Wet-tuned? Dry-tuned? C#/D? B/C? I hear words and letters being tossed about like icky dog-enspittled tennis balls, but whatever in the dickens moisture has to do with intervals and buttons I cannot fathom. Anyone care to elucidate upon the mystical modes of these reedy little boxes of puzzledom?
Celtic Music played on button accordion is commonly played on Dry-tuned half-step boxes. Usually B/C or C#D. They both usually have two rows of 21 or 23 buttons. The outside row is the B row and the B scale is played up and down the row. The inside row is the C row and the C scale can be found up and down the row. The C#/D is similar.
Most accordions have more than one reed per note. If all of these "voices" are tuned exactly in unison it is said to be Dry-tuned. If the voices are tuned differently ie one or more voices are tuned slightly sharp to give a tremelo effect they are said to be Wet-tuned.
Celtic music? Nope, sorry. Irish music is. Breton music is mostly played on G/C boxes. Other "celtic" nations, I don't know.
Sorry, but it really gets my goat how people talk about "celtic" musics. Especially as when I say I like celtic music, I actually *mean* it as it happens to cover several of my musical interests.
Hmm... There's a lot out there on them internets... Have you heard of Google.com?
"Celtic Music played on button accordion is commonly played on Dry-tuned half-step boxes"
I was under the impression that wet-tuned boxes are quite popular too, especially amongst the older, less blazingly fast crowd. Dry tuning gives a crisper cleaner sound, wet tuning results in a richer, fatter sound.
As for C#/D vs B/C, I think the difference in layouts results in the following gross over-generalizations:
1) B/C boxes are preferred by people who like more notey playing, and like all those fiddle-tunes in Dminor and Gminor. Heroes include Joe Burke, Paddy O'Brien, etc.
2) C#/D boxes seem to be preferred by people who like more rhythmic playing, and prefer those fiddle-tunes in D and A major. Heroes include Joe Cooley, Jackie Daly, etc.
Beyond that, I don't think it really matters much. If you want to play one like the other, you need only change key (playing in D on a c#/d uses the same fingering as playing in C on a b/c). I used to play the Bucks of Oranmore in E-major with a friend who had recently switched from b/c to c#d. He'd just finger it like he was playing his old instrument.
Wet and dry tuning is all to do with very slight differences in pitch between two reeds. If you have two reeds that are identically-tuned they will sound together as a smooth, even note. If one is tuned very slightly sharp of the other you will hear "beats." The rapidity of the beats is a function of how far apart the reeds are tuned. Slow beats means they are very nearly, but not quite, identically-tuned. Fast beats means they are that much further apart in pitch. Dry tuning is the term used for reeds that are identically, or almost identically-tuned. Wet tuning means they are tuned so as to give faster beats, in other words a more pronounced "tremolo" effect. The categories are not sharply defined - a whole range between very dry and very wet exists. I can't speak for boxes, only tremolo harmonicas (same principle exactly), but the convention as I understand it is that lower notes are tuned to a slowish tremolo, grading to a faster tremolo on the higher notes. According to a recent review, for example, the new Hohner Highlander harmonica ranges from 3Hz tremolo at the low end to 10Hz at the top. Correct me if I'm wrong, somebody, but I think that means three beats per second up to 10 beats per second!
I agree with all that's said, so just to complement : the fact is that wet tuning makes the instrument sound louder. In France, the "mustte" tuning is a 3 voices tuning : 3 reeds, one on pitch like A 440, one higher 443, one lower, 437. somtimes it's 441.5 and 438.5 : Emile Vacher, who quite invented the musette style, used that, because he used to play in very noisy joints, and with a tuning so wet, he could make himself heard above the din. with a dry tuning, you get a more precise sound, but less loud.
the other advantadge with wet tunings is that if the other instruments you play with aren't in tune, or if they have a non-equal temperament, you can still play with them. Again in France, the Cabrette has a completely non-equal temperament, and it's okay if you have a wet tuning, but can sound really awful with a dry tuning,
This said, I like a very slightly wet tuning, what's called "swing" : the 2nd reed is just slightly higher than the first, giving a very slow vibrato. if I want a really dry sound, I use a single reed (like Karen Tweed...)
unless you're unfortunate enough to play the box yourself, you needn't think about tunings and such technical stuff. Let the poor sod who's playing the thing worry about them.
If you want to hear examples between wet and dry tuned accordions listen to these two people play boxes on you -tube.
