Harmonium Maintenance - How to fix leaking between chambers

[@alainhalimi3821]

thank you a lot! I just bought an old harmonium and recieved it here in Ireland. The sound was really hard to sustain but with your trick it managed to have a longish sustain!

[@BlackLittleHorse]

Thanks for the idea. My old harmonium has a textile gasket, and as it was quite even I used some silicone grease to ensure the insulation between the chambers was fine.

[@GetGood5]

Great video! Glad someone's making harmonium guides.

[@josefoszuscik3781]

Helpful, nice explanation. Thank you, Nic.

[@maestropatron]

Thanks Nick! Very helpful video.

[@aalaaala2010]

very very selfless work keep going.

[@kjaan]

What about sound leaking from the key when top of keys for harmonium is too tight against ends of harmonium

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Check to make sure you don't just have something stuck under the pad on the underside of the key. This is typically the cause of sound leaking. i.e. The key is not fully closed because something is prohibiting it from closing.

[@prakashkanjisolanki8790]

Hi Nick Firstly, thank you for a very useful video!!! I have a 45 year Bina harmonium that I still use as my primary instrument. It still sounds amazing. I fixed some keys recently. However, I still have one remaining problem and that is air leakage. When I pump the harmonium without hitting any keys I can hear the the air leaking. Any feedback to this problem would be very welcome. Cheers Prakash

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Prakash - Air leaking could be a lot of things. Without seeing it in person, I am only able to guess... Most often, it is a poor seal in the inner chamber, which is not simple to fix. There are at least a dozen or so other things I could list as potential causes. Sorry I cannot be of more assistance.

[@prakashkanjisolanki8790]

@@OldDelhiMusic many thanks Nick for the reply

[@prakashkanjisolanki8790]

@@OldDelhiMusic Hi Nick how easy is it to change a drone key to another playing key. I have two drone keys I do not play from. I wanted to change it to a key I can play but don't know how. Any advice welcome. Your videos has made me an enthusiast for getting the most out of my harmonium.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

@@prakashkanjisolanki8790 It's not easy and in many cases not possible. It really depends on both the architecture of the particular harmonium and also the availability of the reed note you need. In most cases, you are very limited on available pitches. You can see the available pitches in the list provided here: olddelhimusic.com/collections/accessories/products/harmonium-reeds-single-delhi-style Anything marked "drone" would be an appropriate reed type for a Delhi style harmonium.

[@prakashkanjisolanki8790]

@@OldDelhiMusic again many thanks Nick for getting back to me.

[@gulpacha1]

I tried the tape,,,,,Unfortunatel . no significant change,,,Great video though, Thanks . Please advise for further fixing options

[@philiprobinson7332]

Hi Nick. I've just acquired a harmonium (Putman 1860. Good condition) but when I pump it without stops out, many different stops are sounding together. It hasn't had any attention for a long time. Can I repair this myself? Thanks!

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Hi Philip, My experience is almost exclusively with Indian harmoniums, so I won't be much of a resource, but there are definitely plenty of tinkerers who figure out how to coax these old instruments back into good shape. It's possible, but there will be a lot of trial and error. Be patient is the main thing. Good luck! -Nic

[@philiprobinson7332]

@@OldDelhiMusic It's so good of you to reply. Have found a local harmonium specialist, unbelievably! Many thanks again. Philip

[@Flash6384]

Thanks again. I will be in touch...

[@pvkirtan5370]

Sir would you please make video on how fix air problem of harmonium and how to set lower spring of harmonium for long air

[@roybish]

Thank you for this clue. I encountered the issue with no sustain. The sound is loud but it stops quickly. Also with all knobs off the air is leaking from the reed chamber. Bellows are perfect but I checked the walls of the reed chambers with a ruler and noticed a little curves in the middle of walls. Is that might be the reason? Is the solution same as given by you?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Maybe. I'd recommend first resetting all of your hinges to see if you can't get things to square up a little better than they do currently. If that doesn't do it, then you can do some selective work with tape to try to form a better seal around the exterior of the reed box. Good luck!

