Since the 18th C, when violin first started to be played in the Ottoman Empire, a number of changes have been made to its tuning process. This need for different tuning has been discussed both by musicologists and violinists but a general consensus explaining its reasons has not been reached. Therefore, the aim of the current article is to determine the past and present tuning practices employed in Turkish music violin playing and to reveal the positive and negative aspects of each of the types of tuning in relation to the performance of the violinists. To achieve these goals a screening model was adopted in the study. To determine the tuning processes followed in the past available relevant publications as well as existing documents (e.g., voice recordings) were scrutinised; while for the identification of the current practices a questionnaire including open ended items was e-mailed to five prominent Turkish music violinists. All of the performers filled in and sent the questionnaire including their views back. The findings of the study show that since the 18th C four different types of violin tuning have been used in the Ottoman-Turkish society. The results also reveal a number of significant reasons for the different tuning traditions in our culture.

Keywords:. Turkish music, violin, tuning, tuning types