Musicmakers Reverie 2, Reverie 2 Deluxe, Classic User Manual

THE REVERIE HARP

Make soothing music. No practice needed.

CONGR ATULATIONS on obtaining a Reverie Harp. You now have a tool that can help you tap
the amazing power of music.

Research confirms the benefits of music therapy for alleviating pain, elevating mood, counter­acting depression, promoting movement for physical rehabilitation, calming agitation, induc­ing sleep, counteracting apprehension or fear, and reducing muscle tension for the purpose
of relaxation.

Your Reverie Harp was hand-crafted in Stillwater, MN with these benefits in mind. With prop­er care we are confident that you can enjoy a lifetime of musical pleasure from this therapeutic
instrument.

Enclosed in this folder you will find information on

• Care and maintenence.

• How to replace strings.

• How to tune your instrument.

• Playing suggestions.

There are many more resources available online at www.harpkit.com/reverieharp

We invite you to explore the beauty of this instrument. Just remember...

There is no wrong way to play the Reverie Harp!

CARING FOR THE WOOD

The Classic model and the Reverie 2 Deluxe feature a solid mahogany top and a solid cherry
frame. The Reverie 2 uses a baltic birch plywood top and back and a poplar frame. We have
taken care during the assembly process to help ensure that your instrument will withstand
most climates. However, if this instrument is exposed to an extremely dry environment for
long periods of time, the soundboard may shrink and crack. So please take appropriate precau­tions. (Humidity Control)

Good Rule of Thumb

Your Reverie Harp is comfortable when you are comfortable. In other
words - if you would get too cold or too hot sitting in your car for an hour

- the same is true for your harp.

CLEANING THE REVERIE HARP

The Reverie Harp is finished with a protective coat of Lacquer. We recommend Old English
furniture polish to clean and restore the finish. We like this brand because it doesn’t contain
any wax. Cleaning under the strings can be more of a challenge. You can try compressed air,
working a soft cloth under the strings, or the Dandy Dusters available from Musicmakers.

If you are using your Reverie Harp in a hospital setting and need to keep it disinfected you can
wipe down the instrument and strings with most alcohol based disinfectant wipes. One non­alcohol based wipe recommend to us by several users in hospital settings is a product called

Oxivir Tb Wipes.

REPLACING STRINGS

If a string breaks, then it is important that you back the tuning pin out a few turns (counter-clockwise)
before installing a replacement string. If you don’t do this you run the risk of screwing the tuning

pin too deep in the hole. If you have the Classic Reverie Harp, be sure to save the tiny washer
at the tail of the strings.

Thread the replacement string through the hole at the bottom of the instrument and pull the
string through until it is stopped by the ball end (classic model) or place the loop end over the
tail pin (Rev. 2 and Rev. 2 Deluxe models). Pull the string past the tuning pin and cut the excess
string about 2 inches past the tuning pin.

Zither Pin

cut here

String

excess

2 inches

Musicmakers • www.harpkit.com

Poke the wire into, but not all the way through, the hole in the tuning pin. Use your tuning
wrench to turn the pin clockwise about one-half turn before putting tension on the wire.
Pull on the wire to “set” it in the pin. This puts a kink in the wire at the point where it enters
the tiny hole in the tuning pin. If the wire pulls out of the pin when you pull on it, cut off the
kinked end and try again.

Keeping tension on the wire at all times, turn the pin about two complete revolutions with
the tuning wrench, letting the windings stack upwards as you turn the pin (look at the other
pins to see what this looks like). Once you have taken all the slack out of the string you can
bring the string up to pitch.

NOTE: This may seem like a silly exercise, especially if the wire keeps coming out of place
when you pull. We install the strings this way because the sharp ends are left hidden in the
tuning pins where they can’t poke fingers or catch on clothing. It really does work, and it is
worth learning the technique.

Log on to ww w.harpkit.com/reverieharp and check out the tuning
section for a short video on how to install strings.

WHEN TO REPLACE STRINGS

Strictly speaking, you don’t ever HAVE TO change a string unless it breaks. Strings do lose
their elasticity and begin to sound “dead” over time but you aren’t likely to notice this gradual
change. But put a fresh set of strings on your instrument after a year and you will be amazed
at the difference in tone! If you want to keep your instrument sounding its best, change your
strings every 6 months or once a year. If this isn’t a concern for you - just replace them as
needed.

Note that the Classic model uses ball-end acoustic strings and the Reverie 2 and 2 Deluxe use
loop-end acoustic strings. You may be able to find replacements at your local music shop,
otherwise replacement strings may be purchased from Musicmakers.

Musicmakers • 651-439-9120

TUNING THE REVERIE HARP

All finished Reverie Harps come tuned to our standard Reverie Tuning in the key of C unless
otherwise specified. We tune your harp at the factory before shipping but you will likely need
to tune the instrument a few times again when it arrives. After that you can expect to tune the
Reverie Harp about as frequently as you would tune a guitar.

We have provided you with a tuning template for our standard Reverie Tuning that you can
cut out and place under the strings. You’ll want to use an electronic tuner to check the tuning.

