Klarinet Archive - Posting 000537.txt from 1998/11

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Concert A pitch, again
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 20:58:35 -0500

-----Original Message-----
From: Cynthia M. Lee <leec@-----.nl>
Date: Saturday, November 14, 1998 6:19 PM
Subject: [kl] Re: Concert A pitch, again

>>Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 20:36:47 -0800
>>To: Klarinet list <klarinet@-----.org>
>>From: Edinger/Gilman <wde1@-----.com>
>>Subject: Concert A pitch, again
>>
>> I was going through the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics the
>>other day (I finished reading all the phone books) - in case that's
>>unfamiliar, it's a standard reference text for the hard sciences,
>>covering standards for more things than you could imagine - and ran
>>across the Musical Scale table. Concert A was listed as 440Hz in the
>>U.S. as of 1936, determined by the American Standards Association, and
>>European A as 435, as of 1891, making it LOWER, not higher, that the
>>U.S. The 1954 edition of the CRC said the same thing as the 1973 and
>>1986 versions. So why are some people claiming or trying to justify a
>>higher pitch in Europe? Or is the CRC handbook failing to stay
>>up-to-date?
>> Also, there was a recent survey on the Flute List which listed the
>>pitch of respondents' instruments (among other things). Almost half had
>>instruments that were designed for A442, with a slim majority at A440.
>>Any idea how most clarinets stack up here?
>>
>>Bill Edinger

Also bear in mind that even though national and international societies have
accepted and adopted a standard, that doesn't mean people are going to use
it. The value that the CRC lists is still the value that these societies
officially recognize as the standard. So no matter what people do in
reality, the CRC would not and should not change unless the national and
international societies OFFICIALLY adopt a new standard.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD

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