>>>What I can never understand is WHY the pitch changes. Orchestral pitch has become higher because orchestras over the past couple of hundred years have tended towards increasing "brightness" or "brilliance" of sound. (Think Boston Symphony versus Chicago Symphony or French orchestras versus German orchestras.) There is a basic psychological tendency to associate brightness with higher pitch. Also, players intuitively feel that sharpness is more acceptable than flatness (which sounds "sourer" and "wronger") and tend to play "at the top of the note" to avoid the dreaded flatness. Higher pitched wind instruments are also more audible within the orchestral matrix. The same tendency applies to choirs, which generally tend to rise in pitch if not held back by the orchestra (and the conductor, of course).
In a previous life, I performed on various renaissance wind instruments. The tendency of the wind ensemble was ALWAYS to go sharp, NEVER flat. As a cornetto player, I often ended up playing "on my teeth" (i.e. desperately forced to follow the rising pitch of my colleagues). The only solution -- as always -- was to force people to "listen to the f***in' bass line!" Since all the upper parts are essentially overtones of the bass, staying in tune with the bass is the only way to be in tune. It helps massively if there is a fixed-pitch keyboard instrument underlying the ensemble, preferably an organ. Cheers, Paul Gretton -----Original Message----- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Colin Sent: 07 February 2011 14:03 To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [NSP] Re: Esoteric tuning relationships It always fascinates me how the tuning of things changes (I have a concertina in "high pitch"). For those (like me) not well versed in the mechanics and theory of things, this makes good reading: http://www.piano-tuners.org/history/pitch.html (and also which locations not to attempt to play the pipes with the instruments noted). What I can never understand is WHY the pitch changes. Imagine if they did that with yards etc (change to metric notwithstanding) or liquid measure (I asked for a pint, what's this? - Oh the pint has been getting smaller over the years..............). A standard should be just that - a standard. If it changes, it ain't standard! Good interesting thread though. Colin Hill ----- Original Message ----- From: <christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu> To: <drubrooketay...@btinternet.com>; <nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 11:45 AM Subject: [NSP] Re: Esoteric tuning relationships > > >>And I've been telling people it is because all notes have got >>gradually >>sharper over the last 150 years, and that the Reid 'ur-pipes' >>were made >>when G was somewhere between where F and G are now. Have I been wrong >>all this time? > > > This is probably an associated factor. My speculation about the 440 tuning > fork more concerned modern pipes (which are inevitably in the majority) > manufactured after the introduction of 440 as an international standard > (though many windplayers and hence orchestras incline to 442 (or even 443) > nowadays). > C > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > >
