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B/C accordion tuning frequencies

B/C accordion tuning frequencies

Please, someone give me a clue of the B/C accordion octave frequencies, like what is the lowest A in Hz on the inside row 1st button? I need to get hold of the frequencies of the B/C system but I don't know which octaves the B/C box uses. There also seems to be an "anomaly" in the order of the buttons in the beginning of the inside row as the A is before the G note? Is the A still below the G note? Anyone can explain this?

Thanks a bunch,
Risto

# Posted on May 7th 2006 by Risto

Re: B/C accordion tuning frequencies

I don't know about the frequencies, but the buttons follow their own logic:

The underlying principles of the button layout are that a particular note, no matter in which octave, is always either pulled or pushed (ie. all As are always pulled, all Gs are always pushed on the C row), and that there are no repeated notes when you start the next octave (as there are on the harmonica, which uses CEGCCEGCCEGC).

Therefore, if you consider the underlying key as the foundation, let's take the C row, you get: CEGCEGCEGC in a sequence, button after button, always on a push.

The other notes, the pull notes, have to be distributed around this skeleton, as it were. And because the C is not repeated, you cannot repeat the same pattern for each octave. Therefore, only the middle octave is "normal", in both lower and top octave you get notes whose sequence is reversed. Very simple, actually, you just have to convince your fingers to use the lower button when you want to play a higher note, and vice versa... :D

# Posted on May 7th 2006 by heike

Re: B/C accordion tuning frequencies

What do you need to know the particular frequencies for? I think the lowest C on the inside row is middle C. I don't have my instrument around so I could be wrong. If you don't have a keyboard handy then try this:

http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/play_a_piano.html

I guess you could just match them up.

# Posted on May 7th 2006 by gravelwalks

Re: B/C accordion tuning frequencies

Thanks folks. The thing is that I don't have a B/C tuned accordion anywhere around to check the octaves used in B/C. We are preparing to order the reed sets from a factory but I'm uncertaing of which two and a half octaves are used in the B/C. The frequencies could be be checked with Transcribe had I only a sound sample.

Thanks Heike, so it seems that the 3rd button on inside row is then the cornerstone of the row and going forwards or backwards using this principle forces the layout. The two notes in any button has to change throughout as there is an odd number of notes in the scale. I see the light now thanks!

# Posted on May 7th 2006 by Risto

Re: B/C accordion tuning frequencies

PS. I got it. From www.homespuntapes.com John Williams tutor video sample I extracted a sound clip which reveals that the 'A' in the middle of the inside row is 440 Hz.

# Posted on May 7th 2006 by Risto

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