has arrived in the mail. Then they will proceed to book flights, rent, cars, hotels, equipment, on their credit cards and make preparations to leave. Some musicians actually do show up only to find no car waiting, no address, no party, and a huge loss of income.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Put some policies in place for your personal protection.

1. First and foremost, if you receive a check make sure it is not a “Q” Cheque. I can’t remember the real reason that these checks are legal, but they are not written by a bank, the writing party has to put the money into the account that is created for this transaction.

2. Make sure that the check clears and I mean wait the full 10 days that it will sometimes
take while the bank researches the availability of funds.

3. Email or call the company that is named on the check, Ask for the accounting
department or the human resources, or events coordinator to see if they have any record
of this transaction.

4. Insist on receiving a certified check for the correct amount and sent next day mail by
Fedex or express mail.

5. Tell them if the check is written for any other amount you cannot cash it and will return it.

6. Mapquest the address of the event, call the event location if you can find a listing, and
find out if the event is listed not always reliable because they may be getting scammed
too.


7. Do not give in to demands for payment of overage. Tell the hiring party that you will
bring the money with you when you arrive to do the performance.

8. Email the hiring party telling them that you have been a victim of scam attempts
before and that you suspect that they are trying to scam you and that you are going to
contact the FBI with their information. If that doesn’t stop the hiring process in the bud
you may have a legitimate gig because scammers will rarely continue a scam if
threatened with the FBI.

Congratulations!!!



-----Original Message-----
From: Raymond Erick <>
To: harp@
Sent: Sat, 8 Dec 2007 9:14 am
Subject: Teacher needed
Hello,
I am interested in educating my Daughter on how to play harp. I want her to come around during this christmas holiday and i would want you to teach her for two weeks. Let me know if you would be able to take her and how far do you think a two weeks lesson can take her.
Let me know your charges for this duration and if you have a place where she can stay during this period.
We leave here in the Uk and do not have a family relative in the US where she can stay.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks
Raymond

Harp wrote:
this is not possible she cannot learn harp in two weeks. Two years maybe. Stay in England there are ;many good harp teachers there.
Harp

Ok,thanks i understand two weeks is not enough to learn and that was why i asked how far can she go with a two weeks lesson. How long would it take her to understand the rudiments of harp playing .She actually insisted on learning in the US

Thanks and let me know
Harp Wrote back:
I know you are a scammer and I am forwarding this email to the FBI.


I sincerely hope that this article has been of some assistance in helping you understand the nature of these scams and that it has come in time to help you avoid the pain and loss of hard earned and deserved money.

To celebrate this happy season Reuben has placed the prices of his weddings on sale $25.00 - $50.00 for the end of December and all of January. The new prices are already changed. You can see them by clicking the Wedding / bio button. Book Reuben during this time and save!

Here are the various internet companies that you can download and stream Reuben's Music:
Companies that are supposed to have
Sea Whisperings, Our Beautiful Baby Mantle of Peace and Rock of Ages:

Apple iTunes, - AudioLunchbox, - Buy Music, - Bitmunk, - Charity Tunes, - Choice Records, - Chondo, - Daiki, - Destra, - Digital Kiosk, - Goodstorm, - GreatIndieMusic, - GroupieTunes, - Inprodicon, - Intent Media Works, - Interia, - iSound, - Liquid Digital Media, - MOD Systems, - Mouzika, -MPGreek, - MP3, - extention, - Mp3tunes, - MusicIsHere, - MusicNow, - Music Net, - MSN Music, - Muze, - MyKidsTunes, - Napster, - Nareos, - Nexhit, - NTT, - PassAlong, - PayPlay, - PlayIndies, - Puretracks, - Rhapsody, - Ruckus, - RuleRadio, - Sony Connect, - Sonific, - Tradebit, - USEN, - Verizon, - WrapFactory, - Zune,

Reuben Correa, harp soloist was the dinner entertainment at the Gala for the 25th Anniversary of the Minneapolis / St Paul Airport Foundation. It was held in the Champion Airlines Hangar which was turned into an elegant salon with silver candelabra's hanging candles, giant white rose arrangements and Reuben appeared to be floating 15 feet above the salon floor in a mechanics scissor lift draped in black satin. Mr. Correa played his heart out and was rewarded with many appreciative ovations.
It could be said to be the high - light of his career!

Reuben has started printing less paper and using less plastic in packaging his cds.
He has decided to place his cds in slim line Jewel cases (as they are called) and is using the disc as the back cover instead of printing a paper cover.
It makes the cd lighter weight for shipping and is a wiser use of resources in packaging since many people remove the disc from the box anyway and put them in to vinyl folders.

