 The Ethnic Clarinet
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-07-02 11:57
There are all sorts of variants. An example is the old British brass band high pitch which was A=452 in use from some time mid nineteenth century to 1965. Interestingly music was written for all transposing instruments using this pitch. woodwind, brass, percussion and strings; even pianos were tuned this high. Full sets of brass and reed instruments were made in high pitch. Low pitch instruments were made on parallel production lines. The demise of high pitch was lamented by many who liked the lighter more bouyant textures produced at this pitch.
This pitch was used in conjunction with the "diapason normal" pitch of A=439; throughout Britain, the British colonies such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Subcontinent and the Pacific. High pitch was used by brass (and reed) bands, civilian military bands and in much amateur music making. "Diapason normal" was used by official military bands after their gradual conversion, 1890 to 1910 and orchestras which varied enough anyway. It must have made for an interesting life. Cornets were equiped with high and low pitch crooks as well as C, Bb, A etc.. Clarinettists used an array of barrells, saxophones were rare enough and were specifically made high or low pitch. Trombones often had 2 tuning slides to cope. Pipe organs existed in both pitches dependent on maker. You still find the occassional high pitch metal clarinet, both were around.
Another curious antipodean habit was the tuning of pianos, mainly wood framed, to themselves. Generally pianos, especially in rural areas, were left to settle after shipment and then tuned to their own C, the one above middle C. After many years of being tuned to themselves rather than a tuning fork most pianos settled into a pitch closer to A=415. This practise was common until the early 1970's when most wood framed pianos had disappeared. All these pitch changes have occured during my playing career. When I started in the local brass band aged 10 we played low pitch but the brass band in the neighbouring suburb was still high pitch albeit they converted within the year. My neighbours piano was at least a tone lower than A=440 even though it was tuned regularly. Concert pitch was not universal in Australia until thhe mid 1970's.
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buedsma |
2003-06-23 10:56 |
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Re: old pitches from around 1910 till 1940 new |
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Mark Pinner |
2003-07-02 11:57 |
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The Clarinet Pages
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