I love it... the more of this you all can dig up the better.. grin.. thanks muchly. kam544@flash.net wrote: > >Richard Brekne wrote: > >...I was just wondering if any of you guys... > > FWIW Department: > > The following is a Press Release and a Resolution concerning A440 published > July 23, 1986. I was in attendance during this event. > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > > TECHNICIANS RENEW FIGHT FOR A-440 STANDARD > > LAS VEGAS,NV ----- Piano Technicians meeting at Caesars Palace here adopted > a resolution calling for continued world-wide acceptance of A-440 hertz as > a standard pitch throughout the world. > > Citing problems caused by "excessive pitch adjustments necessary to satisfy > various orchestras and performers," technicians at the Piano Technicians > Guild's 29th International Convention and Institute adopted the resolution. > More than 900 technicians and guests attended the convention. > > The pitch issue was investigated in a special pitch forum headed by > 1985-1986 Guild President Charles P. Huether, RTT, and Ron Harper, a > representative of the Australian Piano Tuners and Technicians Association. > Other participants in the discussion were from the United States, Canada > and France. > > The history of musical pitch over the last three centuries has been one of > confusion and misunderstanding. The pitch of A has ranged from 312 hertz > used in a 17th-century church organ to a high of 464 used by some British > military bands at the end of the 19th century. > > As early as 1834, a congress in Stuttgart, Germany, unsuccessfully > attempted to standardize pitch at A-440. In the early years of this > century, a number of groups in the United States formally adopted A-440 as > a standard pitch. These groups included the American Federation of > Musicians, the Music Teachers National Association, the Music Industries > Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Piano Tuners, a > forerunner of the present Piano Technicians Guild. > > The United States Bureau of Weights and Measures adopted A-440 in 1920, and > it was adopted as the world-wide standard in a treaty signed during an > International Standards Association meeting in London in 1939. > > Unfortunately, some musical groups insist on tuning to a higher pitch of > A-442 or A-445, according to participants in the Las Vegas forum. They > noted that raising and lowering the pitch of a piano can cause serious > stability problems in the instrument. The higher pitch also puts an > unnecessary strain on vocalists and other instrumentalists. > > The Piano Technicians Guild is an international non-profit organization of > more than 3,500 piano craftsmen and women. Membership as a Registered > Tuner-Technician is attained only by passing a series of rigorous > examinations. In addition to its annual Convention and Technical > Institute, the Guild also publishes a monthly technical journal on > piano-related topics. Its international headquarters is in Kansas City, MO. > > ========================================================== > RESOLUTION TO ENCOURAGE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WORLD-WIDE ACCEPTANCE OF A-440 > HERTZ AS STANDARD PITCH AND CONSISTENT ADHERENCE TO THIS STANDARD: > > WHEREAS: a world-wide representation of more than 750 piano technicians are > assembled in convention at Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 23, 1986; and > > WHEREAS: it has been brought to the attention of the convention that a > serious problem exists in connection with the inconsistencies of the pitch > level throughout the world, and > > WHEREAS: a committee of the convention has explored the situation in great > depth and has unanimously recommended that the convention take action; and > > WHEREAS: the stability and well-being of the concert piano is constantly > being threatened by the excessive pitch adjustments necessary to satisfy > various orchestras and performers; and > > WHEREAS: other instruments and singers have problems because of these > excessive and frequent changes in pitch level; > > BE IT THEREBY RESOLVED: that the Piano Technicians Guild, Inc., states that > the standard pitch of A-440 hertz as established in 1939 by international > agreement be consistently observed world-wide; and > > BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the Piano Technicians Guild shall cause this > resolution to be widely distributed throughout the world. > ========================================================== -- Richard Brekne Associate PTG, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway
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