It's not sharp, it's tuned to Galliano!

[craigd]

If you want to play with Richard Galliano, 443 hz is the sweet spot. Found that interesting and a bit surprising. I wonder if he has an accordion tuned differently for playing with pianists?

 

[craigd]

You want my source? Won't take my word for it? Think I don't know what I'm talking about? Think I'd make such an audacious claim without good evidence?


at 2:00 mins

 

[debra]

Galliano's accordion is really old (my guess is between 55 and 60 years). In that period (early to mid 1960's) it was quite common for Italian accordions to be tuned 443Hz. Later they settled on either the international (ISO) standard of 440Hz or on 442Hz, used quite a lot in professional orchestras (and chosen because string instruments play louder at 442Hz than at 440Hz).
When I started with accordion many people locally had Crucianelli accordions, likely also 443Hz. Later when I started doing accordion tuning I changed it to 442Hz (and also reduced the tremolo).
So I'm not surprised that Galliano uses 443Hz.

 

[craigd]

Ok, so not a big scoop? Wouldn't he have had it retuned if he didn't prefer that sharper tuning? He is probably the most in-demand squeezeboxer in the western world, if not the planet, no?

 

[debra]

Ok, so not a big scoop? Wouldn't he have had it retuned if he didn't prefer that sharper tuning? He is probably the most in-demand squeezeboxer in the western world, if not the planet, no?

Changing the overall tuning of an accordion isn't good for the reeds, as the scratching makes them weaker. If you want reeds to stay good for 6 decades yet have your instrument tuned regularly (because it does go out of tune) then it's best to not do a major retune. And afaik he only gets his accordion tuned at the Victoria factory and they are adamantly against changing the tuning of a whole instrument I guess he will just stick with the tuning he has. The factory has very limited stock of the old original reeds, so he also needs to avoid breaking reeds often.

 

[losthobos]

No one's answered the question abiut the puano tuning yet though.... ?

 

[debra]

No one's answered the question abiut the puano tuning yet though.... ?

Concert pianos are often tuned 442Hz, and that's about close enough to not be a big problem.
For instance, in "Mare Nostrum" (a concert I attended in Antwerp) Galliano plays together with trumpet player Paolo Fresu and pianist Jan Lundgren. If you listen carefully you can detect tuning issues between the instruments but it's not disturbing. A 1 Hz difference is about 4 cents and that's not more than the tremolo you already get when playing chords on a single instrument of from playing octaves on an accordion that needs tuning (like hist Victoria in the YouTube video...

 

[JeffJetton]

In that period (early to mid 1960's) it was quite common for Italian accordions to be tuned 443Hz. [...]
When I started with accordion many people locally had Crucianelli accordions, likely also 443Hz.

I have a "Tiger" accordion that was designed in the US in the mid-'60s but actually made in Italy by Crucianelli. Sure enough, it's a tuned sharp.

Although it's a A = 445Hz if the reference tone on my metronome is to be believed. (Could it have been originally at 443 and gotten sharp with age?)

Anyway, I always thought it a bit odd that an accordion that was specifically designed to play in a rock combo would not be tuned to 440.

 

[debra]

I have a "Tiger" accordion that was designed in the US in the mid-'60s but actually made in Italy by Crucianelli. Sure enough, it's a tuned sharp.

Although it's a A = 445Hz if the reference tone on my metronome is to be believed. (Could it have been originally at 443 and gotten sharp with age?)

Anyway, I always thought it a bit odd that an accordion that was specifically designed to play in a rock combo would not be tuned to 440.

The accordion may have originally been tuned 444Hz (that was common for the American market) and then gone up a bit over the years. It is unlikely that an accordion would go up by 2Hz over a few decades, but 1Hz is possible. (Reeds more often go sharp over time than go flat.)

 

[Pinu]

How many cents' tremolo is having Galliano? Fully dry?

 

[OuijaBoard]

RE the piano question . . . somehow one might just throw out a wild guess it's a fair bet that "the most in-demand squeezeboxer in the western world, if not the planet" has, oh, one or two other accordions lying around, and is not limited to one hz443 box . . .

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

I have a "Tiger" accordion that was designed in the US in the mid-'60s but actually made in Italy by Crucianelli. Sure enough, it's a tuned sharp.

Although it's a A = 445Hz if the reference tone on my metronome is to be believed. (Could it have been originally at 443 and gotten sharp with age?)

Anyway, I always thought it a bit odd that an accordion that was specifically designed to play in a rock combo would not be tuned to 440.

I worked on a Tiger for the band Arcade Fire that was also tuned to A445.

 

[Walker]

@craigd what a great video. Gil Goldstein is really cool. What a great story about him being introduced to the Victoria Quint converter, by Richard Galliano himself. All because of 3 cents tuning difference. Incredible!

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

@craigd what a great video. Gil Goldstein is really cool. What is great story about him bring introduced to the Victoria Quint converter, by Richard Galliano himself. All because of 3 cents tuning difference. Incredible!

Gil is the man. We brought him to New Orleans for the accordion festival I helped organize. He played a beautiful concert with legendary New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich. The two had never met before the concert, but knew of each other through Bobby McFerrin.

 

[Walker]

Gil is the man. We brought him to New Orleans for the accordion festival I helped organize. He played a beautiful concert with legendary New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich.

He sure is, and Johnny is pretty good too.

I know the Quint system is sometimes called the Galla-Rini system. Wonder if it's time to rename it the G3 system: Galla-Rini, Galliano & Goldstein.

 

[tcabot]

Q: What is a minor second?



A: Two accordionists trying to play in unison.