Scottish Tuning for Scottish Tunes

[Walker]

The Scottish tuning (MMM) is a full musette that is very important in Scottish traditional music. However, different instruments have their own particular sound. Many accordions were double cassotto, some single cassotto and others without cassotto. Tunings can vary from at least +/-18 cent and much higher still.

Historically, there have been some iconic accordions that have made their mark in the Scottish scene.

Here's a few to start with:

Hohner Shand Morino:



Hohner Morino M series:



Ranco (particularly Supervox):

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

Hohner Gola with Scottish musette:



Bugari (various including Champion Cass. /Gold etc)



Borsini (various including Professional/K series etc)



Manfrini Esperto:

Colin Dewar5

Playing the Manfrini Esperto 96 bass

www.youtube.com

Feel free to add your favourite Scottish tuned accordions to the list...

 

[vivdunstan]

Rather amused that I recognised Gordon Pattullo by his hands before seeing the name or playing the videos He did an excellent job last year giving my 41 year old Paolo Soprani 72 bass its first ever retune.

And marvellous thread! Thanks @Walker

 

[Walker]

Thanks @vivdunstan. I'm really amazed at how brilliantly Mr. Pattullo plays the British chromatic accordion and the 5-row continental chromatic in addition to being a wonderful piano accordionist too.

 

[Ffingers]

...which serves to illustrate precisely how Scottish "musette" tuning can ruin the sound of even the best made accordion.

 

[Pipemajor]

...which serves to illustrate precisely how Scottish "musette" tuning can ruin the sound of even the best made accordion.

Perhaps to your ears. Thousands would disagree. Thanks Walker. Keep 'em coming. Reminds me of my youth, listening to Lindsay Ross playing his Gola at the Meadowbank Inn, just outside Arbroath.

 

[Scuromondo]

...which serves to illustrate precisely how Scottish "musette" tuning can ruin the sound of even the best made accordion.

There’s no reason why a Steinway Concert Grand could not be detuned to make it suitable to play honky tonk music, but I don’t think that would be very commonly done.

 

[Walker]

It is, I believe, a case of horses for courses. Perhaps, it is the great and powerful Scottish Clydesdale horse that would represent the Scottish tuning at times.

The accordion tuning must suit the music though. Let's take this wonderful example of Duncan Black performing one of his own Strathspey compositions on his Gola, with the grill off, for extra power!



I think that at its best the power and drive afforded by a full musette can kick through the background noise in a way that no straight tuned instrument can match - this being an ideal quality for the traditional Scottish ceilidhs. At another level the Scottish musette is a more complex and subtle sound than people realise, and it can vary greatly. Some instruments and tunings are even particularly suited to specific types of Scottish music. Perhaps, if I can, I will find a few examples later to share. For me, speaking slightly poetically, Scottish tuning can be seen as an extension of the people and the varied landscapes of Scotland.

I would sure like to hear any examples of Scottish tuning that people find particularly interesting.​

 

[temryd]

Thanks to all for a great lesson on Scottish musette!! I found it very elucidating.

 

[Scuromondo]

Last year I purchased a new accordion. It is a good one, but not even close to being in the same class as these high-end instruments. It is MMM musette-tuned—though to a more modest +/-15 cents, not nearly as aggressively detuned as Scottish musette. The model I chose was equipped with Voci Armoniche tipo a mano reeds, with a mano reeds available on request. So before placing my order I emailed the builder to enquire about the choice between a mano and tipo a mano reeds.

And he surprised me. Obviously he would stand to profit by convincing me to choose a mano reeds at additional cost. But he didn’t. Instead, while saying he would of course sell me a mano if that is what I wanted, he also said quite plainly that for strong tremolo tuning, choosing a mano really did not offer any advantage to justify the price difference and that most folk/musette players feel that tipo a mano is at least as good as or even better than a mano. His opinion was that the real benefits of a mano reeds can be appreciated much more on instruments with light (or no) tremolo, especially those with a piccolo reed set. As a result, I chose to order my accordion with the standard tipo a mano reeds.

