Klarinet Archive - Posting 000396.txt from 1998/09

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Re: Pitch standards
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 00:48:49 -0400

In reading many of the interesting remarks about this or that
orchestra establishing its pitch standard at A=442 or 440 or whatever,
I am reminded that a pitch standard must contain two elements. One
is vibrations per second of some standard device, this being the
one that has been given by everyone so far. But the other is the
temperature of the room in with that number of vibrations per second
will occur.

Thus, one uses a pitch standard of A=442 at a temperature of 72 degrees
farenheit, or A=338 at a temperature of 15 degrees centigrade or
whatever.

I presume that the St. Louis symphony's pitch standard of A=442
would be meaningless if the temperature of the room in which they
were tuning up was 32 degrees farenheit.

=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================

-------------------------------------------------------------------------