The first link takes you to Tony MacMahon playing a Wet tuned "Musette" Paolo Soprani, While the second link is some guy playing a dry tuned Castagnari Dinn III on 2 voice. Ok?
That Tony MacMahon link was blinding, lovely playing altogether.
Jameson, It could be that all the notes are only detuned by a tad. And evenly.
I dont think you could get away with an out of tune mandolin by saying its OK , its just wet tuned!
Nikita's point about non-dry tuning making it more bearable to play with instruments in non-equal temperament actually applies to playing solo.
For example, an equal-temperament major third chord (1 & 3) sounds dire if you use just one voice on your accordion, and presumably also on a totally dry multi-voice instrument. Multi-voice with a bit of wetness in there takes most of the harshness out of it.
Of course if you get too wet it starts to sound horrible again!
Most box players prefere a wet tuning to dry,still.
I use a dry tuning myself,and also tune my own box.
Yes Jig,it's a nightmare to tune to a wet tuned tuney ting.
I also use equal temperament,and never found it too dissonant to play a major chord,you could also say the same thing about every piano in the world.
Traditional music is played in multiple keys.
I know a few pipers who wish their pipes were equal temperament,and who have resized hole in their chanters for recording/versatility purposes.
Sharon Shannon's box doesn't seem out of tune,does it?
I'd bet on my dead budgie that it's equal temperament.
Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Wet-tuned? Dry-tuned? C#/D? B/C? I hear words and letters being tossed about like icky dog-enspittled tennis balls, but whatever in the dickens moisture has to do with intervals and buttons I cannot fathom. Anyone care to elucidate upon the mystical modes of these reedy little boxes of puzzledom?
--DtM
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by Dan the Man
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Celtic Music played on button accordion is commonly played on Dry-tuned half-step boxes. Usually B/C or C#D. They both usually have two rows of 21 or 23 buttons. The outside row is the B row and the B scale is played up and down the row. The inside row is the C row and the C scale can be found up and down the row. The C#/D is similar.
Most accordions have more than one reed per note. If all of these "voices" are tuned exactly in unison it is said to be Dry-tuned. If the voices are tuned differently ie one or more voices are tuned slightly sharp to give a tremelo effect they are said to be Wet-tuned.
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by GoatBasher
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Celtic music? Nope, sorry. Irish music is. Breton music is mostly played on G/C boxes. Other "celtic" nations, I don't know.
Sorry, but it really gets my goat how people talk about "celtic" musics. Especially as when I say I like celtic music, I actually *mean* it as it happens to cover several of my musical interests.
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by Tirno
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Hmm... There's a lot out there on them internets... Have you heard of Google.com?
"Celtic Music played on button accordion is commonly played on Dry-tuned half-step boxes"
I was under the impression that wet-tuned boxes are quite popular too, especially amongst the older, less blazingly fast crowd. Dry tuning gives a crisper cleaner sound, wet tuning results in a richer, fatter sound.
As for C#/D vs B/C, I think the difference in layouts results in the following gross over-generalizations:
1) B/C boxes are preferred by people who like more notey playing, and like all those fiddle-tunes in Dminor and Gminor. Heroes include Joe Burke, Paddy O'Brien, etc.
2) C#/D boxes seem to be preferred by people who like more rhythmic playing, and prefer those fiddle-tunes in D and A major. Heroes include Joe Cooley, Jackie Daly, etc.
Beyond that, I don't think it really matters much. If you want to play one like the other, you need only change key (playing in D on a c#/d uses the same fingering as playing in C on a b/c). I used to play the Bucks of Oranmore in E-major with a friend who had recently switched from b/c to c#d. He'd just finger it like he was playing his old instrument.
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by Georgi
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Wet and dry tuning is all to do with very slight differences in pitch between two reeds. If you have two reeds that are identically-tuned they will sound together as a smooth, even note. If one is tuned very slightly sharp of the other you will hear "beats." The rapidity of the beats is a function of how far apart the reeds are tuned. Slow beats means they are very nearly, but not quite, identically-tuned. Fast beats means they are that much further apart in pitch. Dry tuning is the term used for reeds that are identically, or almost identically-tuned. Wet tuning means they are tuned so as to give faster beats, in other words a more pronounced "tremolo" effect. The categories are not sharply defined - a whole range between very dry and very wet exists. I can't speak for boxes, only tremolo harmonicas (same principle exactly), but the convention as I understand it is that lower notes are tuned to a slowish tremolo, grading to a faster tremolo on the higher notes. According to a recent review, for example, the new Hohner Highlander harmonica ranges from 3Hz tremolo at the low end to 10Hz at the top. Correct me if I'm wrong, somebody, but I think that means three beats per second up to 10 beats per second!