So that is what confuses me a bit about these fine, high-end accordions, likely with some of the best reeds available, being used for Scottish folk music. But perhaps the real reason for using these instruments is that, as you suggest, the players require maximum acoustic volume/power and these instruments are able to project that more than most others.

 

[Walker]

Yes @Scuromondo, a lot of very good musette accordions have tipo a mano reeds, such as the standard Hohner Morino N & S series. They are popular here and have a nice bright and clear tone that handles strong tunings well and are stable in the cold too:



Musette tuning is a very personal thing. I like around +/-20 cent. But I also enjoy the tonal qualities that some instruments with hand made reeds have. Sometimes the extra flexibility of the hand made reed allows you to get a bit extra power out of the instrument when you need it, for added punchiness to emphasise some notes etc. On some of the nice Golas or high end modern Scandalli, Bugari or Manfrini instruments, for example, there can be a nice complexity in the tone that is bright, shimmering but with warmth and fullness too. But that's more than just the reeds, it's the reed blocks and the different woods used. Also, having good bellows compression can be helpful too with expressiveness and handling. Yet I don't like the very bright or sharp musette sounds so much. A lot of modern accordions, lack a little bit of depth of tone, but others are great.

But here's something especially for @Ffingers, a great accordion man who occasionally reminds me of the proverb horses for courses...

This is a full Scottish for you - horses included

​

 

[saundersbp]

The accordion tuning must suit the music though. Let's take this wonderful example of Duncan Black performing one of his own Strathspey compositions on his Gola, with the grill off, for extra power

Super musical playing and the accordion sound and musical style are a perfect marriage. Less sure about the harmony of the interior decor, although they do say opposites attract.

 

[Dingo40]

Ah, the times,Walker!
At the end of WW2, where we found ourselves in Europe, ploughing with horses, exactly as depicted in the clip was commonly practiced as a matter of actual necessity and I remember watching my uncle not only ploughing but also broadcasting seed by hand.
Later, it was all hands on deck: the men cutting the crop with scythes the women raking with wooden rakes and stooking .
The child minding was at the edge of the field under the supervision of the older girls.
There was a steam-driven thresher that did the rounds of the district by arrangement, although threshing with cudgels (a unisex chore) and hand-winnowing were not unknown: you certainly earned your daily bread!

 

[Walker]

Thank you for sharing @Dingo40. The connection to the land that you mention is so wonderful!

 

[Ffingers]

Ah, the times,Walker!
At the end of WW2, where we found ourselves in Europe, ploughing with horses, exactly as depicted in the clip was commonly practiced as a matter of actual necessity and I remember watching my uncle not only ploughing but also broadcasting seed by hand.
Later, it was all hands on deck: the men cutting the crop with scythes the women raking with wooden rakes and stooking .
The child minding was at the edge of the field under the supervision of the older girls.
There was a steam-driven thresher that did the rounds of the district by arrangement, although threshing with cudgels (a unisex chore) and hand-winnowing were not unknown: you certainly earned your daily bread!

Similar memories to mine in North Pembrokeshire, though the horses were white Puncherons and the 'unisex' thing absent - strong ladies in that part of the world.
I made the mistake on one occasion of standing downwind of the threshing machine while it was processing rye - never again, the bits of chopped 'beard' that stuck in the skin had me scratching myself for weeks.

 

[Ffingers]

Yes @Scuromondo, a lot of very good musette accordions have tipo a mano reeds, such as the standard Hohner Morino N & S series. They are popular here and have a nice bright and clear tone that handles strong tunings well and are stable in the cold too:



Musette tuning is a very personal thing. I like around +/-20 cent. But I also enjoy the tonal qualities that some instruments with hand made reeds have. Sometimes the extra flexibility of the hand made reed allows you to get a bit extra power out of the instrument when you need it, for added punchiness to emphasise some notes etc. On some of the nice Golas or high end modern Scandalli, Bugari or Manfrini instruments, for example, there can be a nice complexity in the tone that is bright, shimmering but with warmth and fullness too. But that's more than just the reeds, it's the reed blocks and the different woods used. Also, having good bellows compression can be helpful too with expressiveness and handling. Yet I don't like the very bright or sharp musette sounds so much. A lot of modern accordions, lack a little bit of depth of tone, but others are great. Musette preference is a very particular thing.