I wanted to make sure you knew about PayPlay.fm - an MP3 download
store that is selling Reuben Correa's music as part of CD Baby's Digital
Distribution.

They've got a nice easy-to-use website that is a great no-nonsense
place for people that want to buy his MP3s. No software to
install. And since they're regular MP3 files, they'll work in every
computer, and any portable player.
Be sure to press the Links button for this new great feature!!

Recording the Harp Tips

Hi There N.
Can I ask how you mike your harp? Sometimes placement really helps. I'll tell you what has worked well for me and maybe it will help you. I mike my harp High and low instead of right/ left.
Because sound always travels upwards first then out, I have found that if I place the microphone 8" - 10 inches off of the top of the crown slightly in front of the harp where the sound is still strong but also begins to blossom and aerate (kind of like wine)
Also 5" - 8" inches in front of the harp a couple of inches near the floor on the bottom where all of the sound is pushed out of the sound box so you get a really great bass sound. I use a soft carpet remnant or large piece of velvet to eliminate sound reflection off of the floor. It depends on how warm or bright you want the sound. In a recording situation you usually don't want a solid wood or cement floor to reflect the sound because it tends to muddy the bass.
Well there I hope this helps. I love the harp and I love to hear other people play it and I love for harper(ists) to be successful so I try not to keep secrets.

1-10-07
Time to introduce a new subject do you agree?
So now we will discuss:
Mastering Curved Finger Plucking.

First you may ask, what is curved finger plucking and why is it so important?
Plucking the strings of your harp with curved fingers is an important part of making the tone quality solid and controlling the dynamics.
While most harpers / ists are content to pluck the strings with the finger tips as many people believe is the correct way. It really limits the sound production, tone quality and dynamic range of the music you play. In order to be very expressive with your music you must have control of the string and the plucking of that string.
01-16-07
I will try to describe how to form your hand to get the curved finger look.
1. Stretch your arms out in front of you.
2. relax your hands so that they hang downward.
3. you will notice that your fingers naturally curve that is what you are looking for.
4. now by bending your elbows outward slowly bring your hands toward your body. (you should look like an angel with elbows pointing outwards from the center of your body.)
5. slightly bend your hands at the wrists upwards about a 45 degree angle. keeping your arms and elbows parallel to the floor.
{Do you feel like a contortionist?}
6. the goal is to have a round space between your fingers, palm and thumb almost as if you were holding a raquet ball.
And of course you are totally relaxed while doing this. Right?!
7. When you pluck you will still want to use the sides of your fingers, and you will essentially be catapulting your fingers into your palm. (kind of like snapping your fingers.
Place your fingers on the strings. You will have to modify the position to fit your hand and it will feel totally alien for a while.
Practice plucking one finger at a time as in start with the 1st finger (index finger). only pluck one string until it starts to feel normal. It can get boring but you want to teach your finger a new feeling, and not get side tracked by trying to pluck other strings or melodies.
After about three days
of plucking with both L & R hands, try the 3rd or middle fingers of each hand. Not an easy journey but it will immensely improve your ability to express your music and make it more interesting to the listner.
** DO Not Pluck from the first or second joint use the main knuckle as your plucking point.**
If none of this makes sense you are on the right track!!
I will try to put a picture of this on my picture gallery.
01-31-07
One thing to remember is that when you pluck you want to displace the string, not just slide off of it. If you find yourself sliding off of the string you will also find that you are probably plucking more than one string and so are getting extra notes.
Let me know if you need more of an explanation. I'd love to hear from you.

This morning at 5am Reuben performed as a special guest and background music for Interviews which took place at the Minneapolis / St. Paul International Airport. He was filmed by all of the local stations and inteviewed by WCCO.
It was an interesting gig and took all the concentration and focus that he could muster.
Reuben's picture in his full Renaissance regalia also graces the cover of the brochure advertising the music the airport has hired to give as a gift to its stressed out passengers.

Soon Reuben will add two more titles to his web site. He has Mantle of Peace and Rock of Ages.due to come online in December.
Mantle of Peace is his Christmas / Winter CD chock full of favorite classics and traditional carols in beautiful and fun arrangements.
Rock of Ages is a meditational, Ultra Stress Relief offering, which does indeed relax the listener. One of Reuben' students told him not to listen to this one and drive since she actually fell asleep at the wheel and went off of the road.
Thankfully she was on a road that had serrated edges which woke her up and she continued on uninjured.

