Klarinet Archive - Posting 000194.txt from 1994/10

From: edgar pearlstein <e_p@-----.EDU>
Subj: pitches
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 23:37:37 -0400

There have been several communications about the pitch of A "440" in the
past. In the English edition of Helmholtz's On the Sensations of Tone, is an
appendix added by the translator that gives pitches back into the 1600's.
These data come from testing old organ pipes, pitch pipes, and tuning forks.
As we all seem to realize, the pitch of A has generally increased over time.
The lowest shown in that book is 373 Hz, from 1648, and the highest is 567 Hz,
from a church of 1619! Of particular interest is Handel's tuning fork, from
1751, with a frequency of 422.5 Hz.
..

   
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