Klarinet Archive - Posting 000742.txt from 2000/06

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Pitch Survey
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 10:32:48 -0400

Dave,

You bring up an interesting point. My observations with both orchestras
(amateur) and wind bands is that when an A is sounded, woodwinds and strings do
a pretty good job of finding it. Those who don't are the same folks who seem to
have problems from week to week, such as a second oboe who always plays sharp
because of both how she plays and the reeds she uses. THEN, a Bb is sounded and
all the trumpets contribute varying degrees of sharpness to this pitch offering.
After all the dust has settled--THEY'RE STILL SHARP. Why conductors allow this
is beyond my comprehension, but I hear it time and time again. Those guys just
hear sharp. They are confusing the "cutting" tone and "projection" they want
with pitch. On a couple of occasions I've turned around and asked them if they
would consider a slightly lower tuning. They have fudged with their tuning slide
and basically left it where it was before.

When a group can't even decide upon a pitch to tune to, what hope is there of
things getting any better in the heat of battle and when chops start to fade?

"David B. Niethamer" wrote:

> on 6/18/00 9:50 AM, Karl Krelove wrote:
>
> >The oboists in this area generally get out a Korg (or similar tuner) and
> >play an A that they lip up or down to show A440 on the tuner's gauge. Thus,
> >we can say we're tuning to A440. Of course, the A moves up almost
> >immediately to whatever the market will bear, because even the oboist's real
> >(non-lipped) pitch isn't 440 once he/she starts playing and trying to
> >"project." The Philadelphia Orchestra, I believe, tunes to either 440 or
> >442, and of course their oboists are more careful to have a reed that
> >actually plays (focuses) at the tuning pitch.
>
> The Richmond Symphony tunes at 440 (and up, as the wags would say!). For
> a long while our official pitch was 442. The people who were always flat
> at 442 (and agitated for the change) are *still* under pitch, and those
> who play sharp are just a bit more sharp than they were before!
>
> My intonation, of course, is flawless ;-)
>
> David
> (who, in the immortal words of horn player Philip Farkas, would rather be
> sharp than out of tune!)
>
> David Niethamer
> Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
> dnietham@-----.edu
> http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/
>
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