Standard Pitch

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 11/28/98 10:03:19 PM Central Standard Time,
tcole@cruzio.com writes:

<< It replaced the old standard of 435
 that had been fixed by the Paris Academy in 1859 (diapason normal) and
 confirmed, under the term "international pitch," at a conference held in
 Vienna in 1885."
 
 Tom >>

I've had a tuning fork for 30 years that has an inscription stamped on it that
says that A-440 was adopted in the United States by the American Federation of
Musicians in 1917 and by Congress in 1920.  I've always heard that the reason
for the number "440" was that it was a nice round figure that was somewhat of
an average between the high (Viennese) pitch of 44???  and the low (French)
pitch of 435.  

Apparently, the French won the "pitch war" with the Viennese in 1885 by
getting the conference to call it, "International Pitch".

Just for the List's information, "Diapason Normal" translates into English as,
"Standard Pitch".

If you ask me, 440 is fine with me and I wish that people would stick to it.
There are many instances where it is not practical or possible to tune a
certain piano to it but pushing it higher serves no useful purpose.  When I
find a piano very high in pitch at the end of summer, I feel somehow worse
about leaving it there than I do about not raising a piano which is low in the
middle of winter all the way up.

As a matter strictly of opinion, I think the notion of 432 being somehow in
"harmony with the universe" or whatever, is purely hocus pocus.  As a
practicing and working vocalist, lowering the pitch by this small amount
accomplishes only a psychological benefit.  If a singer finds that the score
is at his or her vocal limits, transposing even a full half step lower (to
415) is barely much help at all.  You need to transpose a full step or better
yet, a 3rd, 4th or 5th in order to make the difference that will accommodate a
distinction in vocal register.

Messing around with pitch just makes other band or orchestra instruments have
to compromise from the way the instruments were designed and can be the cause
for poor intonation from them.  If certain orchestras *always* tune to a
higher pitch however, then that is what *their* standard is.  I see virtually
no benefit, no improvement one way or the other to any deviation from A440 as
a world wide standard.  It doesn't really make the music "brighter" or
"mellower" or anything else.  It just presents more possibility of confusion
and poor intonation.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin