Klarinet Archive - Posting 000705.txt from 1996/02

From: niethamer@-----.BITNET
Subj: Re: Pitch vs Temperature
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 22:32:59 -0500

On Fri, 23 Feb 1996, Edwin V. Lacy wrote:

> I would be interested to know how and why the decision was reached to
> tune your orchestra at 442. And, in answer to part of the previous
> message, I don't think the A=440 standard is dead, or at least I hope it
> isn't. Actually, the 440 standard is a fairly recent one, (...snip)

I think our standard was arrived at as a sort of "compromise" worked out
by our concertmaster, principal oboe, music director (the last one), and
some of the brass players.

> But, whenever a pitch is chosen, the string players in an orchestra want
> to tune a little higher, because they think it makes their instruments
> sound brighter. But then, the winds have to tune a little higher in
> order to match the strings, who then want to tune a little higher still,
> because their instruments no longer sound as bright within the texture as
> they had previously. And, higher and higher temperatures on the stage
> exacerbate the problem for winds, making them go sharper still. (But
> higher temperatures cause _lower_ pitches in the strings, keyboard and
> mallet percussion instruments, which is still a further complication.)

exactly!! But here, some of the string players object to tuning even as
high as 442, because of their concern for damage to their instruments by
cranking the strings that tight. Particularly in our Pops concerts, where
loud brassy arrangements and lack of rehearsal time are part of the
problem, even the most basic tuning can be an adventure (to be polite!!).

> I have often observed the phenomenon that the winds in an orchestra
> accuse the strings of forcing the pitch up, while the string players
> accuse the winds of doing so.

We blame our problems on the brass! Seriously, our principal oboe is very
well respected, and produces a consistent "A" for tuning. He long ago
de-fused all the bickering about the "A".

BTW one of my favorite quotes (from an older member of our violin
section) on this subject is "It's not the "A", it's the "B" that matters!"

> The only solution I can see is to pick a certain standard and stick to
> it. Since the 440 standard exists, I can see no reason to use any other
> one.

At least as far as the clarinet is concerned, there isn't a dime's worth
of difference between 440 and 442. Well, maybe there *is* a dime's worth
- if I pull out about the thickness of a dime (about one mm) I can get
comfortably to 440 from the 442 where my equipment normally plays. No
hardship for me, and I've had to do it in some chamber music settings
out of Richmond, and with certain pianos.

> In the orchestra in which I play, the tuning standard of A=440 is in
> the contract. This phrase was added to the contract at the request of
> the players. The contract also calls for the oboist to have a working
> and calibrated electronic tuning device on stage at each service.

Same, except we stipulate 442. For a while we tuned to a "box", but our
current music director objected, so our Principal Oboe now gives the "A"
while checking his tuner on the stand to insure accuracy. For a while in
the 70's, the Met Opera orchestra tuned to an electronic "A" if my memory
is correct.

> Musicians have been arguing about this for at least 400 years now, and
> probably longer than that. I doubt that we are going to settle it here.
> It's amazing to me how many varieties of thinking there are about the
> topic, and the kind of reasoning that is used to support some of the
> ideas, as well as the strong emotional attachment musicians have to some
> of their positions.

Isn't it a grand profession!?!?

David Niethamer

   
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