Note ID - & Tunelab

[Robert Scott]

Ron Nossaman asks:

>If A4-440 is the "generally" accepted standard pitch, why
>isn't the defined enumeration range A-G#? How does a standard A pitch
>logically connect with a C-B octave enumeration range?

Ron, the terminology for octave identification probably arose based
on musical considerations, not for the convenience of piano technicians.
The note, C, was, after all, the starting point for the simplest
key signature - no sharps or flats.  So it probably made sense to
musicians to designate an octave starting at C.  The fact that the
standard pitch is A-440 doesn't have nearly the weight of centuries
of pre-existing musical terminology.  And even with this A-440
standard, many tuners still tune an F-F temperament octave and
start with an F tuning fork, or a C tuning fork.  As long as the A
ends up at 440, it doesn't matter where you start.

What is more curious to me is how the note designations got started.
Why did the first musicians to consider the issue call the base of 
the no-flats, no-sharps minor scale 'A'?  Why wasn't 'A' chosen to
represent the base of the major scale?  How did the letter 'C' come
to own this honor?  Was the minor scale at one time more important
than the major scale?

-Robert Scott
 Ypsilanti, Michigan