One thing that has not been mentioned in all of this is that as much as the orchestra members try to tune to the oboe at 440, it's ironic that the mallet instruments and the harp in most orchestras are tuned to 442. Yet no one ever says anything about it. I discovered that just before one of the Tuscaloosa Orchestra concerts, when the harp was tuning just as I got there to tune the piano. We discussed the pitch, and sure enough, her tuning devise was pitched at 442, and I checked several mallet instruments and found them all at 442. So much for the "entire" orchestra being on pitch. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Kendall Ross Bean <kenbean at pacbell.net> To: 'College and University Technicians' <caut at ptg.org> Sent: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:01 am Subject: Re: [CAUT] Barbie tuner, Oboist's dilemma; Parting "shots" One last post on this (and then I'm gone!): As I was attempting to understand the dilemma of the unfortunate oboe player (as is my wont, to try and fathom the position of the underdog in any conflict) I came across a lengthy passage on oboes from Norman Del Mar's "Anatomy of the Orchestra" -a book which I have found to be a fabulous resource in helping me understand, among other things, "temperamental" instrumentalists, and what might cause them to be that way. You may find the following information useful: (To avoid directly quoting what Norman says, and consequent problems arising therefrom, I will paraphrase/summarize:) Apparently...20"Giving the A" for the orchestra is one of the most important duties/responsibilites of the principle oboist. Not only does he/she do this for the entire orchestra, but also for honored soloists when they make appearances with the orchestra. (KRB: All except piano soloists, which of course, would be silly...). Not infrequently, oboists are actually challenged over the pitch they have given, and principal oboists often carry a tuning fork around with them, which they consult before boldly declaring the pitch to the orchestra members (and also which they check afterwards, to make sure, and also during the performance....and on the way home...and in bed that night...and while falling asleep... -KRB ;-) ) Also, not infrequently, orchestra managements have toyed with the idea of just having some sort of mechanical or electronic pitch reference for a "guaranteed" A440, in place of the oboe, which well-meaning management personnel have felt would be an ideal solution, and would stop the disputes... But apparently this has been tried and not found to be effective, the orchestra members having found the mechanical or electronic device too "characterless", and it actually has irritated orchestra members.... In the orchestra, also, pitch is apparently not so much a function of mechanical accuracy as of compromise and agreement. (Think, equal temperament: everyone has to agree. -KRB) The truth is, after the initial "tuning" of the orchestral instruments to the oboe's reference, (regardless of how careful an adjustment), few instruments retain that pitch for longer than a few minutes, due to changing temperatures in the hall, instruments continuing to warm up, (or cool down while long rests are observed) some instruments cannot change as much as others, and some are more capable of accomodating others, (and myriad other factors). So the other chief responsibility of oboe (and other woodwind) players is to constantly be able to adapt and adjust to the pitches of his fellow players. (In other words, give the pitch reference, then try and adapt to what everyone else is doing for the rest of the evening.) On cold days, or very damp ones, experienced conductors, knowing the instruments are going to change with the temperature, often let orchestras play or rehearse for a respectable interval before calling on the oboe to tune the orchestra. The virtues that qualify the oboe as the official arbiter of pitch are: (get ready for this) "His maximum expressive power, and....his relative lack of flexibility." Because of this the other members of the orchestra are expected to pay him particular courtesy..... Hope this helps. I'm outa here. -Kendall Ross Bean PitchFinders Connecting Perfect Pitch with Reality From: Jim Busby [mailto:jim_busby at byu.edu] Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 8:56 AM To: College and University Technicians Subject: Re: [CAUT] Barbie tuner, 106 trumps Accutuner True, true. Well, maybe not t he part ”This is obviously a major stressor for him.” He seems to be major GIVER of stress. Yesterday his accompanyist had a major row with him, and the day before the Conductor of the orchestra was upset with him to the point of leaving. Both directors of the conference are ready to strangle him. You’re right. I need to have compassion… (I certainly like it from other towards me!) Maybe the guy is mental or something. (I know I am ;-) Regards, Jim From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Kendall Ross Bean Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 12:49 AM To: 'College and University Technicians' Subject: Re: [CAUT] Barbie tuner, 106 trumps Accutuner Jim, Jim~ When will you learn? ;-) All you have to do is tune one measly piano, -and you can take a couple of hours (or more) to do it. This poor oboe player has to tune 106 different musicians, all with different instruments, all at the same time. And he has approximately 30 seconds to do it (if that). And you can bet every one of those 106 musicians is going to be razzing him, at some point, about his pitch being off. Providing a perfect A440 is his job description. -Look how many folks are depending on him. -Sure he takes it seriously. If he doesn't he may lose his job. (And most oboeists are "Aural" tuners - they know nothing about ETD's or Accutun ers!) Ever wonder how oboe players get their pitch? -These "barbie tuners" are a relatively recent innovation. What did oboeists do before that, ever wonder? Do they have... Perfect Pitch... uh oh, don't go there.... (Most of your pianists don't even know when their piano is off-pitch. They couldn't do anything about it anyway, even if they wanted to (except to call you!) But instrumentalists, they have to be really concerned with intonation, it's a major issue for them.) (That trumps your Accutuner. -Any day of the week. Did you know that when a pianist performs a piano concerto with an orchestra, the orchestral musicians-- --reluctantly-- --grudgingly-- --have to adapt/bend their usual intonation to accomodate the equally tempered piano? No wonder the oboist gets upset! And a lot of other musicians as well!) You don't tune a piano differently when you know it is going to be used with an orchestra, do you. -No, I didn't think so. Pianists, and piano tuners, can be so oblivious... ;-) Have some compassion for the guy. This is obviously a major stressor for him. ;-) ~Kendall Ross Bean Piano&OboeFinders -Connecting pianos and oboes From: Jim Busby [mailto:jim_busby at byu.edu] Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 2:34 PM To: College and University Technicians Subject: [CAUT] Barbie tuner List, I won’t name the fellow, but at the International Double Reed Society conference here at BY U there is this “oboist” who is running around with this tiny guitar tuner complaining that all the instruments are off. He confronted me before one of his performances saying that the pitch of the Shigeru was not A440 but was A442. He said the Hamburg D was also A442 (Was supposed to be at A443). I told him I was confident the pitch was where it was supposed to be on both instruments and that maybe his small tuner was off. BAD thing to say! Boy was he mad! After his performance, when most the people were gone, the head honcho watched me measure the pianos. Less than 4/10ths of one cent off… (Dang! Will I ever learn to keep my pitch dead on?) Funny, but almost all his high notes were extremely flat. Or maybe I’m just dreaming… Jim Busby p.s. Other than this unfortunate experience everyone else is very nice and complimentary. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20080726/30439428/attachment-0001.html
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