[@roybish]

@@OldDelhiMusic thank you. everything is tight with hinges. I've found the wind blowing through upper reed pannel from under key valves. There were some cracks. Ive sealed them but still sustain is insufficient. The pannel is a little curved and deformed and some wind is still leeking out.

[@mathewhanf9527]

Thanks for you all you are doing Nick. Our Harmoniums bellows are weak when pumping and the sound is faint and Not strong. Any advice would be much appreciated. Mat.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Mathew Hanf - Your Harmonium is loosing air somewhere. There are a lot of places where this could be occurring, so you really just need to start going through the possibilities and do some trial and error. If the bellows are "weak" and the sound is "faint", I would first examine the intake. Is Air actually getting inside properly? That's where I'd start - good luck!!

[@jennifersmith1237]

Thank you !

[@jquick85]

Hey, thanks for the guide! This definitely helps! Do you play or work with any other instruments besides the harmonium?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Harmonium is the thing I know the most about, but I play a lot of instruments and have general knowledge of how to work on a lot of instruments.

[@mohammadhamidi4849]

I have German reeds from a very old harmonium and want those reeds on a new box but don't really know how much would that cost me and how can I send the reeds to Harmonium maker!

[@Flash6384]

Hi Nick, thanks for your kind help. I have a beginners pakrashi harmonium with little or no sustain.When I pump the bellows , I get a weird Wah wah sound. Can u help me with a solution. Thank you so much.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Harold - These are not simple issues to diagnose, but here are a couple common things I've seen - 1) The internal springs are potentially not functioning properly. I've seen these laying over before, etc. To see if they are properly placed, pull the bottom side off the instrument. 2) If the springs are good, it is very possible that the instrument is not properly sealed and air is escaping somewhere. Neither of these are the simplest issues to resolve. Feel free to contact me to schedule some Skype time if you'd like me to walk you through any of this. Email at [e-mail]. Thanks! Nic

[@anitasinclair8160]

I do have a harmonium issue. How can I contact you?

[@DanielPerryMusic]

Hi Nick, great videos; you have a new subscriber! I recently bought a harmonium and have been gigging with it, I noticed yesterday when going to record that one of the black keys was stuck down and would allow no sound to be played. I've read Johnny White's question (and your response) below so will give that a shot this evening after work. Assuming it would be the same problem? Cheers

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Daniel, Not sure what you mean by "Stuck down." It could be the same problem or a different one. Overall, just make sure the reed and the key can both function. The Delhi boxes are relatively simple machines, so if that's what you have, I'd just open it up and check to make sure everything is freed up, etc. If it's a Calcutta harmonium, proceed with more caution...

[@cpaulicka]

Hi, Nick, my harmonium now makes sound when pumping the bellows with no keys pressed. I tried playing keys to figure out which reed was causing the problem but couldn’t find it. Do you have any suggestions, please? ;-) Thanks for your great videos. It gives me some ideas of exploration...

[@OldDelhiMusic]

You're doing the right thing by trying the keys out. In the majority of these cases, a single key is being held up very slightly by a piece of wood or other fiber caught underneath the key. My recommendation would be to go back through the keys and try to identify which tone you are hearing. If it's a reed tone, it will be either one of those keys or a drone...there are no other options. Once you identify which one is stuck, you can determine why it is stuck. Good luck!

[@joaovesania]

Hi Nick. Great video. I bumped into your video because I am trying to find a solution for a problem on my shruti box. It might be simple for you maybe , I don't know. I have a note that is not making sound when I pump the air. Do you know what might be the problem and if I can fix it myself ? Thanks in advance

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Easy DIY fix. Remove the reed board and look at the reed. It likely has some debris stuck that is prohibiting it from movement. If it's not that, it's a gapping issue - likely not enough gap, but it could also be the opposite. Good luck!