Reuben Correa placed sixth in the Category of Best Solo Instrumental Song for his original composition Chas'n My Tail. This song can be heard on the Our Beautiful Baby cd.
Being present for the Awards show really opened his eyes to the array of talent that his song competed against. it was mind boggling to say the least and he is excited to have been a part of this incredible occassion.
The awards show was held at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, CA. It is considered a premier hall for talented artists to perform.
Reuben will return to the cold Minnesota tundra to create more music and hopefully have an entry for next year as well.

Reuben is proud of his 2006 Nomination to the JPF Music Awards for his original composition
Chas'in My Tail from his Our
Beautiful Baby CD.
Below is a description of the field and process of the nominations.

Hi 2006 Just Plain Folks Award Nominees!

I want to congratulate all of you on receiving nominations in this years JPF Music Awards. In case you missed the announcement earlier this week, we had 25,500+ albums and 350,000+ songs entered for the awards this year (including yours) and we announced nominees in 81 album and 67 song categories. This year's nominees come from over 70 countries around the world and include seasoned well known veterans and some of the best up and coming artists and writers in the music community. We spent 13 months screening all the music 1 song at a time and we couldn't be more proud of and impressed with this year's slate of nominees.

Reuben Correa's CD
Sea Whisperings is now available to download tracks or the entire cd! This is very exciting news for Reuben because his
music is now available to be heard and enjoyed Internationally!!!

Hello Friends:
Many inquiries have been made about what I have experienced in the healing settings of hospitals, NICU’s and home visits.
I have written a brief missive on the subject of playing for early newborns and it actually applies in many different situations. Adults and children alike as well as animals respond favorably to harp music in all kinds of situations.
The medical situation is just a little more interesting because you can actually see results on the monitoring machines.
The tones of the harp in an NICU setting produce a variety of wonderful results from calming a fussy or irritated baby to slowing the heart rate and allowing the child to relax so that bigger breaths are taken and more oxygen is available to the body, to stimulating the minds of child, parent, and medical staff.
A child is so sensitive to the feelings of the people around him/her that they can sense a troubled spirit. This can be a cause for fussiness. I have noticed that when the parents and staff is calm a baby will sense that it is all right to be calm and will become more stable.
It is exciting to see the results on the monitors as the heart rates descend, and the O2 rates ascend. The child is able to take deeper breaths and more of its energy can be put toward healing, gaining weight and becoming healthy enough to be removed from life support and eventually the NICU unit.
Unfortunately there are politics and jealousies in these units and of course funding is almost always an issue and live music is not availble on a daily basis.
The best case scenario would be an independently wealthy musician who has a heart for such work on a daily basis and a unit that is open to have said musician come in. Even a daily two hour stint in various parts of the unit would be a huge benefit. (big someday dream)

Of course the next best thing would be recordings available to the babies in their space whether it be a big open room or individual rooms. Actually cd and tape recordings do help, of course most of the good vibrations are produced by live harp because the ears and the body actually absorb the healing vibrations. Unfortunately the recording machines can only capture a particle of the spectrum of tones and vibrations.
The ear and body have a wide spectrum of absorption of the sound coming from an instrument such as the harp, guitar and other quiet strings. Quite possibly, a psaltry, and dulcimer would also work. The key is a wide range of tones produced in many octaves. There are undertones, overtones, harmonics and enharmonics that are produced even by plucking one string. These tones and vibrations are sympathetic to various parts of the body.
It is not really necessary to play very softly, however many medical staffs are very cautious and to an extent afraid of music that they deem too loud. Remember most of these units believe themselves to be very quiet and in comparison to lets say a grocery store yes, it is a much quieter atmosphere.
But there are a lot of noise makers in these units. The alarms and other mechanical sounds caused by the various machines and traffic in the unit. Staff dropping things and talking loudly, phones ringing, other babies and parents crying. All can make a terrific noise.
I have been told many times by staffs that as soon as I begin playing the babies and children stop crying, the staff and adults go quiet also because every tone is a precious beautiful experience and they all want it.
Actually I have three harps that I use in various units. One of the most beautiful is a tiny 2 1/4 octave clairseach. Which is the name for the wire strung Irish harp. This harp sounds like bells and has a very long reverb so that the tones overlap and become like a musical mist that hangs in the air. It is difficult to describe but it is like musical light, a shining colorful, sound. It makes adults cry from the sheer beauty of it.
It is played with the fingernails as opposed to the finger pads and is only 7.5lbs. There is a picture of it on my site. I have named it Friendly and I allow the parents and patients and staff to sign it. Once that is done they also become part of the music. I have a 31 string Gothic harp from Music Maker Kits Inc that has a warm mysteriously deep rich tone. It can be heard by clicking the LINKS button on my website and visiting the Sea Whisperings page. and a magical harp made by Steen Harps of WV. which is 5 full octaves. It has a clean clear uplifting tone that is half way between a clairseach and a celtic harp and has overtones of harpsichord in it. You can actually hear this harp on my website by clicking on the music button and hearing my recording "Our Beautiful Baby" dedicated to our son.
I probably should end this missive but there in a very big nutshell is what I do with my harps. I welcome any dialogue that you wish and residents of MN can have me play for them.
Thanks for listening
Reuben Correa

This will be a many months long smorgasbord of comments and musings concerning tuning your harp.
Reuben has been playing, composing, teaching and recording the Celtic harp for 22 years.

