Klarinet Archive - Posting 000529.txt from 1998/09

From: Grant Green <gdgreen@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] tuning: a little off subject now
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 19:03:23 -0400

At 04:15 PM 9/15/98 -0400, you wrote:
>JW wrote (in part):
>[clip]
>Most non big-time orchestras I've heard or played with play sharp, because
>of bad oboe players, sharp trumpets, etc. Throw in 1st clarinet parts
>above the staff, where people almost ALWAYS play sharp, and you effectively
>have A@-----. If you think I'm nuts on this one,
>get a friend to slowly play a clarinet part above the staff with you on
>a properly tuned piano & you'll see that almost everything above the staff
>is sharp. This is partly due to most people's habit of tuning to open 'G'
>& 3rd space 'C', so as to "make sure I'm not flat", which of course will
>mean you'll be sharp in other ranges.
>[clip]

Actually, I think its more a matter of the string players wanting to sound
"brighter", and consequently playing a bit sharp.

>A couple of observations:
>1. I always wondered why the instrument with possibly the worst tuning
> problems (i.e. the oboe) is always used as the reference for tuning
> the orchestra. Granted, the oboist presumably gets his/her pitch
> from some pitch reference (tuning fork) but why the oboe? Why not
> the flute, or violin, or a pitch pipe? Anybody have a reasonable
> explanation?

Because, even with all the winds and brass blowing, and all the strings
sawing away at A, you can still hear the oboe. The sound is penetrating
enough to carry while everyone else tunes.

>2. I've heard that a properly tuned piano is "stretch" tuned. That is,
> the upper portion of the keyboard has wider octaves (meaning the
> higher notes actually *are* sharp) and the lower portion has
> narrower octaves (also producing somewhat sharper pitches). I don't
> know whether this stretch tuning is done linearly over the entire
> keyboard or whether it is done in "zones". I also may be entirely
> washed up on this one but I'd like to see some comments. Questions:
> a) what reference pitch do piano tuners use for the first not they
> "touch" (is it a440 or some other note, say, middle C)? b) if
> stretch tuning is indeed the norm, what are the parameters for such
> tuning?

My understanding is that the upper octaves are tuned sharp, and the lower
octaves are tuned flat, because piano strings have a significant amount of
inharmonicity (their overtones are not exact multiples of the fundamental
frequency). As for the reference, one often finds tuning forks for A and
middle C (263 Hz), but aside from the occasional E fork (for guitar),
rarely anything else....

Grant

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant D. Green gdgreen@-----.com
www.contrabass.com Just filling in on sarrusophone
Contrabass email list: list@-----.com
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