Harpsichord Tuning App
Rosicler Kleckner
Tuning a harpsichord is not overly difficult, so first of all you must get that idea out of your head. A harpsichord is more akin to a violin or guitar, and, yes, it must be tuned. It has a few more strings than a violin or guitar, but you are equipped to be able to do it, and as an instrument, it has precious little in common with tuning a piano, in fact.
Some people may wonder why tuning a harpsichord deserves an article of such length and detail on its own. Why is tuning a harpsichord more complex than tuning other string instruments, such as, say, a guitar, or a violin? And: is it much different to tuning a piano?
As for the latter: a harpsichord is a wooden instrument with metal strings. That leads to the principal complication that changes in humidity cause the wood to expand and contract by as much as 1%, whereas metal strings are not affected by humidity changes. Temperature changes also contribute to tuning degradation, but to a far lesser degree.
Instruments such as violins have the same issues. However, their strings are made from material such as gut or plastics such as nylon. These are elastic, which makes tuning mechanically easier. Plus, there are fewer strings to tune.
A modern piano or concert grand, on the other hand, uses metal strings strung onto a cast iron frame. The huge mechanical tension of several hundred steel strings actually mandates a cast iron frame. The latter makes the instrument more rugged and largely avoids the effects of humidity and temperature changes. Thus, the tuning of pianos and concert grands is more stable and persists over weeks, months or longer (most private pianos are tuned once or twice a year). At the same time, such instruments are usually tuned by tuning professionals only, hence is the matter of specialists and beyond the scope of this article.
Piano tuners use a long tuning handle. This gives then the necessary torque (piano strings are under much higher tension than harpsichord strings), but also a fair amount of extra accuracy, permitting to turn the tuning pin by tiny amounts, maybe fractions of a degree.
Finally, the sound of a harpsichord string (at least in the mid and upper range) rapidly fades away, hence one typically needs to press a key several times in succession in order to be sure that the pitch is correct. In doing so, one should make sure the key is released completely in-between, such that the string is dampened properly: plucking a string that still vibrates may generate additional, unwanted oscillations, harmonics, etc.
Note that besides this main interference, there are always additional interferences at higher harmonics. However, as these typically have a lower volume, they should be nothing to worry about. If beginners have trouble hearing the main interference, playing the respective key (using the above rules) should help finding it.
This all sounds like a complex, difficult task. Keep in mind that up till a few decades ago (recipe-based) interval tuning was the only option for tuning. Luckily, with the advent of electronic tuning aids, this burden has gone away!
If you're wondering what size drill bit to use to drill the holes for the tuning pins, this will depend on the type of wood you're using for your pinblock. It's usually best to drill a sample hole in a scrap piece of the wood you'll be using for the pins. A good starting point would be to use a 3/16" bit.
The instructions for my Hubbard kit (late 1980s) said to coat the pins in talcum powder and, in humid weather, to apply talc to your hands also; the reason given was that any moisture introduced into the hole via the tuning pin could cause squeaking when the pin was turned. (The kit had zither-style tuning pins, not historically accurate ones.)
Partially related, I am always puzzled by violin peg soap. Most of the famous ones are heavily guarded secret recipes even though there are only a couple of things in them. Why they puzzle me is that they allow the peg to turn more smoothly and freely, but at the same time hold in it exact place with quite a lot of grip. Seems like a contradiction to me!
Whatever the theoretical correct answer to the question of this thread may be, I can report empirically that over a period of 20 years I have never applied talcum powder or chalk to my tuning pins and they have always turned smoothly. That they have not rusted may be due to care not to expose them to conditions of high humidity.
I use talcum on my hands and a touch the pin. I also use a thin, small paper shim in the hole. All my pins behave exactly as I like: a good secure fit, but no tendency to stick tempting one to just twist the top of the pin.
I remember when Don Angle restrung my Dowds with brass. He used talcum on his hands, perhaps the pin. But what struck me most was how he had this boyish joy about it all, and created a little cloud of talcum dust as he patted his hands together, grinning broadly. Miss that guy.
