Klarinet Archive - Posting 000244.txt from 1997/01

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fredj@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Tuning 440vs442
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 11:09:18 -0500

Benedict,
Here in the bad old U.S. of A., we always tune to A 440 (or, at
least, that's what we SAY we are trying to do). I'm surprised to hear it
from a European group. In my experience, pitch in Europe ranges from a low
A 440 to a ridiculous A 446 or 447. In fact, as I heard it, the R-13 model
that Buffet
makes is specifically pitched too low for many European ensembles to use,
so they usually use RC's.
Anyway, I guess that the reason your conductor
asked the band to tune low was that he wanted to hear the effect of low
tuning on tone quality. In general, the higher the pitch, the more lively
the sound quality of the ensemble. This is why pitch generally crept up
throughout the 19th century from the old A 430 (or less) to the unplayable
A 450 (or so) before an international convention fixed it at a 440.
Orchestras needed greater projection of sound for the larger halls that
were being built and rather than develop the instruments (as is now the
case), they tried other ways such as higher tuning.
Incidentally, this is why original instrument ensembles sound so
wonderfully mellow. They are tuned low.

Fred Jacobowitz
Clarinet/Sax Instructor, Peabody Preparatory

On Sun, 19 Jan 1997, Benedict Lockwood wrote:

> I would appreciate some comments in general on tuning with a group. Or if
> there is a source of info that I can get.
> I play in a couple of concert bands here in Switzerland and was somewhat
> confused the other day when our conductor asked us to tune to 440 instead
> of our usual 442. Is this a common practice?
> Also in adjusting the tuning what is the consensus on which joints to pull
> in or out? I use only the barrel joint but I have seen others also use the
> middle joint.
> TIA, Benedict (Arlesheim, Switzerland)
>