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Chapter 03: Maintenance and Care
Unlike the traditional Indian instruments in India,
the harmonium is not as delicate as the tabla, sitar,
sarangi, sarod, etc.
Remember that the harmonium is not an Indian instrument by origin. However,
regardless of the instruments race or origin, we must treat it with respect and
care. There are not too many points in discussing the maintenance or care of
the instrument. However, these points are very important to
keep in mind.
DON’T TAKE
IN MORE THAN YOU CAN PLAY
When little kids see adults or harmonium players
pumping the bellows constantly, they indeed get excited and they pump the
bellows to their hearts desires without
touching the keyboard. Keep one point in mind; you are not a little kid! Don’t
ever pump the bellows if you are not playing anything. Pumping excessive air
into the harmonium is comparable to inhaling excessive air into your lungs and
not breathing out. You will feel uncomfortable and feel like you will explode
inside. That’s what happens to the harmonium, in fact. If too much air enters
in without being released properly, the harmonium’s internal air chamber will
explode. Then, whatever air that comes in will go out immediately without
having any note produced if the keyboard is being used. The proper way to go
about is use enough air as you need, while
playing the keyboard. This is very crucial. Keep in mind that if you play
this properly, the keyboard serves as an exhaling agent. Once a key is pressed
with enough air, air will blow out of the front.
BLOW OUT
ALL THE AIR
Whenever you are done with using the harmonium,
force all of the air out. The way to do this is to lock the bellows using a
side lock and play three or more notes of the keyboard simultaneously. This way, air will be forced out faster. If you
leave air inside the harmonium, that air could damage the internal features of
the harmonium and its rich sound could diminish and even force notes to sound
out of tune. This is very easy to forget this very important step!
STOP!
CLOSE YOUR STOPS!
With harmoniums having this feature, it is also very
easy to forget to close stops and lock bellows before pushing the harmonium inside.
The stop knobs and bellows can break if locks are not pushed in fully, or if
the bellows are not locked.
DOUBLE
CHECK SECURITY BEFORE TAKE OFF!
Most harmoniums have a removable top lid. Once the
lid has to be placed it, it is very easy to do this incorrectly, and while
thinking it is done correctly, lift it up and part of the harmonium starts to
fall out and damage is done. The sure way to check if your harmonium is secure
is to make sure the top locks are locked, the behind has nothing showing inside,
and while locked, attempt to lift the top lid off. If you cannot lift the top
lid, you will know that your harmonium is safe for take off.
RAIN OR
SHINE IS NEVER FINE!
Never put your harmonium in direct sunlight.
Sunlight has enough energy to make the air bellows weak or destroy the wooden
finish.
Likewise, do not have any contact with water. Water can make the harmonium sound ripped,
if not disable the ability to produce sound. This can be compared to water in
lungs. Whenever there is water in your lungs, you will feel very uncomfortable
and you will cough a lot.
The sure sign for safety is to keep your harmonium
in a carrying case or bag and leave it in a room not humid.
These tips will help you keep your harmonium clean,
safe, and have a longer lifespan.
UPDATED: June 18, 2009