Harmonium Buyers Guide (1 of 4): What are stops?

[@JeffStarr]

Great video. Getting to see inside and understand how the stop actually works was really helpful.

[@AshishPatel-sy6tv]

The best video I have seen which actually explains how the stops work..!!

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Glad it was helpful! -Nic

[@chintamanivivek]

I can have throughout my life with just commentaries on the harmonium

[@rahmanhabib63]

this vdeo is best vdeo i have seen..... Love from Bangladesh... ❤️❤️

[@josiahbvevo]

great video Nick!

[@iypemathew4573]

Can I get one from you

[@OldDelhiMusic]

olddelhimusic.com

[@kaushalkishore3383]

Hi Nick. Thanks for your very informative video. In certain harmoniums, we see big knobs and also small knobs. What are the small knobs for? Thanks - Kaushalk

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Larger knobs are stops. Smaller knobs are drones.

[@Diego-kk7cs]

Hi Nick, my name is Diego, I'm student of hindustani music, I'm from Brazil, I'm doing a research and due to the fact that we have not contend about Hindustani music in Brazil but we have a lot of different yoga organizations, I'm translating and I will start my own channel about that subject to help musicians, I would like to know if I can use parts of the videos from your channel and I have a question. How are the differences between male, base and female reeds. You said the male reed is smaller thang base reed, but how about the female reed. These harmonium has 2 set of reeds in horizontal but how about the reeds in vertical, can you explain me or give me some place to read about it? I'm looking forward your answer. :)

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Hi Diego, I am just seeing this. Female reeds would be smaller than Male reeds as you have described. In terms of our videos, they are not intended for redistribution. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. - Nic

[@fionatudor-tompkins6526]

Namaste Can anyone help me I am a novice I have bought a 2 reed harmonium supposedly with male and bass reeds however the 3rd stopper does not appear to sound an octave lower Neither do any of the other stoppers it is a 39 key with 9 stoppers/drones in total. should there be a stopper that sounds an octave lower when playing any notes? Grateful for any advice🙏🏻

[@nicdillon]

Fiona, it may not be a Bass/Male harmonium. It might be Male/Male. Or the Bass reeds are on a different stop on yours. Nothing is perfectly universal, so you might see if it's just different on your harmonium.

[@juliaaust7578]

Hey nick, I have a question:) There is a Harmonium I could buy, it’s a travel size but it doesn’t have any stops… could this be a good option for a beginner who just want to sing some mantras in a circle?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Possibly, but the general situation is that people rarely sell legitimately good musical instruments. Rather, folks are selling instruments that "leave something to be desired," and keeping the good ones. This seems especially true of harmoniums, which are (more) often (than not) very low quality to begin with. It's so extreme in the case of harmoniums that most teachers simply say - "don't buy used." Anyway, move ahead with caution and if you don't know if it's good or not, you may want to have it evaluated by someone who has more experience than you. Hope this helps!

[@dharmeshsuthar551]

Kya ret h ji harmunium ka

[@irajkardan7624]

So useful explanations thanx dear

[@crajendran1]

Could you please tell what is the use of the tremolo stop in harmonium , because I have never seen people using it while playing thank you.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Most people don't use it, but I have seen Jazz and experimental style musicians incorporate this effect.

[@crajendran1]

@@OldDelhiMusic thank you

[@roshjangid23]

मेरी हारमोनियम की एक दुकान है 🎹🎤🎧🎷🎸🎺🎻🎹🎼

[@vipingusain2207]

Hi nich. Without stopper harmonium is good to use or what ??

[@OldDelhiMusic]

On any harmonium you only need one stop open per reed bank. So on a two reed, just one for Bass and one for Male. Experiment and you'll understand what each of your stops do. If you can't get it, open the harmonium up and it should be obvious inside what they are intended for. - Nic

[@vipingusain2207]

@@OldDelhiMusic what if harmonium does not have any stopper.. will it be ok.??

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Vipin Gusain yes. As long as you don’t feel any need to isolate or adjust how much air is hitting a single set of reeds, you don’t need the stops.

[@satyapandit6700]

Why there are two stops for each set of reads? I can see 5 stops and 4 drones. Does not it ideal to have just 3 stops, one each for reads and one for treble?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

We have several harmoniums with only 2 or 3 stops. In terms of benefit to the added stop, I hear a small lift in the bass tone with two bass stops, but I have never heard much difference when two male stops are open.

[@Lyomama22]

When will you have the Paul available again?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Mr. Paul was sick. Good news is that he is back in the shop and production is happening again. Bad news is that he just sent me new prices, which are 35-40% higher than old prices... Most of this is attributed to new taxation laws in India. In any case, we will probably have these again soon, but expect a price increase. Thanks for the question.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Updated reply: We have Paul & Co harmoniums again and more on the way.

[@avihonor7217]

What if my Harmonium has 6 stops? What's the difference?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Six knobs or six actual stops (i.e. 11 knobs total)? Both are possible. In either case, it just means you have different functions on each knob. If you really want to know what everything does, you can open it up like what is shown there and see what is happening inside.

[@avihonor7217]

@@OldDelhiMusic Sorry I got stops and knobs mixed up. Mine has 6 knobs, and I'm guessing it's for drone, tremolo and bass?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

@@avihonor7217 The 6 knob set ups vary kinda widely. It could be anywhere from 2-4 stops (some combination of B / M / Tremolo) and 2-4 drones. In general (but not guaranteed), the first knob on the left is a Male stop. Everything past that is highly inconsistent.

[@tulikarmaker9984]

ডোরেমন নিবিতা 😍😍😍

[@nobadramtiwari5343]

❤

[@Dmyra]

I thought he was gonna pull all the stops

[@arunkumartv2294]

Ģ