Early Gaelic Harp Info: tuning sources

Tuning, Temperament & Intonation: source documents

Edward Bunting

Bunting collected music and information from the last of the old Irish harpers from the 1790s onwards. His field notebooks contain a series of tuning charts. For more information, and for links to online facsimiles, see my Tutor book tuning page.

Patrick Byrne

John Bell noted down tuning instructions from Patrick Byrne in the early 19th century:

“ G on the violin, you tune the 5th to G which is D. Then you tune the octave below to that D. Then you tune the 5th to the low D, which is A. Then you tune the 5th above A which is E. Then tune the octave to that E below. Then you tune the 5th to E above which is B natural. Then you tune the 5th to B natural which is F sharp.Then you tune the octave to F sharp below. Then you sound the G on the violin & B & D, and the octave above which is G which makes a common chord. Then you tune all the instrument up and down by octaves. The above is the Ancient way of tuning the Irish harp. From Mr Byrne the Irish Harper, 10th July, 1849. „

John Bell's Notebook, mid 19th century¹

Note that Byrne omits tuning C: perhaps he just forgot. Also note that he specifies B natural and F sharp; perhaps this implies that as well as retuning with F natural, Byrne may also have sometimes retuned with B flat.

Gwilym Puw

The Welsh harper and scholar

J Stowell

An English manuscript miscellany of the 15th or 16th century in Trinity College, Cambridge, includes a single page of harp tuning instructions: <

“ To set a harpe, factus per J Stowell
First ye shall begynne to set your harp at the iiijth stryng and let hymme stond stille for your chef tenor, and set alle the harpe to hym. Then shall ye set þe vth above to hym. Then remeve your fynger to the same strynge that the thombe stonded upon and remeve your thombe to the vth above your fynger and set hym to the fynger. Then toche þe viijth to the thombe and set hym to þe thombe. Then remeve the thombe to the vth from the fynger and set hym to þe fynger. Then taketh hede, and set your fynger upon the chef tenor, and þt is next strynge bynethe the place that he stondes on and remeve the thombe up to the xth to hym and set the thombe to the fynger. Then remeve the fynger up to the viijth from the thombe and set the fynger to the thombe. Then remeve the thombe to the vth fro the fynger and set the vth to ye fynger. Then remeve the fynger to the chef tenor and set the thombe to the viijth to hym and set the thombe to the fynger and then remeve the fynger up to the vth from the thombe and set hym to þe thombe. Then remeve the thombe up to the viijth from the fynger and set hym to the fynger. And then set vp viij up up up till ye come to the ende. Then shall ye set the next strynges bynethe your chef tenor to the viij a bove hym and to the next benethe till ye come to the end. And them shall your harp be well set. „

John Bell's Notebook, mid 19th century¹

Tuning, Na comhluighe, Sources, Tables, Pitch, Tutor book