---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment About a quarter century ago the PTG had a Pitch Stabilization Committee, a 'standing committee' as I recall. I happened to chair the committee for a year or two. Its purpose was to resist this counterproductive pitch inflation which seems to rear its head every once in a while. The committee was rather impotent, or perhaps not creative enough to generate real solutions. Anyway, the epidemic that had been rampant then seemed to subside and the committee was eliminated. (However, there's no reason to assume that the current trend for 'one-upmanship' will run its course and disappear. Times are different, the recording industry is very different, economic resources are differently distributed.) It's true that woodwind instruments are less flexible in pitch than brass, which in turn are less flexible than the strings. But all are optimized for a particular pitch. As far as I know, the standard for mass-produced winds (both woodwinds and brass) is still A=440. However, many high-level professional performers are playing custom made instruments. These can be made at any pitch. Karen Kevra, a prominent flutist, recording artist, concert performer, recently had a new flute made for her. It's at 442 and she says she can accommodate 440, but absolutely no lower. She says she was persuaded that since both of these pitches occur in her world, she would be better off with the higher pitch, adapting as necessary to the lower, rather than the other way around. She also says she's not sure that was the best decision since she much more commonly encounters 440. But since she has $25,000 invested in the new flute (makes concert grands seem a fine bargain?) she's sticking with it for the time being. Violinist Jamie Laredo insists on 441. My take on his stance is that the slight pitch raising (of the piano) required to accommodate his recitals is just enough to make him special without stepping too hard on everyone else's toes! - Tom McNeil - Vermont Piano Restorations "To the intelligent man or woman, life appears infinitely mysterious, but the stupid have an answer for every question." - Edward Abbey ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/8f/88/46/ac/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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