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Much More About Choosing Sharping Levers Than You Care To Know

SH-with-levers-1web

I have five configurations of levers to choose from:

1. Standard - This has levers on all the Fs.
2. Starter - Fs and Cs
3. Celtic Half Levers - Bs, Fs, Cs, and Gs (This allows you one more sharp key, A Major, and covers most of the keys you will encounter in Celtic music.)
4. Classic Half Levers - Es, Bs, Fs, and Cs (This allows you one more flat key, B flat Major.)
5. Full Levers





Here are some charts that will either help you choose your levers, or confuse you utterly.

Here is a chart to help you choose which sharping levers you might want on your butterfly. This covers most common situations as well as some less so. Sharping levers allow you to play accidentals during a piece (notes outside the scale to which you’re tuned), change keys, and set the harp in unusual scales without having to retune. The shaded columns show the most common keys.

If you’re new to playing music, there are a few things you can do to find out your probable sharping needs.


    WITH ONE LEVER
    (shaded areas show most common keys)
    Tuned to
    		Which has these
    		Raise this lever to get the key of
    		the Key of
    		flats or sharps
    		D
    		A
    		E
    		b
    		F
    		C
    		G
    		D
    Ab
    		Db, Ab, Eb, bb
    		Eb







    Eb
    		Ab, Eb, bb

    		bb






    bb
    		Eb, bb


    		F





    F
    		bb



    		C




    C
    		all natural




    		G



    G
    		Fb





    		D


    D
    		Fb, Cb






    		A

    A
    		Fb, Cb, Gb







    		E

    WITH TWO LEVERS
    Tuned to
    		Raise this lever to get the key of
    		the Key of
    		D
    		A
    		E
    		b
    		F
    		C
    		G
    		D
    		A
    Ab
    		Eb
    		bb







    Eb

    		bb
    		F






    bb


    		F
    		C





    F



    		C
    		G




    C




    		G
    		D



    G





    		D
    		A


    D






    		A
    		E

    A







    		E
    		b

    WITH THREE LEVERS
    Tuned to
    		Raise this lever to get the key of
    		the Key of
    		D
    		A
    		E
    		b
    		F
    		C
    		G
    		D
    		A
    Ab
    		Eb
    		bb
    		F






    Eb

    		bb
    		F
    		C





    bb


    		F
    		C
    		G




    F



    		C
    		G
    		D



    C




    		G
    		D
    		A


    G





    		D
    		A
    		E

    D






    		A
    		E
    		b
    A







    		E
    		b

    Here’s another way to look at it, especially if you have special needs:

    AVAILABLE SCALES VS NUMBER OF LEVERS

    rdin this Minor
    th and 7th
    th
     )
    nd and 3rd ,
    th and 7th

    To get this
    		You need these flats or sharps (cumulatively)

    		Db
    		Ab
    		Eb
    		bb

    		Fb
    		Cb
    		Gb
    		Db
    Major Keys
    		Ab
    		Eb
    		bb
    		F
    		C
    		G
    		D
    		A
    		E
    Relative Minor Keys f
    		c
    		g
    		d
    		a
    		e
    		b
    		fb
    		cb
    Picardy 3 f








    (Has a major I chord

    		c







    at the end of a minor


    		g






    piece, as in the



    		d





    Coventry Carol.)




    		a










    		e










    		b


    Harmonic Minors & Hijaz
    		f (c)








    (Has a 1½ step

    		c (g)







    between the 6

    		g (d)






    steps of the scale.



    		d (a)





    For Hijaz, start on the 5



    		a (e)




    - shown in ().




    		e (b)



    Hijaz Kar
    		c








    (Has a 1½ step

    		g







    between the 2

    		d






    and between the 6


    		a





    steps of the scale.)



    		e






    Hope this helps more than confuses! Remember, you can specify anywhere from one to full levers when you order. You can also add levers later (Though only levers bought and installed by us count in value towards your trade-up.).


    lever chart

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