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Re: What is A440?

Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-08-14 21:46

While having perfect pitch may be a gift, it can also be a curse as while playing you have to be in tune with what's going on around you rather than ploughing on regardless.

In certain situations (usually down to temperature) you will have to tune sharper or flatter than 440Hz, so when it's cold you'd tune down to around 438Hz or up to 443Hz when it's hot. But only if there aren't any fixed pitch instruments in the group such as pianos, keyboards, tuned percussion, etc. that can't be tuned (or retuned easily), so you'll have to do the best you can to tune to 440Hz in those conditions which can be a challenge.

IRCAM in Paris published a chart with recommended calibrations within certain temperature ranges which all wind ensembles should take on board instead of blindly tuning to 440Hz all the time regardless of the temperature.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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