What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 15, 2001 10:39 a.m.
My roommate just bought a harmonium. it is a suitcase style. there is no name of a manufacturer that i can find but the intake on the bellows has a steel plate with a series of M's on it as the holes. when i'm playing it doesn't sound very loud. and the stops baffel me :-) there are 4 big knobs and 5 smaller knobs. i've figured out that the smaller ones are drones. the big ones don't make much sense to me . how do i use them in combination with the smaller ones? thank you for your help. btw i live in athens GA if anyone is in the area and would like to get together sometime please contact me mohanji@hotmail.com
Re:What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 15, 2001 05:04 p.m.
Hi MOHAN !!! . . . Firstly re. STOPS . . . see my reply to LETHA of 23 Sept. . . . Secondly re. loudness . . . Take the KEYS (valve ends !) covers off . . . Have Fun !!!
Re:What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 16, 2001 12:56 p.m.
Keys covers???
i found out that the harmonium opens up for easy acess and i couold guess as to what the stops are supposed to do but still nothing changes.
Re:What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 17, 2001 02:40 p.m.
Hello Mohan,
Welcome to the forum. You've probably figured this out already but there are the reed stops and there are the drones. So for the time being after you find out which are which, leave the drones stops closed and open all the reed stops. This will give maximum air flow and an open sound which is usually what you want. Then close all the stops and then one by one open each of them to see what each individual stop effect will sound like. And then do different combos of 2s and 3s just to see what that is like too. Then after you're done with this probably you will want to play with all stops open most of the time. I hope this is clear and helpful.
Re:What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 23, 2001 04:33 p.m.
Thank you all for your help. apparently the stops serve no other purpose other than opening up a airway. i notice no difference in sound regardless of what stop i pull. this is a shame because there is a whole row of reeds that don't even get used. oh well otherwise it is a fine instrument except for a couple loose drone pulls. thanks again.
Re:What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 23, 2001 05:44 p.m.
DR. RITCHARD . . . thanks for the Harmonium Repair URL !!! . . . SRI MOHAN !!! . . It is important that as you go through PROGRESSIVELY opening the DRONE stops one-by-one, and then the main air-valve STOPS one-by-one, carefully pumping the bellows to avoid bursting the BELLOWS . . . . you MUST RECORD/ CHART the effects on some paper . . . or you will surely become confused . . You should clearly hear the different REED BANKS coming into effect, VIBRATO effect, etc, etc, . . . for some effects you will need a combination of STOPS . . . a CAREFUL PEEK inside while operating the STOPS (valves) can sometimes speed-up the identification process . . . the top COVERS/ CLOTHS act as sound mufflers/ mellowers and keep dirt and POPPADAM out of the key-works and valves . . . Blessings !!!
Re:What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 26, 2001 11:16 a.m.
Sri MOHAN . . . . From the number of STOPS I think your Harmonium is a TRIPLE-REED-BANK instrument . . . three of the large STOPS would probably be for opening each individual reed- bank SEPARATELY . . . . so be careful you do not get any rubbish down between the KEYS to jam the valves open . . . it is quite a big job to get it out on that harmonium !!! . . . the same job on our single-reed-bank instrument takes 1-2 minutes and can be done by a five year old . . . in regard to the Riiinnnggg rrriiinnnggg . . . Hanuman, the Monkey-God, a great SPIRITUAL inspiration from the wonderful Indian ethical Drama RAMAYANA, is often depicted with a bell on his tail . . as is sometimes the tradition with monkey PALACE pets
Re:What is the proper way to : use the bellows, stops and to get a loud full sound?
Oct 26, 2001 03:27 a.m.
LOL!!!! thanks for the poppadum tip, it should come in handy. now i can speculate as to what each chamber should do, i think i do need to experiment more. btw-hanuman where did you get that ring?:-)
