Tirupati Kirtan Premium Mini
The Tirupati Kirtan Premium Mini is a smaller version of the Kirtan Premium model which is particularly suitable for travelling. The simple construction makes it inexpensive and sturdy, high-quality double reeds provide a full, warm sound and for its small size it has an amazingly good sustain. A good choice for beginners as well as for ambitious kirtan singers.
With the Kirtan Premium Mini, the outer bellows are firmly attached and do not have to be opened and secured with hooks. This makes the entire folding mechanism considerably less sensitive and easier to operate. When folded, the entire instrument is protected in an integrated sturdy wooden box.
"BONUS: One month free online access to comprehensive harmonium teaching material at the Bhakti Breakfast Club with harmonium purchase!" - more info here!
Sound sample Tirupati Kirtan Premium Mini
with cover (Jali)
- complete melodic range with both registers
- three-note chords in middle range
without cover (Jali)
- complete melodic range with both registers
- three-note chords in middle range
- 32 simple stick keys
- range of two and a half octaves from F to C
- two reeds per note in middle and low register
- two stops for separate or joint playing of middle and low register
- two drone stops for continuous tones C, G
- side-opening bellows with multiple folds
- removable cover with sliding opening (Jali)
- folding mechanism for lowering into the built-in box case
- including padded carrying bag
- cabinet and case made of solid pine wood
Pine wood is the first choice for harmoniums around Delhi and in North Western India. It is much softer than teak wood, which is more common in Mumbai and Calcutta. Therefore pinewood harmoniums often get little dents or scratches during manufacturing, storage or transit to Europe. Such marks are a natural property of the wood and can not be seen as flaws or defects.
TIRUPATI is the international brand name for instruments from Sharma Musicals in Ghaziabad, a neighbouring city of Delhi. Sharma Musicals was founded in 1934 by Jagdish Prasad Sharma and is today one of the leading Indian harmonium makers. The current manager Mayank Sharma runs the business in the fourth generation. Thanks to solid infrastructure, long experience and good quality awareness, Sharma Musicals is a reliable supplier of all harmonium models typical of Delhi and North-West India. In 2014 and the following years, instruments from Sharma Musicals had temporarily been sold in the USA under the name Bhava Harmonium and were recommended by renowned kirtan teacher Daniel Tucker back then. Sharma Musicals is a partner of India Instruments since 2016.
In India, our harmoniums are tuned to international concert pitch of a = 440 hertz. In Europe, however, they usually sound slightly higher at a = 441 to 442 Hertz due to the colder climate. The difference is small and not necessarily noticeable even to trained ears.
On request we can tune exactly to 440 hertz for 28 € additional charge.
Tuning to 432 hertz is also possible by arrangement for an additional charge.
NOTE:
Air temperature and blowing pressure influence the vibration frequency of harmonium reeds. At higher temperature and higher pressure, it decreases; at lower temperature, it increases. In our workshop in Berlin we tune at room temperature around 20 degrees Celsius.
Measure (folded): height 30 cm, width 47.5 cm, depth 38 cm
Measure (unfolded): height 21 cm, width 47.5 cm, depth 38 cm
weight: 9.4 kg
Each instrument is individually hand-crafted and might differ from our description.
HARMONIUM KIRTAN PREMIUM MINI
1. Preparation for playing
- Open the two snap locks on the side with the carrying handle.
- Open the lid, detach it from the two rear hinges and set it aside.
- At the top on both sides, grasp simultaneously into the metal unlocking fittings (above the unlocking handles) and then pull out the entire instrument body upwards on both sides until the lateral latches on the upper edges of the lower box pop out and engage. Now the instrument should be stable.
- Turn the left metal bow at the back of the bellows outwards so that the bellows opens slightly and you can move it on this side with your left hand (if you want to play the bellows with your right hand, open the right bellows bow).
- Pull out one or more stop slides (the larger front slide buttons 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) to the end and open the airway for the low or medium register or both together.
- Pump some air with one or two bellows movements into the inner bellows.
- Now you can play on the keys!
The whole procedure can be seen in the first 30 seconds of this video.
2. Special funktions
- On the right side of the keyboard is a metal handle that you can move forwards or backwards. If it points back to the bellows, the octave coupling is activated and for each key you press, the octave above it is also automatically triggered. When the handle points towards you, the octave coupling is out of order and only the notes on the keys you press will sound. When playing with octave coupling activated, the sound becomes more brilliant, brighter, sharper and more sustaining and more air is consumed, so you need to be more active with the bellows.
- The 4 smaller stops at the front between the register stops (2, 4, 6 and 8) are the drone stops. If you have opened a drone stop AND a stop for opening the low register AND you supply air with the bellows, then a single continuous tone (drone) sounds regardless of whether you press any keys. Each drone activates a different drone. You can also combine the drone tones. Drones can be used to accompany music in which the fundamental remains the same or very few chords are used in which the drone is always present.
- You can change the volume and sharpness of the sound by sliding the holes between the keys and the bellows of the cover (Jali) or by removing the cover completely.
3. General tips for playing
- Open the bellows with a quick movement and close them with a slow, steady movement if you want a smooth sound without noticeable volume fluctuations.
- The volume of the tones depends on the air pressure in the inner bellows in the lower box of the harmonium. At high air pressure the tones sound loud and at low air pressure they sound quiet.
- The air pressure in the inner bellows drops the faster the more tones sound simultaneously. Therefore, when playing with octave coupling or chords, you have to pump air more often with the bellows than when playing a simple melody.
- Harmoniums have no keyboard dynamics. Stronger or weaker striking of a key has no influence on the timbre or volume of the tone. You can therefore always press the keys with minimal force.
- You can set rhythmic accents by making a short, jerky closing movement with the bellows, or by not letting a note fade out fully, but by briefly touching its key and then releasing it again.
4. After playing
- Lock the bellows with the metal bracket.
- Let remaining air out of the inner bellows by pressing a few buttons with the bellows closed until no more sound is heard.
- Cover the harmonium with a cloth to protect it from dust if you want to leave it unfolded.
- Push in all the pull buttons when you want to fold the harmonium.
- Put your hands into the metal unlocking fittings on both sides at the same time and pull the unlocking handles upwards on both sides at the same time. This pulls the side latches inwards and you can slide the entire instrument body back into the lower case evenly.
- Replace the lid in the hinges, close it and secure it with the two snap locks.
5. Storage, Transport & Maintenance
- Harmoniums consist mainly of wood (case, air chambers, keys), metal ( reeds, springs) and leather (gaskets). All these materials react to changes in temperature and humidity. Therefore, keep your harmonium at a constant temperature and average humidity.
- Protect your harmonium from strong climatic fluctuations and shocks during transport with good packaging. Never leave your harmonium in a parked car during summer or winter and always carry it carefully by yourself.
- It is best to have your harmonium serviced in a specialist workshop if reeds have gone out of tune over time, keys or slides jam, annoying background noises occur or air is lost.
Harmonium Kirtan Premium Mini Anleitung im PDF-Format
