Pitch

[Stephen Airy]

Speaking of singing hymns with a piano that's tuned to
the "wrong" pitch... I thought of something --

Let's say the piano is 300 cents flat, but in tune
with itself.  The congregation is about to sing a song
that has the sopranos hitting near G#5 or higher (with
the piano correctly tuned, that is).  Tell the piano
player and/or song leader something like "Oh, by the
way, this piano might make it a little easier on the
sopranos."  :)

--- Wimblees@AOL.COM wrote:
> In a message dated 1/11/02 12:48:07 AM !!!First
> Boot!!!, 
> joegarrett@earthlink.net writes:
> 
> 
> > All,
> > A comment was made, "I can see no justification
> for raising the pitch....."
> > I will give ONE very strong reason: EAR TRAINING.
> If some continue to leave
> > pianos "where they are", etc, for little Johnny to
> practice on, we will
> > never get rid of the horrible phenomenon of "Tin
> Ears". Please consider
> > this. Music is to be loved, enjoyed and to ease
> our day to day stresses.
> > IMHO any piano that is out of tune or not at
> proper pitch does none of that.
> > Respectfully,
> > Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
> > 
> 
> Joe
> 
> Music can be loved at any pitch. Consider that
> Mozart, Bach, and most of the 
> great composers, probably didn't have a piano or
> organ tuned to A440. Yet, 
> they somehow managed to produce some pretty
> fantastic music. 
> 
> As far as ear training is concerned, there is no
> reason for a piano to be at 
> A440. Ear training is not identifying which note is
> which on the piano. Ear 
> training is the ability to sing and hear intervals.
> Once a pitch is given, 
> ear training teaches how to sing another pitch. So
> it doesn't make any 
> difference where that pitch is, in reference to a
> piano, even it the piano is 
> out of tune. Unless one has perfect pitch, very few
> people are going to know 
> the difference. I am sure, like most of us, I have
> sung many a hymns a step 
> or two higher or lower, and never knew it. And if I
> did, it didn't bother me, 
> or any one else in choir. All we had to know was the
> starting note, and off 
> we went. 
> 
> Now I am not advocating we tune all pianos at what
> ever pitch we find it. But 
> they don't need to be there for ear training.
> 
> Wim 
> 


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