Things You'll Need:
- Melody harp
- Pitch pipe
- Tuning card
- Tuning wrench
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Step 1
Lay a tuning card near or on the melody harp. The tuning card lets you see what pitch corresponds to a melody harp string.
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Step 2
Place a tuning wrench on the tuning peg for the first string on the harp and hit the string.
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Step 3
Blow into the pitch pipe hole that corresponds to the pitch for the string you played. You will know which pitch corresponds with both string and pitch pipe by looking at the tuning card.
Turn the tuning peg with the wrench until the two pitches match. When you get close to matching the pitches, you will hear a wave-like discrepancy called "beats" that occurs when the sound waves from the two pitches meet each other. The closer the pitches, the higher the frequency of beats. Continue to adjust the tension on the string with the wrench until there are no more beats, which happens when the pitches are in unison. -
Step 4
Move to the next string and repeat until finished.
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Step 5
Check the instrument's tuning about once a week and make small adjustments as needed. Watch for sudden changes in humidity or temperature because they can knock the instrument out of tune.
