A-442 (was Re: Fork or Float)

Avery Todd ATodd@UH.EDU
Thu, 05 Sep 1996 17:40:04 -0500


List,
   And then we get into the discussion about tuning to A-442, which,
thankfully, I am not asked to do around here. Except once for the Houston
Symphony.
   Do many of you get asked to do that? I've heard that some orchestras
have gone so much even above 442 that some of the instrumentalists have had
to have special instruments built to be able to tune to it!

Avery

>On Wed, 4 Sep 1996, Aaron Bousel wrote:
>
>>An anecdote:
>> <snip big section> ...
>> I've never gotten a complaint about a piano being too sharp, though if it's
>>flat, I hear about it.
>>
>>Aaron Bousel
>>
>
>Aaron,
>
  For instruments, especially
>winds, pitch is critical, for many of them have no lattitude on the
>"sharp" side--  it is not unusual for a trumpet to be dead on 440 with
>the tuning slide all the way "in," with no option to tune any sharper.
>They have trouble playing with a normally tuned piano, because the
>higher notes of the piano are stretched higher than the higher notes of
>the trumpet.  This is even more pronounced with clarinets and flutes--
>they must tune sharp of 440 in order to sound best in tune with a piano.
>All of these instruments have no trouble tuning flat though, by
>elongation or pulling out a tuning slide.  So my conclusion is, to be
>safe, never tune sharp and opt for flat for purposes of "floating."  In
>the case of playing with winds, flat may always be better.
>
>Bill Bailer

_____________________________________
Avery Todd, RPT
Moores School of Music
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-4893
713-743-3226
atodd@uh.edu
_____________________________________






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