 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: John Stackpole
Date: 2004-12-11 12:45
According to a quick Google search, the US aodpted 440 Hz as the "standard" for Concert A in 1939, rather recently in musical history. (I found this on the Internet, so it MUST be true - yeah, right!)
Did every clarinet player in the country then have to rush out and get a longer (or shorter) barrel as a 1939 Christmas present for him/her-self?
Or was this a non-problem? How do you tune "old" clarinets?
Just curious.
JDS
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Author: Dee
Date: 2004-12-11 14:39
A=440 was actually in common use for orchestral type groups starting in about 1896. It was referred to as "Low Pitch" and instruments were often so marked. At the same time, "High Pitch" of A =456 or so was also in common use, especially for bands, and instruments were often so marked. Thus there was a period of about 40 years when both standards were commonly used with Low Pitch finally taking over. By the time the US officially adopted the standard of A=440, most players had been playing in ensembles using that defacto standard for many years. It's actually fairly rare to find High Pitch instruments made after World War I.
As far as retuning the clarinets from High Pitch to Low Pitch, it can't be done effectively. Even though you can get one note in tune by a longer barrel, the spacing between the holes is off for a scale based on the High Pitch standard so the intonation will be off.
With High Pitch instruments all you can really do is find a group using this pitch for historical performances, play alone, or hang the instrument on the wall.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-12-11 14:54
As usual, Dee discusses this well, I also have a couple of HP's standing in a corner. I did notice the shift from 435 to 440, in that I had to get my Penzel-Mueller F B [1920's] barrel shortened a couple of mm's and should have had the top of the U J slightly enlarged to tune-up the 12ths [G and up], always flat for me !! Ah, memories, not all are good. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: beejay
Date: 2004-12-12 15:42
I have often heard of a 1939 agreeement, but cannot find when or when. Does anyone know? Must have been amazing harmony given all the other things that were going on that year. I thought also that concert pitch was defined at A= 440 hz by the international organization for standardization in Geneva in the 1950s. I'm also puzzled that my French clarinet is 442. Can anyone tell me why?
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Author: beejay
Date: 2004-12-12 16:52
Many thanks GBK -- I'm not sure Lyndon LaRouche would have been the first I'd have turned to for guidance, but the article was instructive all the same.
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