So you can change the tuning of a harp on the fly?

September 2, 2020 8:18 AM

This is not even like a question. So I was watching this video. It's the legendary Classical Gas. But, starting already from around 1 minute in, and up until the end, she's switching something up on the top of the harp. She's changing the tuning, right? Or what? It's just I've never seen stuff like this and I just want to ask what is she doing? I mean usually instruments don't work like that...
posted by Pyrogenesis to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Best answer: Yeah that's a lever harp! You can also look up pedal harp, the orchestral one, for more fun. Basically, harps play in scales, and when you want a new scale you modify the pitch of certain strings, compared to a piano where you just hit different strings by playing a different set of keys. The levers or other mechanisms make changing string pitches quick and easy, unlike retuning a guitar or violin string, which is not for doing while playing.
posted by lokta at 8:38 AM on September 2, 2020 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Like lokta said, for that type of harp you set the tuning for the key the song is in, but you have to flip the lever to play an accidental.
posted by stopgap at 8:46 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Lever harps are great! The levers put the pitch of the string up half a step (so F to F#, Bb to B, etc.) so people will often tune to something like Bb (Es and Bs flat, raise them to the natural with the lever up all the time, add F or C sharp as needed...)

For bonus mind-blowing, there's also a technique where you block the string at the appropriate length with one finger and pluck at the mid point of the newly shortened string, for when you need a particular one-off accidental. (I am lousy at doing this one, but it is amazing for people who can do it.)
posted by jenettsilver at 9:07 AM on September 2, 2020 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Ok I'm still convinced it's some sort of witchcraft and not actually real.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2020 [2 favorites]

And if lever harps intrigue you, also check out the pedal steel, with multiple foot pedals and knee levers raising and lowering pitches. Or Michael Manring on the hyperbass, using levers on the tuning machines to change harmonics while playing.
posted by quarterframer at 11:13 AM on September 2, 2020

The videos of the Goat Rodeo sessions (which are worth peeking at on general principle) show the double bass player (Edgar Meyer) playing with a lever on his double bass to similar ends. I believe the bass string was designed to be overly long and tuned to C rather then E, with a lever to bring it up.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:53 AM on September 2, 2020

Yeah, with the bass, it's mostly used for orchestral work because basses often double the cello line an octave lower than the cellos are playing. The cellos lowest note is a C as opposed to the basses E. So without the extension the bassist may have to jump up an octave to finish a descending phrase. The kind Edgar Meyer has is not really a "on the fly" kind of thing like what harp is using, it's more like changing where the capo is on the guitar, but for just one string.

There is another kind that has a mechanism where you finger different keys that will then press down on specific spots on the extension to play the notes. I'm pretty sure it's mostly fallen out of favor. Here's an example of the mechanism in use
posted by Gygesringtone at 2:38 PM on September 2, 2020