Klarinet Archive - Posting 000379.txt from 1998/09

From: "Mark Charette" <charette@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] pitch standard
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 14:21:10 -0400

>I was surprised to read the following discussion of pitch in the '98
flute
>catalog of J. L. Smith & Co., of Charlotte, NC:

<snip>

>The old standard at which flutes were built is A=440, that
>is 440 cycles per second. Today's standard is A@-----. I think you will
>find that an A=442 flute will play well between A=440 and A=444 without
>noticing any great difference in intonation patterns."
<snip>
>Especially interesting to me is his reference to the A=440 standard in
the
>past tense.

Obviously they don't realize what a standard or benchmark is. There's a
few other ways to refer to A@-----.

Of course, a standard is an anachronism by design.
----
Mark Charette@-----.org
Webmaster, http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet
"There can be no freedom without discipline." - Nadia Boulanger
Former member of ANSI X3H3.1, a _real_ standards body.

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