good pitch meter for a windows laptop or android?
Thu, 08/11/2022 - 12:08
I just started on this site and with my harmonica, so if this has been answered before, excuse me.
I have been trying to get acurate bends, and thought it would be nice if I could get a visual picture of what pitch I am at or how I am deviating from the ideal when I practice bends.
Is there an decent and simple pitch meter app or windows program that you know of? Preferably free or at least cheap?
Thanks in advance
Sun, 08/14/2022 - 18:00
#2
Harmonica Tuner on Android
I use this one on Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.pr422.tuner.harmonica
It's free and it worked good enough for me though some people swear by HarpNinja instead.
I have HarpNinja on my iPhone, and it does a lot of stuff. David has a great tutorial on it in his Equipment section. But there are certain times it doesn't visually give me the detail I'd like. So I also have on my iPhone an app called Cleartune. (Which I think was... magic word ... FREE.) It's calibratable for harp tuning (i.e, usually anywhere from 442 to 446 Hz for A, rather than the international orchestral standard, 440 - and you probably already know that the reason for "up tuning" harmonica reeds is that the player's breath has a habit of making reeds go slightly flat when being played, so harps are generally tuned so that one sort of blows and draws them down into correct pitch), but it can struggle with low-tuned harmoicas. (It's great for accurate tuning of banjos, ukes, guitars, etc.). And add to that: To get away from too much phone screen use, I also have an inexpensive Korg CA-2 battery-powered tuner with a good screen display. It's also calibratable (I ususally set my A to 442 Hz), and the display can be really helpful when working on those quarter bends typical of the 5 draw.
Even though you want to be expense-conscious, if you're like me you may find that the purchasable apps, like HarpNinja, are tools well worth their reasonable price, and can be paid for by resisting the temptation to buy too many extra harmonicas.
Let us all know what you find out works for you.