[CAUT] International standard?

[Chris Solliday]

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yeah Wim you're lost in a drift
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: wimblees@aol.com=20
  To: caut@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 12:59 PM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] International standard?


  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).=20
  Wim

  =20
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Chris Solliday <solliday@ptd.net>
  To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>
  Sent: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:22:31 -0400
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] International standard?


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 -----=20
From: "Fred Sturm" <fssturm@unm.edu>
To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org>
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),
> www.iso.org
> "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" <fssturm@unm.edu> wrote:
>
> > I just found this, which confirms the Goebbels connection
> > <http://groups.msn.com/Todakcrew/musicarticles.msnw>:
> > The first effort to institutionalize A=3D440 in fact was a =
conference
> > organized by Joseph Goebbels in 1939, who had standardized A=3D440 =
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=3D440 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=3D440 =
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=3D440
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=3D432.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Fred Sturm
> > University of New Mexico
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>


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