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&nbsp;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&nbsp;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 The initial standard was ''A'' = 439&nbsp;Hz, but this was superseded by ''A'' = 440&nbsp;Hz after complaints that 439&nbsp;Hz was difficult to reproduce in a laboratory owing to 439 being a [[prime number]].<ref name=Cavanagh/>


The difference between this and the ''diapason normal'' at 435 Hz is due to confusion over which temperature the French standard should be measured at.<ref name=Audsley/>  The initial standard was ''A'' = 439&nbsp;Hz, but this was superseded by ''A'' = 440&nbsp;Hz after complaints that 439&nbsp;Hz was difficult to reproduce in a laboratory owing to 439 being a [[prime number]].<ref name=Cavanagh/>
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
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  |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>


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</ref>
</ref>


}}
}}[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]

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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

  1. William Vennard (1967). “Pitch”, Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic, 5th ed. Carl Fischer, LLC, p. 3. ISBN 0825800552. 
  2. ISO 16:1975; Acoustics -- Standard tuning frequency (Standard musical pitch). ISO Standards. Retrieved on 2012-07-05.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.