New Book On Tuning

[allan atlas]

FOLKS: some time ago there was a discussion about tuning and the various tunings for the "A" that we generally associate with 440 today. . . . . .there is a relatively new book (2002) on the subject that has gotten good reviews:

 

Bruce Haynes, A History of Performing Pitch: The Story of "A" (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press). . . . .a bit pricey: about $80..........but libraries may well have it.................allan

[David Barnert]

A History of Performing Pitch: The Story of "A"

I'm heartened to see he doesn't call it "concert pitch."

 

[allan atlas]

DAVE: i don't know what he calls it once past the cover and title page. . . . . .i must admit that i've not seen the book myself. . . . . . .it did get a very nice review in the last issue of a journal called NOTES, which is put out by the Music Library Association. . . . . . . .allan

[David Barnert]

Allan, I was sort of kidding, making a reference to an earlier exchange several months ago in which it became apparent that orchestral musicians use the expression "concert pitch" to refer to notes played on an instrument that does not transpose (an oboe, for instance, as opposed to a clarinet) while many others (including general dictionaries) use the same expression to mean A=440. I took the orchestral point of view, but I was outvoted.