If you happen to be playing with a wind instrument, you've kinda got to go with its pitch. This I think is what gave rise to "Baroque pitch being lower", not the note at which strings break.
T ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 7:36 PM Subject: Re: lute notation > Let us put the question of pitch to bed. Pitch, in the sense of Hertz, or > vibrations per second, is a relatively modern concept. The size of the > instrument dictated pitch (tune just below where the chanterelle breaks). > Renaissance lute music isn't pitched to an absolute key in our sense of the > keys, No occiloscopes in those days, the frequencies of the pitch were > approximate. > > And what does it matter? If I am not playing with another instrument, on of > fixed pitch, I can tune my chanterelle wherever I want (and whoever the > instrument fits it). Absolute pitch is a modern invention, relative pitch is > as old as music. A = 440 couldn't be defined until one could measure the > actual frequency (although the A tuning fork could be made empirically > without reference to Hz, as a standard for all, like a meter stick that > defines the meter - a self definition). > > Key is irrelevant with an equal temperament scale, but as we aren't always > using equal temperament on all instruments it does have an effect. (Piano is > the prime example of equal temperament, but even piano may have a bit of > favoring of the keys). > > Pitch is a matter of letters. There is no difference between D minor and C # > minor, except the tuning of the instrument, if you are speaking of pitch in > equal temperament. (There can be a difference with differing temperaments). > > Best. Jon > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > >
