(for anyone puzzled by this discussion, one cent is 1/00 th of a semitone. So 20 cents is 1/10th of a whole tone, or 1/10th of the difference between C and D.That's not a subtle difference, of course!)
On 7 Feb 2011, at 17:26, Julia Say wrote: > Shortly after Andrew Davison took over the 17 key R. Reid set he now plays > (which > apparently is c. 1836) the fettler who helped him set it up remarked to me > that > they first, without altering *anything* put in "a reed" - design unspecified > - and > Andrew played it. The resulting pitch, without any work, oddities or messing > on, > was F + 20. > Hello Julia and others, Well, that's an interesting and fortunate anecdote, but are you suggesting that it's anything more than amusing coincidence? I have no problem over the large number of pipes being pitched at F+20 cents. I can happily play on a concert F set for a whole evening with a roomful of pipers playing at variously F+20, F+ 35 and F + whatever, though I must admit the bag arm gets a little tired with the extra squeezing, and it does no favours to tone or intonation. People should be at liberty to play at whatever pitch they like, provided that they and fellow players don't mind the musical consequences. What worries me is the notion often put forward on this forum that F+20 cents is a 'standard' pitch for pipes. It isn't a standard: it's a current tendency, and nobody can accurately predict how long this will last. My instinct - and it's no more than that, though based on precedents in woodwind history - is that pitch will revert a more widely accepted standard, i.e concert pitch. The good news there is that there may well be plenty of remunerative work for the pipe fettlers of the future in converting chanters to F concert! Playing music is primarily a sociable activity and there seems to be little point in encouraging an NSP 'sharp-F ghetto' where players can only play comfortably with their own kind. For that reason, I think that anyone considering buying and learning pipes should consider whether they intend to play primarily with other instruments or just with with pipes . If pipe-makers are offering to provide pipes set up in these alternative pitches, they should make themselves known. Your narrative of the way the present situation came about is a good and accurate account, I think. what is notable is that historically, each step along this path towards F + 20 has been for some negative reason and not because of some advantage of musicality or encouraging our pipes to play a part in any wider musical context. I have no axe to grind over F+20 Cents or F concert. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice. What I do think, however is that there should actually *be* a choice! Cheers, Francis To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
