Merry and Bright Tuning!

You may think of accordions that are merry and bright by their appearance or by their tuning or both! Appearance is important, yes, and we offer accordions both new and used that appeal to even the most discriminating player.

As for tuning, now that’s a completely subjective topic to cover. When we here at Accordion Connection think of an accordion as being bright we instantly think of it as having musette or wet tuning. You will see a reference to tuning in the details of each accordion on our web site as being wet or dry.

Wet tuning is a general term describing all the many variations of tremolo to continental musette tuning. Basically speaking it is the tuning of one set of reeds exactly in pitch with itself and then another set of reeds in the same octave being tuned slightly higher. To further the effect another set of reeds in the same octave can be tuned slightly lower. When selective switching combines 2 or 3 sets of reeds you get the sound of these reeds competing with each other harmonically. This is bright tuning. The type of music that this is famous for is mostly the European ethnic genre. Beyond that is the modern use of it in TV commercials selling everything from fast food to fast cars!

Dry tuning is all sets of reeds tuned exactly in pitch with no variation. Jazz musicians favor this tuning. Classical music is also known to use this tuning.

If you have an accordion that has at least 2 sets of reeds in the same octave, we can tune it to be a bright tremolo. If your accordion has 3 sets of reeds in the same octave, we can tune it musette. If you aren’t sure what reed setup your accordion has, call Arthur Welch to discuss your possibilities.

1-800-328-5227.