Klarinet Archive - Posting 001020.txt from 1997/09

From: Jacqueline Eastwood <eastwooj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Question
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 18:34:09 -0400

On Sat, 13 Sep 1997, R Tennenbaum wrote:

> Probably almost everyone who plays in an orchestra knows this, but I
> don't:
>
> Why do we tune to that um, instrument -- you know, the one that looks
> like a skinny clarinet but with a fancy straw at the end?
>
>
I was under the impression that it was because the oboe itself (the
instrument) is quite fixed in its pitch. Oboists make their reeds to
pitch, and work different parts of them to achieve an A-440 (or whatever
is required of them). There is only so much pitch adjustment available to
the oboe; other instruments are less rigid in tuning.

Jacqueline Eastwood
University of Arizona/Arizona Opera Orchestra
eastwooj@-----.edu