Thanks William, I believe this tidbit of information came from Arthur A. Reblitz's book, Piano Servicing, Tuning and Rebuilding. Can't remember for sure. I will be the first to admit that this could be mis-information also! Thanks again, Tom Tom Draughon Heartistry Music www.heartistry.com 714 9th Ave. W. Ashland, WI 54806 715-682-9362
On Jan 18, 2016, at 1:27 PM, William Brohinsky <[email protected]> wrote: > Is there a reference for these dates/numbers, especially the claim that A440 > was 'set' in 1916 for American Standard Pitch for pianos? > > In 30 years of piano tuning, I've seen many claims, but I am unaware of an > American organization with the power to declare standard pitch for pianos > operating before the International Organization for Standards (the dyslexic > ISO) meetings in 1938 and 1939 (dates muddied by the generally poor accuracy > of Groves 2), and even then, ISO had to re-affirm A440 in 1959 and 1979, > apparently because a lot of organizations weren't willing to give up that > little bit of "brightness" that tuning a few Hertz higher brings. > > Scheibler, credited with the invention of tuning forks, recommended A440.0, > and the Deutsche Naturforscherversammlung established that as the German > Standard in 1834. Steinway's pitchforks indicate that they favored A454.7 in > London and 457.2 in NY in 1897. > > The French government decreed that A435 was standard for that nation in 1859. > This was supposed to be a compromise between the extremes of A450, favored by > instrumentalists for brightness, and singers, who preferred A422. In England, > near the end of the 19th century, the London Royal Philharmonic Society > jiggered the numbers for a higher standard pitch, since France had specified > a specific build of oboe, playing A in a room at 59degF. They calculated that > a piano, tuned to that pitch, but operating at "normal" room temperature of > 68degF would rise to 438.9Hz, so when 1900 rolled around, A435 and A439 were > standards in France and England, respectively. > > Cavanaugh makes the claim that the Broadcasting industry in Europe and the US > pushed for an A440 standard, based on the BBC's use of a 1MHz oscillator, > torturously reduced to 1KHz by dividers, then multiplied by 11 and divided by > 25 to arrive at a stable 440Hz pitch (in a quote attributed to Llewelyn S. > Lloyd). He allows that the BBC's affection for this pitch standard may not > have had as much effect as Lloyd seems to indicate. > > Generally speaking, I've found that pianos built before 1940 tend to > gravitate to A438 even when tuned above or below that pitch, and have read > numerous articles intended for piano tuners (none of which I still have) > claiming that before the ISO proclamation, A438 was the preferred pitch for > American piano makers. Whether that is true or not, I can't find any official > organization which selected A440 before the ISO meetings of 1938 and/or 1939. > > So ... Who set A440 as standard for American Pianos in 1916? > > On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 8:35 PM, Lute List <[email protected]> wrote: > Resent without "equal" signs: > > On Jan 17, 2016, at 2:09 PM, Lute List <[email protected]> wrote: > > I have been restoring an early square piano by Chickering > circa 1840. > In my communications with other piano techs and my research, > I have found that pitch, even in the 19th century, varied wildly. > The 1840 Chickering, one of the very first pianosto incorporate > a full cast metal plate, was designed to be tuned at A 430. > By the 1870's pitch had risen to as high as 465! > And, of course, it was different in Europe than in the US. > There is a LOT of mis-information in the A 432 arguments, > including that it was the Nazis who insisted on 440. NOT TRUE. > American standard pitch for pianos was set at 440 in 1916, and > all pianos with full (not victorian) cast plates have been designed > in the US to be tuned at A 440 ever since. > There has always been a quest for brighter and louder tone. > Increasing string tension does this. But is happens with wind > instruments as well. Scottish Highland Pipes were at one time > pitched in A, and over a few hundred years have been raised to Bb. > So - just tune your lute 'til your (gut) 1st string breaks, all the > while looking at a meter, then back it off 1 Hz. I'm sure it will be > resonant with the cosmos :) > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > --
