---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Israel, Comments interspersed: At 08:22 PM 11/23/2005, you wrote: >At 04:13 PM 11/23/2005, Stan Ryberg wrote: >>This is a most informative posting, wrapping up a number of threads >>that have appeared periodically. I would like to suggest an >>alternative theory concerning the rise of orchestral pitch (a fact, >>not a theory...it's been 442 in Chicago for years at Orchestra Hall). > >Same at Symphony Hall in Boston. And, in nearly 45% of all major venues in the U.S.. >> After years of playing in a variety of orchestras, I've seen wind >> players having to scramble to reach the pitch level of the >> strings...the manufacturers are only responding to what the >> players have reported that they need on the job. Having played >> on...uh..."outdated" equipment myself, I've found it necessary to >> have the instruments cut to reach modern pitch >> levels. Violinists, in particular, strive for the brilliance that >> a "slightly" raised pitch level affords...but in old violins >> especially, that can eventually lead to the instrument going >> "dead" as it accustoms itself to the higher >> tension. Solution? Raise the ! pitch again! (Until the >> instrument implodes...) These are very small increments, to be >> sure, but they add up to as high as 444 in some orchestras...and >> MOST wind players will have difficulty with their equipment at >> that level! Cause and effect, yes, but I'm not convinced the >> cause began with the wind instruments. > >You are absolutely correct about pitch being constantly pushed up by >the string players - and wind instrument manufacturers merely >following the trend. I believe several major makers are now pitching >their instruments at A=442 precisely for that reason. The only >reason I mentioned wind instruments in my previous post was because >that's what affected me personally in my professional life... We >were doing fine at A=440 until the clarinettists squawked. The >string players in the program haven't yet reached the prima-donna >stage where they can throw their weight around, but if the clarinet >can't tune down to the piano - well, that's a problem that I am >expected to address... Sorry - I respectfully disagree. If one listens very carefully to just about any orchestral recording, what one finds is that it is consistently the second chair woodwinds, especially second clarinet and bassoon which are the culprits. They are followed, depending on the band and the orchestration in use at the time by various brass, most notably second and fourth horn, and first and second trombone. One of my personal favorites is the needle-brained oboist who plays one pitch while staring fixedly at some electronic device or other and then plays at a different pitch level once the music starts. Where this argument really fails on its premise is specifically with the clarinet, by the way. Clarinet manufacturers use the same bores for A, Bb and C instruments. By the time you get to the C, the scale is so much shorter that (assuming that you are using Boehm, not Wurlitzer, Mazzeo or Albert key systems and therefore tunings) the instrument is hopeless out of tune with itself. If used with a piano, the piano really needs to be no higher than 440 (or, 442, depending on what the instrument is built for), or playing "in tune" (whatever that means to begin with) is simply impossible...and, for that matter, the C instruments I have worked with really only sound "in tune" if the piano is under 440. Same for another anachronism, the "C Melody" Saxophone. On the other hand, if you are using Wurlitzer, Mazzeo or Albert system clarinets, then all of this goes out the window. The strings, while certainly not perfect, take it in the neck all the time on this and they simply are not the ones causing the problem. The root of the problem is very clearly back in the wind section...and, very consistently traceable to the folks playing in first inversion...they are still listening for ET thirds, and that forces everything above them up in pitch to compensate. All of this said, the biggest thing affecting orchestral pitch is the set of ears in front of the band. If the conductor cannot/will not work with pitch problems, they are simply not going to get solved no matter who is "right" or "wrong". Pick your favorite group and then listen to it under different batons. While no longer as clearly discernable as it once was, you will be able to distinguish differences of tuning in direct relation to the competency of the conductor. For a very long time, the tuners at a very well known concert hall in the East were known to simply move the A from 440 to 442/whatever and back as necessary, leaving the rest of the instrument alone...I'm not suggesting something that inane and unscrupulous...I am suggesting being reasonable; and fighting over stuff like this with groups/halls/artists just isn't. It really is all a tempest in a teapot anyway. Figure out where the orchestra you tune for plays, and tune the piano accordingly. Either that, or don't, and then don't be surprised if someone else winds up with your gig. Hope everyone has a truly wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Take a break - we've all earned it! Best. Horace ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/a5/1c/19/35/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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