<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1491" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>yeah Wim you're lost in a = drift</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=wimblees@aol.com = href="mailto:wimblees@aol.com">wimblees@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, April 28, 2005 = 12:59 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] = International standard?</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana'"> <DIV> <DIV>Our clout is only as strong as the person who gives us = the check. The check I get for tuning to 442, 460, or 410, will = buy just as many groceries as the check I get for tuning to 440. =  (Actually, I can buy more groceries, but you get my drift). </DIV> <DIV>Wim</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: Chris = Solliday <<A = href="mailto:solliday@ptd.net">solliday@ptd.net</A>><BR>To: College = and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org><BR>Sent: Thu, 28 Apr = 2005 10:22:31 -0400<BR>Subject: Re: [CAUT] International standard?<BR><BR> <STYLE>.AOLPlainTextBody { FONT-SIZE: 12px; MARGIN: 0px; COLOR: #000; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, = Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff } .AOLPlainTextBody PRE { FONT-SIZE: 9pt } .AOLInlineAttachment { MARGIN: 10px } .AOLAttachmentHeader { BACKGROUND: #f9f9f9; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e9eaeb 2px solid } .AOLAttachmentHeader .Title { PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; BACKGROUND: #e9eaeb; = PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px; FONT: bold 11px Tahoma; COLOR: #666666; = PADDING-TOP: 3px } .AOLAttachmentHeader .FieldLabel { PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 9px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1px; FONT: bold = 11px Tahoma; COLOR: #666666; PADDING-TOP: 1px } .AOLAttachmentHeader .FieldValue { FONT: 11px Tahoma; COLOR: #333333 } </STYLE> <DIV class=AOLPlainTextBody id=AOLMsgPart_0_e0e45d65-12ba-4cec-8284-ffeddb583bba><PRE><TT>Well, = I think it's time we took a stand. 440 is high enough. Enough tension in the world, etc. IMHO we as tuners have some clout and we ought to use = use it. Chris Solliday ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred Sturm" <<A = href="mailto:fssturm%40unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A>> To: "College and University Technicians" <<A = href="mailto:caut%40ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</A>> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 6:23 PM Subject: Re: [CAUT] International standard? > Another bit of info, FWIW, from the International Organization of > Standardization (generally uses ISO as its international acronym), > <A href="http://www.iso.org" target=_blank>www.iso.org</A> > "ISO 16:1975 Specifies the frequency for the note A in the treble = stave and > shall be 440 Hz. Tuning and retuning shall be effected by = instruments > producing it within an accuracy of 0,5 Hz." > > Who is ISO? This is how they describe themselves: > > "ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 150 = countries, on > the basis of one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in = Geneva, > Switzerland, that coordinates the system. > > "ISO is a non-governmental organization: its members are not, as is = the case > in the United Nations system, delegations of national governments. > Nevertheless, ISO occupies a special position between the public = and private > sectors. This is because, on the one hand, many of its member = institutes are > part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are = mandated by > their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely > in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships = of > industry associations. > > "Therefore, ISO is able to act as a bridging organization in which = a > consensus can be reached on solutions that meet both the = requirements of > business and the broader needs of society, such as the needs of stakeholder > groups like consumers and users." > > As I understand this, standards set by ISO are commonly adhered = to, but > have no force of law (well, there are probably exceptions). In the = case of > musical pitch, my own take on the current situation is that = practically > speaking 442 has become the international standard by virtue of the = major > manufacturers of percussion and winds making it their default = pitch. They > have responded, presumably, to international market forces. There = is more > demand for instruments at 442 than at 440. > It doesn't really matter to me what the standard is, as long as = it is > reliably standard. Unfortunately we live during a period when the = standard > seems to be in flux. Fortunately there is less flux now than during = many > periods in the past. > Regards, > Fred Sturm > University of New Mexico > > > > On 4/27/05 1:42 PM, "Fred Sturm" <<A = href="mailto:fssturm%40unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A>> wrote: > > > I just found this, which confirms the Goebbels connection > > <<A = href="http://groups.msn.com/Todakcrew/musicarticles.msnw" = target=_blank>http://groups.msn.com/Todakcrew/musicarticles.msnw</A>&gt= ;: > > The first effort to institutionalize A=440 in fact was a = conference > > organized by Joseph Goebbels in 1939, who had standardized = A=440 as the > > official German pitch. Professor Robert Dussaut of the = National Conservatory > > of Paris told the French press that: ``By September 1938, the = Accoustic > > Committee of Radio Berlin requested the British Standard = Association to > > organize a congress in London to adopt internationally the = German Radio > > tuning of 440 periods. This congress did in fact occur in = London, a very > > short time before the war, in May-June 1939. No French = composer was invited. > > The decision to raise the pitch was thus taken without = consulting French > > musicians, and against their will.'' The Anglo-Nazi agreement, = given the > > outbreak of war, did not last, so that still A=440 did not = stick as a > > standard pitch. > > > > A second congress in London of the International Standardizing Organization > > met in October 1953, to again attempt to impose A=440 = internationally. This > > conference passed such a resolution; again no Continental = musicians who > > opposed the rise in pitch were invited, and the resolution was = widely > > ignored. Professor Dussaut of the Paris Conservatory wrote = that British > > instrument makers catering to the U.S. jazz trade, which = played at A=440 and > > above, had demanded the higher pitch, ``and it is shocking to = me that our > > orchestra members and singers should thus be dependent upon = jazz players.'' > > A referendum by Professor Dussaut of 23,000 French musicians = voted > > overwhelmingly for A=432. > > > > Regards, > > Fred Sturm > > University of New Mexico > > > _______________________________________________ > caut list info: <A = href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" = target=_blank>https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</A> > > _______________________________________________ caut list info: <A href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" = target=_blank>https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</A> </TT></PRE></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>