[CAUT] A440, once again...

[David Ilvedson]

A little out of sync is a fatter sound and much more interesting...a little out, not HT out... '-]

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044

----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Porritt, David" <dporritt at mail.smu.edu>
To: caut at ptg.org
Received: 11/10/2009 5:20:02 AM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] A440, once again...


>Jim:

>Just in the past 2 weeks our orchestra conductor has asked me for 441.  I'm 
>currently keeping our concert hall pianos at 441 and I'll see what comments (if any) I 
>get.  The percussion instruments are all set high from the factory.  Our double reed 
>teachers (both  principals in the Dallas Symphony) want their studio pianos at 441 
>since that's where the DSO lives.  Actually though they get a 441 from the principal 
>oboist everyone else in the orchestra hits that a little high.  The organ in the 
>symphony hall is tuned at 443.5.

>When we tune a piano we set A at one place and carefully tune everything else to 
>match as perfectly as possible.  The symphony is not that way.  In reality, if all the 
>violins played exactly in tune it would sound like one violin but louder.  Since that 
>isn't (can't be) done that mixing of the slightly different pitches and varying vibrato 
>speeds gives the sound we're used to hearing.  When hearing a solo piano played, 
>we expect these beat free unisons and virtually beat free octaves or we're in 
>trouble.  With orchestras it's not that way.

>I love standards too and have toed the line on 440 but I think in some ways it's a 
>lost cause.  It's been going generally up forever and I can't see that stopping.  My 
>theory is that these people with super accurate pitch recognition perceive 440 as 
>boring and the "new" 442 is exciting.  When that becomes boring, they (or their 
>successors) will want 444 or 445.  I work for Director of the Music Division.  If he 
>says 441 I'll tune 441.  It's his school.

>dp

>PS Oh, that requirement for 440 in guest artist's contract is just so the piano is 
>tuned!  I don't think the vast majority of them would know nor care.

>David M. Porritt, RPT
>dporritt at smu.edu

>From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Jim 
>Busby
>Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 9:07 PM
>To: caut at ptg.org
>Subject: [CAUT] A440, once again...

>All,

>Once again there is a push here at BYU to set A442 as our pitch standard. The 
>Director of the School of Music is behind it, and is also the Philharmonic Orch 
>conductor. The problem I see is that most guest artists specify A440. Sooooo... if 
>someone visits we'll have to drop down, then back up, back down, up, down... I'm 
>getting dizzy just thinking about it.

>Any strong arguments against? Or am I just "bein' contrary" as my kinfolk would 
>say??

>Thanks.
>Jim Busby BYU