fellow harmonium players?

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alan Day
Date: 20 Dec 11 - 09:45 AM

Tuning of harmonium reeds is identical to that of a concertina and information exists for tuning. For sharpening the reed file the tip, for flattening file the body.Not an easy job and if you are of a clumsy disposition do not attempt it.
Pm me if you want more info.
Harmonium Hero has a nice CD out.
Al

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 19 Dec 11 - 08:17 PM

This is rather funny:

Nathan Hollander plays klezmer

I didn't think he was quite as bad as the uploader's comments suggest. The picture is of an Indian harmonium but I think the instrument must be an American organ.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 05:40 AM

Anyone else giving advice?

L in C

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 19 Jul 10 - 11:53 AM

Thanks sean, I have followed your links and liked the look of things - I guess a trip to Londom would be useful

L in C

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 19 Jul 10 - 10:45 AM

See my posts above, Les!

To clarify, there's a lot of bargains to be had (on ebay) but over at JAS Musicals you can get something for £261 (K107) tuned in concert / A=440, which most Indian harmoniums aren't. Of course neither of ours are, and it doesn't bother us too much...

Otherwise look out for such features as drones, couplers and stops - the more the merrier really, but I've been advised to avoid scale-changers.

Portability could be an issue; our wee lap-top harmonium is very portable but is so badly made it requires a lot of general maintenance. Sounds a treat though. Some harmoniums are collapsible, folding away inside of themselves to facillitate greater portability. There are many smaller instruments which sound very good - some quite cheap at JAS, not sure how good they'll be though.

On ebay right now is THIS - announcing itself as Indian Gaelic! This is the Dulciana type with a built in Shruti box - could be lovely, could be absolute pants...

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 19 Jul 10 - 10:08 AM

Still looking for advice on what to buy

L in C

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: The Sandman
Date: 18 Jul 10 - 07:33 AM

websitehttp://www.dickmiles.com However theHarmonium does not take any solos but is used as rhythm instrument

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 18 Jul 10 - 03:23 AM

????????????????????

L in C

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: The Sandman
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 05:37 PM

Concertinas and, from my website

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 09:15 AM

Thanks Good Soldier - any advice? Any details

L in C

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: The Sandman
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 08:53 AM

my partner Cathy Cook plays one on my cd concertinas and[a free reed compilation].

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 04:43 AM

I note at JAS Musicals they do harmoniums with English reeds in A=440; something to be aware of...

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 04:22 AM

Clones: There's another good harmonium thread not included in the blue list at the top. Can you please add:

harmoniums in folk music
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108477#2257537

and there's also:

BS: free to good home , harmonium (U.K)
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63911

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 04:13 AM

Rapunzel bought wee a laptop earlier in the year - very shoddy workmanship but after a few essential modiofications (mostly to keep the volume down and blunt the razor-sharp metal trimmings!) it now sounds a treat:

Come Write Me Down

Watch out as a lot of these things are somewhat sharp of concert. I'm told there's somewhere in Bradford, failing that - ebay or somewhere like JAS Musicals. I believe scale-changers are best avoided too. We have a larger one for domestic use (pot-luck on ebay) of which we're rather fond; not the best quality, but it sounds lovely, despite it too being a tad sharp of the old A=440!

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 03:48 AM

We are thinking about buying one of those table top hand pumped harmoniums. Any advice on which to buy?

L in C

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 Apr 10 - 09:28 PM

"The American organs, turned out in their thousands in the 1800s, were all suction instruments. What I always understood as a harmonium was a pressure instrument - pumping closed the bellows, forcing air through the reeds."

Correct.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Tootler
Date: 05 Apr 10 - 03:03 PM

I have a harmonica rack, but you don't really need it with a shruti box.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: meself
Date: 05 Apr 10 - 11:59 AM

Of course, the above presumes that the harmonica and harmonium are tuned reasonably close to each other. Sometimes either or both are tuned to something far from standard.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: meself
Date: 05 Apr 10 - 11:55 AM

You can always put your harmonica in a rack to play along with either a foot- or hand-pumped harmonium, which is what I used to do back in my rock-star daze.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Newport Boy
Date: 04 Apr 10 - 05:12 PM

I learnt to play piano on an American organ in the mid 1940's. At least, I had lessons on my teacher's piano, and practised on our organ at home. I restored it in about 1954, and it was given to a local chapel - I wish I still had it.