For quite loose pins, one fix we use to is to cut a 3mm wide piece of 800 grit wet and dry paper and insert that with the pin. This acts as a bushing and also gives just the right amount of grip. Better than plain paper shims I think.
During the summer of 2008 I decided I wanted to build a harpsichord. I found a book in the library that contained plans and instructions but ultimately ended up designing my own. It took all my spare time that summer to complete, and I took several photos along the way to document my progress.
Tuning: A full tuning includes everything needed to get a piano in tune and working, which may include a "pitch raise" and/or minor repairs, such as fixing sticky keys, misaligned hammers, and annoying buzzes.
Regulation: Making sure the parts of the piano work together properly. This will improve the feel of the piano, increase control and response, and eliminate problems like double-hitting hammers, non-working dampers, sticking keys, etc.
From an article I read online, I believe I've understood that it's possible to treat the middle C (fingers covering all holes) on the tenor as if it were a D flat, and all higher notes on the instrument a semi-tone lower as well, relative to one another, in order to more or less be able to play this recorder as if it were a tenor in d' flat at a'=415 instead of a tenor in c' at a'=440. Does what I've written make any sense? My understanding of music is still very shaky.
If what I've written does make some sense, then I'd like to be able to consistently play a c' by keeping all holes on the middle joint closed and also close off part (not all) of the bell hole at the bottom of the foot joint with my knee or leg. Producing a c' this way is very hit or miss for me; is there a particular technique recommended for doing it?
My answer is no, it isn't really possible to use a fingering technique to play an A440 recorder at A415. No professional would even try; they would instead, as Wheat noted, have a real A415 instrument or, if extremely confident and well rehearsed, transpose on-the-fly down a half-step. One can indeed bend most notes up or down quite a bit using half-holes, the bell, and breath pressure, but each note requires something different and no one could reliably play musically trying to bend each and every note an entire half-step down.
A415 instruments are not cheap, although compared to many other instruments like strings and brass, handmade artist-quality recorders are 'affordable'; you just need a few of them. I have an A415 soprano, alto, and a voice flute (tenor in D) in addition to all my A440 recorders including a matched set of meantone-tuned recorders designed for Renaissance music. Some makers make instruments with 2 (or 3) middle joints, one for A440, one for A415, and perhaps one for A460/A465. That can be a money-saver.
As an experiment, pull out the headjoint of your recorder until your low C matches the harpsichord. Then move up the scale. The problem is that the holes are too close together for the rest of the scale to be in tune. If you pull out the foot joint some and the head joint some you might get a somewhat better result, but it still won't sound that good.
Getting slightly off-topic, the majority of music written more-or-less specifically for recorder and harpsichord calls for an alto in F so A415 alto recorders are the most available and most affordable. A tenor can play a lot of flute repertoire but a voice flute in D is a better fit for the sharp keys most of that music is written in. I recently sold my A415 tenor (which had an A440 middle joint also) because I wasn't using it enough and I was lusting for a tenor viol.
I don't have a definitive answer, but the problem is that neither the recorder nor the harpsichord are (typically) tuned in 12-tone equal temperament, so if you were playing a piece on your recorder in D at A=440, asking the harpsichordist tuned to A=415 to play transposed up a half step would not work, because even with the transposition, most of the pitches and intervals would not be properly in tune between the two instruments (especially if the harpsichord was tuned to a historical meantone tuning, as most would be).
I believe that you would have to ask the harpsichordist to physically slide their keyboard keys up a half-step across the strings (most harpsichords these days have moveable keyboard beds and blocks that enable this), and then the harpsichordist would have to re-tune each string on their entire instrument to the same tuning used by your recorder.
In my experience, professional harpsichordists are used to this sort of thing. They transpose and re-tune their instruments all the time, since harpsichords always go wildly out of tune whenever they are moved to a new space and/or when the temperature or humidity change quickly, as with central heating or central air conditioning systems in performance spaces. Most harpsichordists would be quite able to re-tune between a historical meantone tuning and 12-tone equal temperament; many these days carry electronic tuners that can accommodate this.
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