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by Steve Shaw
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
http://www.accordionpage.com/wetdry.html
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by joesmith
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
I agree with all that's said, so just to complement : the fact is that wet tuning makes the instrument sound louder. In France, the "mustte" tuning is a 3 voices tuning : 3 reeds, one on pitch like A 440, one higher 443, one lower, 437. somtimes it's 441.5 and 438.5 : Emile Vacher, who quite invented the musette style, used that, because he used to play in very noisy joints, and with a tuning so wet, he could make himself heard above the din. with a dry tuning, you get a more precise sound, but less loud.
the other advantadge with wet tunings is that if the other instruments you play with aren't in tune, or if they have a non-equal temperament, you can still play with them. Again in France, the Cabrette has a completely non-equal temperament, and it's okay if you have a wet tuning, but can sound really awful with a dry tuning,
This said, I like a very slightly wet tuning, what's called "swing" : the 2nd reed is just slightly higher than the first, giving a very slow vibrato. if I want a really dry sound, I use a single reed (like Karen Tweed...)
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by Nikita Pfister
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
I suppose "Celtic" is about equal to "American".
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by sbhikes
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Try tuning up to a wet tuned box though! Aaagh!
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by jig
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Dan
unless you're unfortunate enough to play the box yourself, you needn't think about tunings and such technical stuff. Let the poor sod who's playing the thing worry about them.
MYBC
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by millionyears_bc
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
So, does that mean I play a dry-tuned mandolin and I never knew it?
Seriously, though, does "wet" tuning work with stirnged instruments with doubled strings, like a mandolin or bouzouki? Why or why not?
# Posted on November 15th 2007 by Jameson Stew
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
If you want to hear examples between wet and dry tuned accordions listen to these two people play boxes on you -tube.
The first link takes you to Tony MacMahon playing a Wet tuned "Musette" Paolo Soprani, While the second link is some guy playing a dry tuned Castagnari Dinn III on 2 voice. Ok?
Wet Tuned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdXRX9VEqaQ
Dry Tuned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxk-zDeykP8
# Posted on November 16th 2007 by upmine3
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
That Tony MacMahon link was blinding, lovely playing altogether.
Jameson, It could be that all the notes are only detuned by a tad. And evenly.
I dont think you could get away with an out of tune mandolin by saying its OK , its just wet tuned!
# Posted on November 16th 2007 by jig
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Hey, upmine, that's a good way of convincing people to go for a wet sound
Tony MacMahon, versus some guy who's been playing 5 months...
# Posted on November 16th 2007 by kjay_bc_box
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
That's a very good point kjay_bc_box. Here some dry-tuned playing with Sharon Shannon, no video though.
http://www.allcelticmusic.com/index.html?s=artists&m=artists&c=viewitem&m=shop&item_id=1599&artist_id=29
# Posted on November 16th 2007 by TradLad
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Nikita's point about non-dry tuning making it more bearable to play with instruments in non-equal temperament actually applies to playing solo.
For example, an equal-temperament major third chord (1 & 3) sounds dire if you use just one voice on your accordion, and presumably also on a totally dry multi-voice instrument. Multi-voice with a bit of wetness in there takes most of the harshness out of it.
Of course if you get too wet it starts to sound horrible again!
# Posted on November 16th 2007 by Jeeves Tones
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
Most box players prefere a wet tuning to dry,still.
I use a dry tuning myself,and also tune my own box.
Yes Jig,it's a nightmare to tune to a wet tuned tuney ting.
I also use equal temperament,and never found it too dissonant to play a major chord,you could also say the same thing about every piano in the world.
Traditional music is played in multiple keys.
I know a few pipers who wish their pipes were equal temperament,and who have resized hole in their chanters for recording/versatility purposes.
Sharon Shannon's box doesn't seem out of tune,does it?
I'd bet on my dead budgie that it's equal temperament.
P
# Posted on November 16th 2007 by P.browne
Re: Accordion tuning: dear God, I know nothing.
If you wet tune a mandolin - just a very little - it doesn' t sound out of tune, but it sounds a lot louder.
# Posted on November 16th 2007 by showaddydadito