In the pedalled instruments, there is some confusion about terminology between harmonium and American organ.

The American organs, turned out in their thousands in the 1800s, were all suction instruments. The bellows at rest were fully expanded - pedalling extracted the air until they were closed, while the springs expanded them, sucking air through the reeds. On an instrument in good condition, with the bellows fully closed, you could play at least one line of a hymn tune before the sound died.

What I always understood as a harmonium was a pressure instrument - pumping closed the bellows, forcing air through the reeds. Few of them had a significant air reservoir - 2 or 3 notes maximum if you stopped pumping. The term 'harmonium' was often applied to both types of instrument.

The most interesting American organ I've seen was in Ethiopia, in an old Norwegian mission. Made in Norway in 1872, it was in sad condition when I saw it, hadn't been used for 40 years, and was too big to bring home!

Phil

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Tootler
Date: 04 Apr 10 - 04:43 PM

I have recently bought a shruti box. It is great for singing with and has attracted a lot of interest wherever I have taken it. Most people have not come across it before, but the reaction to it has generally been very positive and most seem to like it as an accompanying instrument.

I play it with one hand and use a harmonica in the other hand to play intros and fills between verses etc. which works very well. It is also possible to play it with a foot so that you can play an instrument requiring both hands such as a flute or a whistle. There is a U-Tube video of someone doing that. I will have a look and post a link.

My shruti box is one of these I have the low G version. It is fully chromatic over one octave and tuned to A=440 in equal temperament so it can be played with Western instruments.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: GUEST,Granny In Wales
Date: 04 Apr 10 - 05:33 AM

I have one, made in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the 1890s. I bought it in Oxfordshire in the 70s and it is a prized possession! How I wish it could talk, and tell me its' history! I bought a book, "The American Reed Organ" from St Albans Organ Museum which tells you how to restore the internals.

Yes the people at the Organ Museum in Saltaire were enormously helpful

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Will Fly
Date: 04 Apr 10 - 04:25 AM

My old Edwardian harmonium - from a chapel in Birmingham originally - is languishing in my garage. Alas, there's no space for it in the house. It's in working order and very sweet - free to anyone who would like it.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 04 Apr 10 - 04:10 AM

We have a small folding one like the one in OH What a Lovely War. Main problem it is in an old pitch F# or F# and a bit which is ok for songs but no good for playing with most others

L in C

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 02 Apr 10 - 11:01 AM

Ooooops! Soon-to-be-teenager, then -

I keep thinking of the tune to Alice's Restaurant... you can get anything you want...

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: meself
Date: 02 Apr 10 - 10:48 AM

Note: Alice's "new baby" is twelve-years-old by now ....

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 02 Apr 10 - 05:17 AM

And this one:

BS: free to good home , harmonium (U.K)

http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63911

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 02 Apr 10 - 05:07 AM

Delighted to hear about your new "baby" Alice - it's a very rewarding instrument to play and especially to sing to. (Goes well with harp too, except that I can't drive both at once...) There's another good harmonium thread here:

harmoniums in folk music

http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108477#2257537

[CLONES: Can you please add this to the blue list of threads above?]

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 10:30 PM

Alice's link of 13 Oct 01 is now defunct.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: meself
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 10:34 AM

I bought an Indian harmonium in a pawn shop about twenty years ago. I used to play it a lot, accompanying songs. I found it a good substitute for concertina or accordion for someone who plays piano. Although, I think some manner of small accordion would be a little more practical if a person is choosing.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: GUEST,mahesh shah
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 08:30 AM

i am learning to play harmonium.its very interesting.i live in birmingham UK, so if anyone wants to practice with me please let me know.rgds

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 13 Oct 01 - 11:43 PM

Corrected link (I moved my website) Alice's harmonium.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 13 Oct 01 - 11:13 PM

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: richardw
Date: 08 May 00 - 11:26 PM

Thanks Leon;

I guess the question now is, how does one retune a reed? I have yet to start takin gthings apart but the instrument does need some fine tuning in terms of action etc.

