The Bagpipe Society

Cabrette Tuning - Yet Again!

Firstly, may I thank Jon Swayne for taking the trouble to reply to my scribblings on this topic. I am grateful to read something written with authority rather than from a point of ignorance (like mine!). Really, mine was just a series of thoughts and questions put down in the hope of getting some insight which I think Jon has provided.

I would also like to apologise for the sloppy use of the term “Just Intonation” when I should have used a term which did not have a technical meaning. It was my intention to distinguish systems which used tuning that gives perfectly sounding intervals from Equal temperament where all the intervals, except the octave, are out by a small amount.

For me, the most enlightening part of Jon’s reply is the insight brought by considering the instrument as based on the three-finger tonic with the “offending” note now “just” a leading note.