For help with tuning log on to www.harpkit.com/reverieharp and check
out the video and audio files in the Tuning section

CLASSIC REVERIE HARP

STRING NOTE GAUGE CODE
1 E5 .012” Steel BALL012
2 D5 .014 Steel BALL014
3 C5 .016 Steel BALL016
4 A4 .018 Steel BALL018
5 G4 .020 Steel BALL020
6 E4 .025 Bronze Wound BALL025
7 D4 .025 Bronze Wound BALL025
8 Mid. C4 .032 Bronze Wound BALL032
9 G3 .032 Bronze Wound BALL032
10 E3 .042 Bronze Wound BALL042
11 C3 .056 Bronze Wound BALL056

12 C3 .056 Bronze Wound BALL056
13 G3 .042 Bronze Wound BALL042
14 A3 .032 Bronze Wound BALL032
15 Mid. C4 .032 Bronze Wound BALL032
16 D4 .025 Bronze Wound BALL025
17 E4 .025 Bronze Wound BALL025
18 G4 .020 Steel BALL020
19 A4 .018 Steel BALL018
20 C5 .016 Steel BALL016
21 D5 .014 Steel BALL014
22 G5 .012 Steel BALL012

REVERIE 2 and REVERIE 2 DELUXE

STRING NOTE* GAUGE CODE
1 E5 .012” Steel LOOP012
2 D5 .014 Steel LOOP014
3 C5 .016 Steel LOOP016
4 A4 .018 Steel LOOP018
5 G4 .020 Steel LOOP020
6 E4 .024 Bronze Wound LOOP024
7 D4 .024 Bronze Wound LOOP024
8 Mid. C4 .032 Bronze Wound LOOP032
9 G3 .032 Bronze Wound LOOP032
10 E3 .042 Bronze Wound LOOP042
11 C3 .048 Bronze Wound LOOP048

12 C3 .048 Bronze Wound LOOP048
13 G3 .042 Bronze Wound LOOP042
14 A3 .032 Bronze Wound LOOP032
15 Mid. C4 .032 Bronze Wound LOOP032
16 D4 .024 Bronze Wound LOOP024
17 E4 .024 Bronze Wound LOOP024
18 G4 .020 Steel LOOP020
19 A4 .018 Steel LOOP018
20 C5 .016 Steel LOOP016
21 D5 .014 Steel LOOP014
22 G5 .012 Steel LOOP012

Uses BALL-End Acoustic Strings

reference keyboard

Uses LOOP-End Acoustic Strings

Musicmakers

14525 61st ST CT N

Stillwater, MN 55082

The Reverie Harp

Playing Suggestions

Just play.
Seriously. Put this paper down and go play your harp for 5 minutes. See how easy that was?
Many people have a very loud inner voice that is trying to tell them they can’t play an instru­ment. Nothing will still that voice faster than just playing.

Strum and Pluck.
Strum all the strings at once and while the strings are still ringing, pluck a series of single
notes at random. Notice how all the strings sounding from the first strum provide a nice
foundation for the individual notes. Experiment with this idea.

Explore Rhythm.
Pluck strings at random until you stumble upon a rhythmic pattern that you like. Pay more
attention to the rhythm than the notes you are playing remembering that any note will sound
OK. Notice if the rhythm wants to change over time. Let it change. Just be with the rhythm
and follow wherever it goes.

Explore Melody.
Sit quietly and pluck strings randomly until you hear a phrase or combination of notes that
sounds like a pleasing melody. Try to repeat what you just played. See how the melody wants
to be and how you respond to it. See how it changes over time. Maybe you change it on pur­pose or maybe you hit a “wrong note” but feel like the “wrong note” is better...

Mix it up.
Combine any of these ideas together. Find a melody and then change the rhythm. Find a
rhythm and then change the melody. Add a full strum into a melody or rhythm.

Use a Songsheet.
If you want to play a familar melody on the Reverie Harp you can use some of the included
songsheets. See our directions for Using Songsheets on the other side of this sheet.

Using Songsheets

1. Take note of which tuning is shown on the sheet, and make sure your harp is tuned the
same.

2. Slide the song sheet under the strings with the note names nearest the tuning pins, as
shown.

3. Carefully line up the notes on the paper with the correct strings on the instrument.

4. If you use these song sheets with patients in a hospital, you should have them laminated
with a plastic coating so you can easily clean them with sanitizing wipes between patients.

HINT: You might want to mark where the paper
contacts one or both of the tuning pins on each
side of the instrument. en you can use a scissors
and/or paper punch to make a “locator hole” in the
paper to help hold the page in place.

Musicmakers

14525 61st ST CT N

Stillwater, MN 55082

www.harpkit.com • 651-439-9120

C5

G5

D5

Cut along this line

A4

G4

E4

A3

G3

C3 is the C one ocatve below middle C

D4 is the D just above Middle C

C5 is the C one octave above middle C

C3

The number next to each note name indicates the octave.

Middle C on a piano is C4. The numbers change every octave on

the note C.

C3

E3

Key of C

www.harpkit.com

REVERIE TUNING

G3

C4 C4

D4 D4

E4

G4

A4

C5

D5

E5

Note: Every harp is handmade so the strings

may not line up perfectly, but they should be

close enough.

Cut along this line

Instructions For Use

1. Cut out the template along the black line.

2. Place the template under the strings. The gray

lines should sit just below the stings.

3. Tune the harp to the notes on the tuning chart.

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RReevveerriiee HHaarrpp

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TThhee ssiimmpplliicciitty

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