>I also think I’m a little confused because the harp is in E flat, so it seems like the As, Bs, and Es should be something different when the levers are down, but I’m not sure.

That’s why you’re having to tune so far and not having things stay. Tuning in E-flat means tuning A-flat, B-flat, and E-flat in the open string (with the lever disengaged).

Don’t stress about it. It’s one of those things that goes by epiphanies–at first it makes no sense at all, and then suddenly one day you wonder why it seemed so hard. You’ll get there.

It’s the same with all pegged instruments like Violin or Ukulele.

I have a few Ukes with tuning pegs, and they were a nightmare for me compared with the geared tuners on my guitars and a couple of other Ukes. I didn’t have a harp then, but when I got my first harp, I guess my experience with pegged tuners helped a lot because I never had any problems making small adjustments to my harp tuning, and I can guage adjustmets of 25 to 50 cents (I call a cent 1/100th of a tone) almost perfectly. That’s with my 22 string lap harp. Remains to be seen how I get on with the Ravenna when it arrives 🙂 More strings, higher tension, etc.

Isn’t that what I said?

I presume she meant she was tuning in natural with levers disengaged, which would explain why she had to tune so far.

Asha?

It shouldn’t go out of tune that easily, Asha, unless the strings are new, or unless it’s not in a case when you transport it (or in some instances, if you really knock it against something).