But here's something especially for @Ffingers, a great accordion man who occasionally reminds me of the proverb horses for courses...

This is a full Scottish for you - horses included

​

Beautiful countryside, handsome horses, great little tune ...

 

[Pipemajor]

It is, I believe, a case of horses for courses. Perhaps, it is the great and powerful Scottish Clydesdale horse that would represent the Scottish tuning at times.

The accordion tuning must suit the music though. Let's take this wonderful example of Duncan Black performing one of his own Strathspey compositions on his Gola, with the grill off, for extra power!



I think that at its best the power and drive afforded by a full musette can kick through the background noise in a way that no straight tuned instrument can match - this being an ideal quality for the traditional Scottish ceilidhs. At another level the Scottish musette is a more complex and subtle sound than people realise, and it can vary greatly. Some instruments and tunings are even particularly suited to specific types of Scottish music. Perhaps, if I can, I will find a few examples later to share. For me, speaking slightly poetically, Scottish tuning can be seen as an extension of the people and the varied landscapes of Scotland.

I would sure like to hear any examples of Scottish tuning that people find particularly interesting.​

Well put Walker, and Duncan Black's superb playing more than makes up for his taste in trousers

 

[Pipemajor]

Ah, the times,Walker!
At the end of WW2, where we found ourselves in Europe, ploughing with horses, exactly as depicted in the clip was commonly practiced as a matter of actual necessity and I remember watching my uncle not only ploughing but also broadcasting seed by hand.
Later, it was all hands on deck: the men cutting the crop with scythes the women raking with wooden rakes and stooking .
The child minding was at the edge of the field under the supervision of the older girls.
There was a steam-driven thresher that did the rounds of the district by arrangement, although threshing with cudgels (a unisex chore) and hand-winnowing were not unknown: you certainly earned your daily bread!

When I was a kid in the late 40s, early 50s, we got a shortened summer holiday and a later holiday in October/November , of about 4 weeks, for the "tattie howkin'". All school children were obliged to go potato picking at local farms and if for some reason you were unable to go then you stayed at school .I always went to the same farm as the farmer there was very fair and didn't work us too hard. We had wages of about 10 shillings a day which helped many families out . I remember I got my first new bike (a dark green Hercules) for Christmas with my wages for tattie pickin'. We took a haversack with our "piece" and we were allowed to fill it with tatties to bring home each day. The spinner potato lifter was hauled by Hercules, the Clydesdale and the older boys were sometimes given the job of throwing the baskets of potatoes into a cart, also hauled by a Clydesdale but I can't remember its name. There was also another holiday for 2 weeks in early June for the berry picking. Angus was a big raspberry growing area then and they were paid around 1 penny per punnet for the rasps. As this one wasn't compulsory, I only went once. I think I earned about a shilling for the whole day so I never went back, although I probably ate as many berries as I picked.
Happy days.

 

[Tom]

When I was a kid we had to go into the fields after the potato pickers were done and harvest the leftovers, including the ones too small for the mechanical harvesters. Not as bad as having to go to the root cellar and removing the "eyes," discarding the gross rotten ones. I'd rather have been forced to learn to play the accordion like the normal kids.

 

[Beemer]

There’s no reason why a Steinway Concert Grand could not be detuned to make it suitable to play honky tonk music, but I don’t think that would be very commonly done.

 

[Scuromondo]

My ear may not be so good and I’m probably wrong. But to my ear, if that Steinway was detuned at all, it was not by very much.