Richard

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Susan A-R
Date: 08 May 00 - 10:38 PM

Alice, when Michael and I were out in San Francisco, we visited Dave and Pam Swan. Pam had just acquired a harmonium, and was starting to figure the thing out. Michael (who's a pianist for his livelyhood) messed around with it and had a great time. You may want to drop Dave a personal message, ask him if Pam has any insights and alert Pam to the site. Have fun!!!!

Susan

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From:
Date: 08 May 00 - 04:11 PM

Richard,

Generally it is easier to retune a free reed downward. Your C# should be able to be retuned to D. D would be a useful drone in Irish and Canadian tunes.

Leon Peek

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 05 May 00 - 04:56 PM

I have found only one book in English, but I haven't looked too extensively. The book came with my harmonium. You can get it from Mid-East Ethnic musical instruments website. Haven't looked for a discussion list, either. Good luck.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: richardw
Date: 05 May 00 - 12:06 PM

Alice;

Just got my harmonium after checking every music store in Vancouver and then wandering through the Punjabi Market. Found a music store that imported 4 different models. Top of the line with the shifters was nice but a bit rich for me.

Do you know if there is a discussion group for harmonium? The one problem I have found so far is a lack of instructin book on the stops etc and that the drones are in odd keys, presumably for eastern music. C# for instance, for the bass drone, is not real useful in most we4stern music. When I get a chance I will pull it apart and see if this is changable but thought there might be a way of finding if someone else had already done this.

Have you found any instructions or ideas on line?

richard

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 12:36 PM

richardw, I'm sending you info by personal message about how you can purchase a Harmonium from my instrument store.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: richardw
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 12:20 PM

alice;

Thanks for this thread and your links. You have a great site. I have been looking for a harmonium, or something similar, for some months for a recording project of 1800s music. WE ended up using an oild leaky organ which had its own percussion/step dancing section as the pedals were pumped. actually it made for a great sound. However, I will check out your links more closely. We have a large East Indian population in Vancouver so their may be a music shop there.

thnaksd again.

richard

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 09:44 AM

If you already play piano, the Indian harmonium is easy to learn and an easy, portable acoustic instrument to carry to sessions or gigs. I think it's great. You don't have to strap it to your chest and play the keyboard sideways (ha!) and I found it faster to get up to speed than trying to play concertina. I would like to be able to have the time to learn the concertina, as well, but the harmonium was a quick solution to add another acoustic instrument to the mix, something no one else in the group plays. Also, the wood makes it a beautiful instrument, and I always get curious people coming up to check it out.

alice

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: GUEST,Sam Pirt
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 09:30 AM

I am an accordion player really but I do have a harmonium at home. They are great instruments. Have you ever heard Timo Acatola from Finland. He is bands JPP and Troka as well as playing with Maria Kalenimi in Algarez. They are great.

Cheers, Sam

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Llanfair
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 03:09 AM

Thank you, Alice, I had missed this thread altogether!!!
I will keep in touch when it arrives, and let you know more about it. Having bought it at auction, I didn't have much time to look at it properly. Hwyl, Bron.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 27 Mar 00 - 09:23 PM

refresh for Llanfair

Here is a page about my harmonium, shruti box, and ethnic harp.Alice's Harmonium

alice flynn

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 23 Mar 98 - 05:00 PM

Mountain Dog, part of my quest a year ago to track down this instrument was seeing Ginsburg reciting some of his poetry while pumping a wooden box that created a drone sound. I also had seen this on an Irish music documentary with a woman and some monks in a monastery singing, and she was playing a drone on the same kind of small wooden box. I found it's name finally, is a shruti box. I ordered one along with my harmonium, since it is so portable and relatively inexpensive. In my search, I also found an Indian instrument that is a combination of strings and an unusual keyboard, that is held in a wooden case. It is called a Banjo (nothing like what we would picture with that word) and its description and URL are here:
Good quality, Harmonium type, box shaped, 3 feet long
BANJO (Taishokotos) NO. 202
http://www.binaswar.com/string01.htm
alice

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Mountain Dog
Date: 23 Mar 98 - 04:27 PM

Hi, Alice

If you're interested in hearing an unusual use of harmonium (the hand-pumped kind, I'm fairly certain) you might dig up a John Mayall recording from the late 60s/early 70s called "Bare Wires". It's probably on the British Polydor label (most of his stuff from that era was). On the title track, he plays solo harmonium and sings. A unique effect.

