Klarinet Archive - Posting 000527.txt from 1998/09

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] tuning: a little off subject now
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 19:03:21 -0400

On Tue, 15 Sep 1998, Kevin Fay (LCA) wrote:

> The reason we tune to the oboe is simple--you can't tune an oboe. Sure,
> they can pull the reed a bit (leaving a great big gap in their
> bore)--but oboe players really have to futz with the length of their
> reed. Most of the good ones try for A=440; if they don't make it,
> though, they will be off all night. I know it's a little more
> complicated than this, but not much. (Any comments Dr. Lacy?)

I think you have it essentially correct. Another way of affecting the
pitch of the oboe, in addition to the length of the reed, is the degree of
openness of the reed. Greater total interior volume @-----. And
there are other factors: harder reed = higher pitch, longer scrape =
lower pitch, etc. Obtaining a reed that plays in tune is a matter of
balancing all these factors, and others.

In the original message in this thread, the writer suggested that the
oboist gets the pitch from the tuning fork. I would say that very few do
that today. The preferred method is the electronic tuning device. With
this method, there should be no guesswork. The oboist can give exactly
A@-----. Now, a further problem is that such an A doesn't always
*sound* as though it is at 440 Hz. There are a number of things that can
cause it to be perceived as higher or lower, including the tone quality of
the note, the ambient humidity and atmospheric pressure, the frequency
response of the room in which it is being played, and others.

Another theory I have heard is that the oboe gives the A because the
particular overtone structure of the oboe tone makes it easier to
determine the precise pitch being played.

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu

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