International Concert Pitch: Difference between revisions
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'''International Concert Pitch''' is a standardization of [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] that sets the frequency of a simple [[Tone (music)|tone]] at pitch ''A''4 (the ''A'' above middle ''C'') to be 440 Hz.<ref name=Vennard/> | '''International Concert Pitch''' is a standardization of [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] that sets the frequency of a simple [[Tone (music)|tone]] at pitch ''A''4 (the ''A'' above middle ''C'') to be 440 Hz.<ref name=Vennard/> | ||
In 1939, an international conference recommended that the ''A'' above middle ''C'' be tuned to 440 Hz, now a standard known as ''International Concert Pitch''. This standard was taken up by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] in 1955 (and was reaffirmed by them in 1975) as ISO 16. | In 1939, an international conference recommended that the ''A'' above middle ''C'' be tuned to 440 Hz, now a standard known as ''International Concert Pitch''. This standard was taken up by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] in 1955 (and was reaffirmed by them in 1975) as ISO 16.<ref name=ISO16/> The initial standard was ''A'' = 439 Hz, but this was superseded by ''A'' = 440 Hz after complaints that 439 Hz was difficult to reproduce in a laboratory owing to 439 being a [[prime number]].<ref name=Cavanagh/> | ||
The | The French standard for ''A''4 at 435 Hz, the ''diapason normal'', should be measured at 15°C, and a change to 20°C causes a shift to very nearly 440 Hz in wind instruments.<ref name=Audsley/> Of course, tuning forks do not share the same temperature dependence. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist|refs= | {{Reflist|refs= | ||
<ref name=Audsley> | |||
{{cite book | |||
|title=The Art of Organ-building: A Comprehensive Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Tonal Appointment and Mechanical Construction of Concert-room, Church, and Chamber Organs, Volume 2 | |||
|author=George Ashdown Audsley | |||
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=E-PckX9PPfwC&pg=PA636 | |||
|pages=p. 636 | |||
|isbn=0486213153 |year=1965 |edition= |publisher=Courier Dover Publications | |||
|edition=Reprint of 1905 ed}} | |||
</ref> | |||
<ref name=Cavanagh>{{cite web | <ref name=Cavanagh>{{cite web | ||
|url=http://wam.hr/sadrzaj/us/Cavanagh_440Hz.pdf | |url=http://wam.hr/sadrzaj/us/Cavanagh_440Hz.pdf | ||
| Line 16: | Line 27: | ||
|work=WAM: Webzin o audiju i muzici | |work=WAM: Webzin o audiju i muzici | ||
|accessdate=2012-06-27}} | |accessdate=2012-06-27}} | ||
</ref> | |||
<ref name=ISO16> | |||
{{cite web |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=3601 |title=ISO 16:1975; Acoustics -- Standard tuning frequency (Standard musical pitch) |publisher=ISO Standards |accessdate=2012-07-05}} | |||
</ref> | </ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 10:27, 6 July 2012
International Concert Pitch is a standardization of pitch that sets the frequency of a simple tone at pitch A4 (the A above middle C) to be 440 Hz.[1]
In 1939, an international conference recommended that the A above middle C be tuned to 440 Hz, now a standard known as International Concert Pitch. This standard was taken up by the International Organization for Standardization in 1955 (and was reaffirmed by them in 1975) as ISO 16.[2] The initial standard was A = 439 Hz, but this was superseded by A = 440 Hz after complaints that 439 Hz was difficult to reproduce in a laboratory owing to 439 being a prime number.[3]
The French standard for A4 at 435 Hz, the diapason normal, should be measured at 15°C, and a change to 20°C causes a shift to very nearly 440 Hz in wind instruments.[4] Of course, tuning forks do not share the same temperature dependence.
References
- ↑ William Vennard (1967). “Pitch”, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic, 5th ed. Carl Fischer, LLC, p. 3. ISBN 0825800552.
- ↑ ISO 16:1975; Acoustics -- Standard tuning frequency (Standard musical pitch). ISO Standards. Retrieved on 2012-07-05.
- ↑ Lynn Cavanagh. A brief history of the establishment of international standard pitch a=440 hertz (PDF). WAM: Webzin o audiju i muzici. Retrieved on 2012-06-27.
- ↑ George Ashdown Audsley (1965). The Art of Organ-building: A Comprehensive Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Tonal Appointment and Mechanical Construction of Concert-room, Church, and Chamber Organs, Volume 2, Reprint of 1905 ed. Courier Dover Publications, p. 636. ISBN 0486213153.