The only other blues application I've ever heard of the instrument was done by Alan Ginsburg accompanying himself on "Troost Street Blues". He was playing in Kansas City in the early to mid-70s, backed up by Bhagwan Dass, a California surfer turned Indian guru and musician (yes, it was an odd night...). Don't know that he ever recorded the tune, with or without that instrumentation, but again, it lent a unique flavor to the Blues and provided a very interesting linkage of East and West.

Thanks for the URLs, too. I plan to pass them along to a friend who is a player and collector of eclectic instruments.

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 22 Mar 98 - 07:21 PM

Murray, the Indian type harmoniums look like wooden boxes with a keyboard. They can be placed on a stand tall enough for the player to stand and play, (as the chorus director did during the funeral of Mother Theresa) or placed on a table so that the player can sit on a chair, or placed on the floor, and the player sits on the floor to play. As far as stops etc., there are different types from simple to deluxe (and prices). I copied descriptions from a couple of manufacturers:

Harmoniums

First brought to India by European missionaries, the harmonium has, over the years, been adapted for use with Indian music. These days almost any occasion which involves singing, be it classical, devotional or folk, solo or group, concert or teaching, includes a harmonium as an accompanying instrument.

Harmoniums come in a great variety of styles. A harmonium can be characterized by the number reeds per note, by the quality of the bellows, and by the number of drones and stops it has. Deluxe options include a scale-changer (the keyboard can shift up or down one to five notes, thus allowing easy transposition)and an octave coupler (doubles the octave).

Simple or fancy, a harmonium should come from a good maker - one who will use good wood and take proper care. We usually have harmoniums from Pakrashi and Dwarkin, several of the best and oldest makers in Calcutta.

Harmoniums

The harmonium is an Indian musical instrument, somewhat akin to the early American pump organ. The piano-like keyboard is played with the right hand, while pumping the bellows with the left. Harmoniums give an amazing amount of good sound and music, even for the beginner with little skill or experience. Their mellow, warm-sounding tone blends well with the human voice; thus they are especially well-suited for individual or group singing. The handcrafted harmonium makes an attractive addition to any home. The convenient size about (1 ft. x 1 ft. x 2 ft.) makes it easy to move about or store, and still have at your fingertips when you want it there. The harmonium requires little maintenance and servicing, and is reasonably priced. Each is its own individual instrument with a unique sound and style, differing in volume, tonation and performance characteristics.

alice

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From:
Date: 22 Mar 98 - 06:42 PM

I am unfamiliar with the hand-pumped harmonium. How do you get chords for accompanyment?

When I was in Melbourne a few weeks ago there was a busker playing a keyboard with a little flexible pipe ending in a mouthpiece that she blew into. She held it in her hands. It looked like it had two octaves and the whole thing was barely larger than the size of the keyboard. She had a mandolin player with her who provided the chords.

I haven't had my harmonium since 1975. I did once make a reel-to-reel tape to send along with some pictures to my wife who was away at the time, and whom I didn't want to surprise too much when she returned. I was presented with the opportunity of buying it on the spot, and grabbed it! I have no idea what happened to the tape.

Murray

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 22 Mar 98 - 12:06 PM

Much better photos than the one I referred to earlier can be seen here:

http://www.binaswar.com/keybor.htm

Subject: RE: fellow harmonium players?
From: Alice
Date: 22 Mar 98 - 11:15 AM

Thanks, Murray. Did you make any tapes of your harmonium playing?
A year ago, when I first started to find info on the web about harmoniums, one of the first sites that came up in a search has a very nice description of the taxonomy of free reed instruments.

http://shift.merriweb.com.au/harmonium/types.html

I was looking for a lap harmonium (hand blown, made in India) and it took some searching until I finally tracked it down. The chart shown on the URL page above is very interesting in showing the family of instruments, whether they are mouth blown (harmonica), hand blown (concertina, accordian, lap harmonium), or foot-power blown (harmonium, American organ).
My son is practicing to see how fast he can play Bus Stop and The Rights of Man, because he wants to take posession of the harmonium when it arrives! We'll see how fast the key action is. It will take some co-ordination practice to pump with the left hand and play with the right.
alice