Piano Technicians Guild A440 Resolution

[Keith McGavern]

List,

In some recent past posts mention was made of an A440 resolution.  I posted
a query for this information on the PTG-L list.  Thanks be to Marshall
Hawkins, RPT, and current President of the Piano Technicians Guild who
responded to the query and provided the resolution and press release from
that time period.

It was suggested to me by another that some subscribers on Pianotech might
find this information interesting, hence, what follows is the Press Release
for that convention and the A440 Resolution.

Keith A. McGavern
kam544@ionet.net
Registered Piano Technician
Oklahoma Chapter 731
Piano Technicians Guild
USA

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July 23, 1986

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TECHNICIANS RENEW FIGHT FOR  A-440  STANDARD

LAS VEGAS,NV ----- Piano Technicians meeting at Caesars Palace here adopted
a resolution calling for continued world-wide acceptance of A-440 hertz as
a standard pitch throughout the world.

Citing problems caused by "excessive pitch adjustments necessary to satisfy
various orchestras and performers," technicians at the Piano Technicians
Guild's 29th International Convention and Institute adopted the resolution.
More than 900 technicians and guests attended the convention.

The pitch issue was investigated in a special pitch forum headed by
1985-1986 Guild President Charles P. Huether, RTT, and Ron Harper, a
representative of the Australian Piano Tuners and Technicians Association.
Other participants in the discussion were from the United States, Canada
and France.

The history of musical pitch over the last three centuries has been one of
confusion and misunderstanding.  The pitch of  A  has ranged from 312 hertz
used in a 17th-century church organ to a high of 464 used by some British
military bands at the end of the 19th century.

As early as 1834, a congress in Stuttgart, Germany, unsuccessfully
attempted to standardize pitch at A-440.  In the early years of this
century , a number of groups in the United States formally adopted A-440 as
a standard pitch.  These groups included the American Federation of
Musicians, the Music Teachers National Association,  the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce,  and the National Association of Piano Tuners, a
forerunner of the present Piano Technicians Guild.

The United States Bureau of Weights and Measures adopted A-440 in 1920, and
it was adopted as the world-wide standard in a treaty signed during an
International Standards Association meeting in London in 1939.

Unfortunately, some musical groups insist on tuning to a higher pitch of
A-442 or A-445,  according to participants in the Las Vegas forum.  They
noted that raising and lowering the pitch of a piano can cause serious
stability problems in the instrument.  The higher pitch also puts an
unnecessary strain on vocalists and other instrumentalists.

The Piano Technicians Guild is an international non-profit organization of
more than 3,500 piano craftsmen and women.  Membership as a Registered
Tuner-Technician is attained only by passing a series of rigorous
examinations.  In addition to its annual Convention and Technical
Institute,  the Guild also publishes a monthly technical journal on
piano-related topics.  Its international headquarters is in Kansas City,
MO.


RESOLUTION TO ENCOURAGE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WORLD-WIDE ACCEPTANCE OF A-440
HERTZ AS STANDARD PITCH AND CONSISTENT ADHERENCE TO THIS STANDARD:

WHEREAS: a world-wide representation of more than 750 piano technicians are
assembled in convention at Las Vegas, Nevada,  on July 23,  1986;  and

WHEREAS: it has been brought to the attention of the convention that a
serious problem exists in connection with the inconsistencies of the pitch
level throughout the world,  and

WHEREAS: a committee of the convention has explored the situation in great
depth and has unanimously recommended that the convention take action;  and

WHEREAS: the stability and well-being of the concert piano is constantly
being threatened by the excessive pitch adjustments necessary to satisfy
various orchestras and performers;

and

WHEREAS: other instruments and singers have problems because of these
excessive and frequent changes in pitch level;

BE IT THEREBY RESOLVED: that the Piano Technicians Guild, Inc., states that
the standard pitch of A-440 hertz as established in 1939 by international
agreement be consistently observed world-wide;  and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the Piano Technicians Guild shall cause
this resolution to be widely distributed throughout the world.

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