A 435 or A 440 ?

[KeyKat88 at aol.com]

Greetings, 

         IMHO, I dont believe that a perfect pitch hearer would hear it to 
any great degree. I'll tell you why: I have had music teachers that claim to 
have perfect pitch never complain about a piano being a couple beats sharp in the 
more humid months and flatter in the winter heating months.

         I also had a few customers who claim to have perfect pitch, never 
notice that their piano was flat after being tooned by tooners that never 
correct the A that is suppose to be A-440, and merely toon the whole piano to the A 
that is there(!), never correcting the starting pitch.  When I took over a few 
of these pianos I would ask them if they noticed that the whole piano was 
alittle lower than it should be they said, no. What they did notice, however, is 
that what was ssuppose to be equal temperament, was not so equal. I think they 
are more sensitive to relative pitch, than they are about a piano being just 
a few beats sharp or flat.

      Also in tuning training, I was told that the human ear only really 
begins to notice pitch difference when it becomes 15 beats or more, sharp or flat. 
So, I would say, no they wont notice a few beats.

         I would tune this piano you mention at 435, maaaaaybe 436, possibly 
it was designed to only take that much tension. A beat or 3 wont be detected. 
Again IMHO.

Julia Gottshall
Reading, PA

In a message dated 7/26/2006 1:04:21 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
JackHouweling at dccnet.com writes:
Hello

I am working on a Mason and Risch grand piano and the plate has a stamp that 
says  " International Pitch A 435" .

Is it best to tune this piano to A 435 ?

The mother tells me the daughter has perfect pitch. She is away at school so 
I cannot talk to her.  Would someone with perfect pitch be bothered by 
anything other than A 440? 

Jack Houweling
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