B sounds flat

[fred v]

On my EC mostly playing in D the B note sounds flat to my ear. Is ti because of Mean Temperament tuning? Should I sharpen the B a bit?

 

[Ryan Galamb]

Before doing anything, try playing the B (and some other notes) into a tuner. (You can get apps for tuning instruments pretty easily if you don't have a tuner on hand.)

 

It may be mean temperament quirkiness, but it may be that you have some other notes that are a bit off, making your B seem more off. You won't know for sure without checking.

 

Before you try retuning any reeds, I'd try cleaning the offending reed first (assuming the tuner confirms your suspicion, of course.) I'm not sure how it is with EC, but with Anglo, cleaning my reeds has been enough to fix any off-sounding reeds. (It's been a while since I last had to clean them, so I'll let someone more knowledgable than me comment on that process.)

[Chris Ghent]

The quickest way to check tuning is to play a scale in octaves. If instead of sounding harmonious the two notes beat or shriek then the tuning is suspect in one of the octaves. Of course, they could both be wrong!  A tuner is best, and Ryan’s advice is very good.  

[Gail_Smith]

Personally i wouldnt try tuning to any other scale  (e.g. just tuning) unless you ALWAYS play with other instruments and people that are finicky like this (e.g. some hurdy-gurdy players). In my experience even fiddle players that keep on asking for the Gb and A# to be different only complain because they are feeling grumpy, and half an hour later are playing perfectly happily with a whistle or diatonic accordion.  If it is out of tune - and the advice above is good-  it's probably just a small fleck of dust stuck to the reed.  

If it need professionally tuning, send it off to a professional.