A-440 Policy?

[David Ilvedson]

In that case rent a piano...

David I.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-caut@ptg.org [mailto:owner-caut@ptg.org]On Behalf Of David
> Skolnik
> Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2000 8:39 PM
> To: caut@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: A-440 Policy?
>
>
> Newton, Newton, Newton, Newton, Newton, and the rest of you-
>
> I fear a number of essential points are being missed here in the
> service of
> venting  over a different issue, namely administrative abuse... the same
> issue Bob Grijalva started to address a few days ago in his 'proposal for
> new staff' thread.   The issue here is not how long it takes to alter
> pitch, or how much it costs, or who should pay.  The real issues are the
> "sanctity" of A-440, and the acceptable mechanical tolerance of the modern
> piano.   Both of these topics have, I think, been addressed previously on
> this list, or on pianotech.  I'm too tired to check right now.
> 440 did not
> come from Mt. Sinai.  The politics of 440 is an interesting and arbitrary
> story.
> 440 is politics and psychology.  Why is there a propensity for elevated
> pitch, and how much elevation has to take place before a reaction occurs?
> What are the forces that propel high pitch or inhibit its
> proliferation?  I
> believe Ken's statement :
>
> 	It is, after all, easily within the tuning range of all orchestra
> instruments as long 	as the oboe players bring reeds that are constructed
> for this standard 	pitch
>
> to be misguided  By the time a player is at the level  to be a part of an
> internationally recognized ensemble, he, or she, does not need a tuning
> fork to know if they are at pitch or not.  They don't listen to pitch as
> much as feel it.  The change Ken suggests would be as radical and
> disturbing as would be suffered by any piano in a pitch altering
> situation.
>  Further, don't you think that the pitch a professional orchestra plays at
> goes a long way in defining its distinctive personality?   Just because it
> says "International Pitch" don't make it so.
>
> From a mechanical point of view there are only two questions.   How much
> pitch elevation can a concert piano safely sustain, and, are there any
> short or long term negative effects from such alteration  The
> first part of
> the question should be addressed by someone who knows.  I do not.  The
> second is where I believe the problem resides.  Convenience, budget, and
> energy aside, I doubt that the occasional pitch raise places any more
> tension on the system than does a bad summer.  What will change in a pitch
> alteration however is the string leveling and thus the open
> string voicing.
>  I have seen this happen.  Either in its raised or restored
> state, there is
> no assurance that the strings will be in the exact same place in relation
> to the agraffe.  If strings were pulled level, this could make a
> significant difference.
>
> This is the most significant effect I can think of.  OK Newton,  I'm ready
> for you...sort of.
>
> David Skolnik
> Columbia University
> New York
>
>
>
> At 09:12 PM 10/26/2000 -0400, you wrote:
> >> few viable options but to comply, although, you are certainly
> >> entitled to be compensated for your time and effort.
> >
> >Get the fire retarders out.
> >
> >Ignore it.  The department, who's inventory is the piano and
> >pays the salary of the technician, is not a signatory to the
> >contract.  I doubt there is a department around that is
> >willing to give up a day and a half, at least, of their
> >salary line employee.  If the order comes, in writing, from
> >the chair person then orders is orders but once they realize
> >they will loose five or more department tunings the can get
> >more stubborn than I.
> >
> >Time is money, time is energy and time is not being given to
> >the students who deserve it more.
> >
> >		Newton
> >
>