John, Please correct my name on your post about E-mail addresses. My address should read WATHENMJ@A1.BETA.UC.EDU. By the way, since I have your ear, are you still on the CTE committee? If so I wish to change one of the rules regarding the setting of pitch. I feel that the candidate taking the electronic tuning test should be allowed to set his or her pitch using the electronic device whatever it may be. At present they are required to remove all electronic devices from the room for the "tuning Aurally section". In essence they must use a tuning fork. The reality of the situation is that good tuning forks are no longer manufactured. The ones that are still available are two small (hence subject to fluctuation from temperature) or they are the massive aluminum forks that fluctuate wildly with very little handling. In fact I believe that there are a lot of electronic pitch sources available which are as a group far more accurate and less subject to changes due to temperature than any of the forks that were ever made. This is due the chip technology revolution that has occurred over the last ten years or so. If anyone were to ask me I would recommend something like one of those Korg Tuners. They are very accurate. They either work correctly or they don't work at all. These tuners have nothing mechanical about them which is why they work or they don't work. The basic model is a quartz crystal which has the property of vibrating at a constant rate and a rate that is (I don't remember maybe 97 khz) relatively fast. Then there is some kind of microprocessor which is able to count and make a comparison to some other oscillator such as one that might be sensitive to sound pressure (microphone). The quartz vibrates at this energy level without deviating over a wide temperature range. If the temperature has changed enough to effect the quartz then you had better head for shelter! This is due to the quantum behavior of the crystal. All in all I think we should join the twenty-first century and forget about forks. Michael J. Wathen, RPT, CTE College-Conservatory of Music Cincinnati
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