[@joaovesania]

OldDelhiMusic Hi Nick. Thank you for the reply :) I was suspecting that and last night opened it :) It was a bit of solidified glue stick there. Problem solved :) Thank tou for the suggestion. Big hug my friend :)

[@heraldgramani2024]

Hi have a leak on a paul and co harmonium need to press the bellow quite aggressively / hard to get the sound to come through any help please

[@OldDelhiMusic]

There are a number of places on a harmonium where air might be leaking out, preventing adequate air pressure and requiring extra pumping of the bellows to sustain a sound. If you are up for doing some investigating yourself to see where the air might be escaping from, we might be able to better advise you on how to fix it -- or you may end up needing professional maintenance on that harmonium.

[@KhurramMurtazaOfficial]

Can u tell us about how to fix the air leak in the bellow, what i mean is that when we play the harmonium the air vanishes very quickly, how to make it last more long. Thanks! :)

[@OldDelhiMusic]

I get questions from people constantly who believe they have air escaping from a busted bellow. In reality, I've rarely ever seen leaking bellows. More often, air is escaping from some unsealed part of the reed chamber. To test whether it is your bellows, turn off all of your stops (I know this is not advise you get from others, but just go with me if you trust me). If you hear air leaking, you may actually have a leak in your bellows. If you do not hear anything and the bellows get really tight, your bellows are probably fine. With that simple test, you can often eliminate the bellows as an option and move on to the reed chamber. Hope this helps!

[@KhurramMurtazaOfficial]

OldDelhiMusic Ill try to repair it, thankyou soo much! :)

[@poragahmed6598]

Hello sir , I am from London, my harmonium sound is very poor, the one is scale changer double read, can you solution us , please please

[@sng2162]

What could I replace the leather with if the leather has gone bad and cracked?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Unfortunately, we have not found a substitute material that works well. I suggest finding craft leather in the appropriate thickness and using it to replace the old cracked leather.

[@TheSjchandra]

pls make a video on changing a legher between chambers

[@MK-wh7gi]

Thanx man

[@anurag.dwivedy]

The air never sustains. The sound goes off as soon as I stop pumping. Can you help me please ??????🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@OldDelhiMusic]

If there is no sustain, it may be because the springs inside the instrument are too stiff, or because it is not airtight, or both. Depending on your harmonium, it may or may not be worth repair or improvement.

[@JagtarSingh-xt6os]

My Lower And Higher Reed Chamber are mixed no seperating wood between lower reed and higher reed bank so should I give back to manufacturer or put a piece of wood between them

[@OldDelhiMusic]

I don't know the specific harmonium, but it could have been built this way intentionally, which is not my preference, but not uncommon or "wrong" in certain instances.

[@JagtarSingh-xt6os]

+OldDelhiMusic thanks for replying my comment

[@suprithbuddharthy1127]

hi nick.I tried cleaning my harmonium by removing all keys and placing them again.I collected out all keys not in order. I am not able to set them back to their original places. all keys got mixed up.not able to get the original pattern.the keys are not adjusting properly causing sound leakage.please guide me what to do

[@crajendran1]

You have to get the first key of your harmonium and you would notice a cross line on the back of the key , every key has it you have to match the crossing line with one another until you get all the keys in its place i hope this will help you.

[@anubhutisingh5920]

One of the reeds of my harmonium is broken.......what should i do...reply please

[@OldDelhiMusic]

You can buy new reeds - olddelhimusic.com/products/harmonium-reeds-single-delhi-style

[@crajendran1]

What to do if accidentally poured water on harmonium

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Open it up and sop up any water / pat it dry immediately. As long as you do that, there's a 90% chance everything will dry out fine with no problems. Good luck!

[@crajendran1]

@@OldDelhiMusic thank you, i was just curious 💝.

[@mimrashid3917]

How to repair when sound is coming without pressing any button??

[@OldDelhiMusic]

You might have something stuck under a key pad (holding a key open slightly). If it's not that, make sure none of your drones are slightly open and playing passively. Good luck!

[@mimrashid3917]

@@OldDelhiMusic thank you ..

[@alisont5335]

Why isn't a solution to redo the leather?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Because the leather isn't the problem. The issue is the wood contracting a bit and a gap forming because the wood has shrunk a bit. So, you have to do something to build it up a little bit, and we're only talking about a "little bit." Just a layer or two of tape is typically enough to close it off again.

[@debbratasaha9448]

I am not understand uncle