Many comments may be harp specific meaning that the harps he plays are the ones that have given him these experiences.
He basically plays a 31 string Gothic harp from Music Maker Kits Inc. and a 36 string Troubador built by Stephen Green of Steen Harps.
This is not to say that other harps won't respond in the ways that he writes about, but if you experience a different result it may be due to a different construction method, or material used on the harp you have.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. July 5, 2006 Know Your Harp
2. July 6, 2006 How Construction Materials Affect the Tuning of your Harp
3. July 12, 2006 New Harps vs. Seasoned Harps
4. July 13, 2006 Now We Begin the Actual Tuning Process
5. July 25, 2006 Tuning Pins

July 5, 2006

First things first:
KNOW YOUR HARP
Know how the wood that it is made of is affected by different environments.
High or low humidity, high or low temperature,
method of moving harp from one environment to another if you do gigs, changing environments due to the opening and closing of doors, entering and leaving of people or animals (Live creatures are moist) Changing Barometric pressure, it is difficult to master this one even in very controlled environments. Your personal element. Yes even how you hold the harp, angle and such, whether you are sweaty, or more on the dehydrated side affects the tuning of your instrument.

July 6, 2006
HOW
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AFFECT THE TUNING OF YOUR HARP
The harder the wood the less short term affect the environment will have. In other words. If you have a harp made out of birdseye maple or curly maple or birch the wood will not be as affected by subtle environmental factors such as your body heat. For instance if Reuben is performing a wedding and will only be in a church or building for less than two hours, he may experience less changes in tuning than if he is playing for a longer period lets say 3 - 4 hours.

Generally Reuben tries to arrive at a performance site 45 minutes to an hour before the event.
The longer you wait to tune the harp the longer it will stay in tune as it has had a chance to acclimate to it's new enviroment.
If he can let his harp sit for up to half an hour before tuning it will basically tune itself. Resist tuning the harp as you warm up your hands and if possible move the harp into the position you will be in for your performance.

Drastic changes in temperature due to air conditioning or heating will affect the strings, especially the metal ones.
The metal strings will go sharp if the air temperature is cold even with humidity. If the air is dry and cold the wood of the harp shrinks but that change is only reflected after 45min - 3 hours.
The nylon strings however will go flat, as the harp shrinks . The nylon strings are not as readily affected by temperature as the metal strings. However after an hour or so in a very cold environment they can become brittle and break easily as you try to tune them up to pitch.
If you are playing a solo performance, it might just be wise to tune all of the strings a little lower in pitch or slightly flat.
Unless your audience members have perfect pitch they aren't going to know and you won't have to risk breaking strings before a performance.


July 12
NEW HARP VS SEASONED HARPS

Here's one for new harp owners.
"A new harp is very different from a seasoned harp. You will hear phantom buzzes and squeaks and clicks, distortions and the like, that you will not be able to locate as the harp becomes an "instrument"
Initially it looks like a harp but in reality it is just a bunch of pieces of wood held together by glue, nails, screws and string pressure. It will take approximately 3 - 7 years to really become a harp or rather a seasoned instrument. Some people call it breaking in a harp. If it is never moved from the spot it was first placed in when you bring it home and rarely played, it will remain unseasoned and the tone will not change much.

Some people play only a limited range as in the middle octaves and never venture to the very top or bottom of their harp. This results in an uneven seasoning. Where the middle octaves have blossomed into warm solid tones but the high and low tones remain thin, brittle, and unexpressive.
The harp will change and mature and it will tune easier and stay in tune longer if it is played throughout its entire range and tuned regularly."

July 13, 2006
NOW WE BEGIN THE ACTUAL TUNING PROCESS

Now then to begin tuning, It is really quite simple. Reuben starts with the middle octave. Middle C to C an octave above. He recommends getting a chromatic tuner unless you are fortunate enough to have perfect pitch. Mr. Correa does not so he tunes each note of the middle scale using a chromatic tuner.

Sometimes chromatic tuners have trouble distinquishing one note from another as the whole harp rings sympathetically to the one note you are plucking as you try to tune. The needle or graph will swing wildly and it drives him nuts. However it will gradually settle on the right pitch.
A way to avoid this ringing in other notes especially in the base is to take a block of rubber foam approximately 6" x 2" and make cuts where your strings are and position this foam on the strings you are not tuning. This will stop the strings from ringing sympathetically. This works especially well on the lower strings which are more likely to ring.
A much simpler way is to dampen the strings with one hand as you pluck / tune with the other.

For best results use a pick - up cable that clips to the harp and plugs into the tuner. The pick-up device will isolate the pitch easier and it makes the tuning process faster and more realiable. It also filters out any unwanted surrounding noise or music if you are in the midst of an orchestral setting.
Reuben finds that Korg and Chromatina have very nice tuners. They are small and very accurate. he is sure there are other companies that do a fine job as well.
Tune by octaves descending, and then return to the middle octave to fine tune.
Then pluck by octaves ascending to see / hear which strings need tuning.

August 4, 2006
The reason for tuning by octaves descending first is that the bass strings are thicker and more powerful. They actually move the sound board and can cause breakage of the upper thinner and shorter strings if those are tuned first.
For example:
Lets say that your upper strings especially the smallest ones are flat and you have to tighten them to bring them up to pitch.
Now lets say that the lower strings are sharp and you have to loosen them.
By loosening the lower strings the strength of those strings actually lowers the sound board therefore stretching the shorter thinner upper strings even tighter. This can cause the upper strings to break.
This is also why Reuben comes back to the middle octave to fine tune before he moves on to the upper octaves. If the sound board has moved then chances are the middle octave is just a little bit off.

August 15, 2006

TUNING PINS

There is a slight chance that hanging on to your tuning pins will change the pitch of that particular string ever so slightly.
What this means is: If you are sitting when you are tuning there is a tendency to hang your arm on the tuning wrench which creates a downward pull.
Try not to pull down on the tuning pin. it creates a miniscule amount of pressure or tension as you tune each string. Miniscule is everything especially in the high strings.

For those of you who have zither pins for the tuning pin, your pitch will be greatly affected by hanging on to the tuning wrench as you tune.
This is because zither pins are threaded and are usually screwed into the wood, but do not go through the entire width of the neck.
They are usually made of a softer metal and are longer and skinnier than the tapered tuning pins that are used on the concert harps and other harps depending on the builder.

They bend much more readily and can greatly alter the pitch of the string. In some cases you can actually press the pin with your finger and create a vibrato while you are playing.

August 20, 2006.
For those of you who have tapered tuning pins it is important to remember to clean the pin hole when you change the strings. Use a stiff brush to remove the resin created by the pressure of the pin on the wood. Since wood still has a fair amount of pitch in it the pressure from the tuning pin will squeeze this miniscule amount out of the pores of the wood and create a slick surface inside of the pin hole.
Cleaning this residue out of the pin hole will prevent the tuning pin from slipping when there is a change in the weather. This is especially valueable to know if you live in drier climes, as the wood shrinks there is a tencency for the wood to shrink making the holes slightly larger.

September 2, 2006

There is a way to do some extra fine tuning. let the harp settle just a bit more after an initial tuning. Do some more warm up, run through your performance music then do a final tune. This is especially indicated when the barometer is moving a lot as in the spring or fall when weather can be volatile or there are storms in the area.

September 10, 2006

Reuben uses his 2nd and 4th fingers to play an octave. This is two fingers plucking in the same direction. As opposed to a thumb plucking in an opposite direction of the finger.
The 2nd & 4th fingers have the palm, wrist and arm behind them. This muscle mass actually tempers the timbre of the pluck and gives it a more warm full tone.
The thumb (on the other hand) or should I say finger, is essentially an apendage attached to the hand. It doesn't have the benefit of all of that muscle mass. Therefore it produces a much brighter, staccato timbre.
This difference in timbre can mask the slightest difference in pitch.

September 26, 2006

Another idea that I thought of while teaching a student today. her harp was terribly out of tune though she was lacking the right tools and just beginning to take lessons again after an absence.
She knew her harp was out of tune but didn't know how badly. She was beginning to accept that tuning as true. However after working on it we found that she was a complete step below A 440.
This is one reason you want to keep your instrument in tune and at the right pitch per string. If you allow your harp to go out of tune and practice it this way you will gradually begin to accept it as being in tune. Your music will not be as clear, and beautiful as it could be.
The music carries farther if your instrument is in tune. People will be more apt to hang around to hear you play if your instrument is tuned up and making music that doesn't hurt their ears.