[Dixielandjazz] Correct pitch in recordings

Sat Dec 25 21:16:53 PST 2010

Don't forget that Concert A at 440 is a relatively modern convention.
Recording speeds were a bit scattered.  In the very early 1900s, Victor
records were recorded closer to 73 than 78 RPM.  Most of the  mid teens and
early 20s Victors fall into "correct" pitch at around 76 RPM.  Edison was
probably the most precise with recording and playback speeds.   No, a lot of
reissue material is not pitch corrected, unless you have a well trained
musician in the restoration loop, most people will not pick up on the odd
pitches.

Ron L

-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Ulf Jagfors
Sent: Saturday, December 25, 2010 6:37 PM
To: lherault at bu.edu
Cc: 'Dixieland Jazz Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Correct pitch in recordings

Bob and Rick

Perhaps so Bob , but for instance part of the Bix B. program, produced in
Australia, is more or less out of tune. I guess it was produced not too long
ago. Rick, that can of course not be corrected by a capo if the broadcasted
key lays just between the intervals. You have to retune the banjo
completely. Of course I just ignore those tunes which is quite a few. Just
check for yourself. 

However my question was a little broader than just the OKOM pitch quality.
Do the reissue companies make any pitch correction from old masters? Also I
know from my own experience that a lot of pianos used in live recordings can
be quite off in pitch. If OKOM broadcast such an recording it will of course
be out of pitch as well. The question is of course, should there be any
pitch corrections made by OKOM. Probably not as this should require too much
manpower. We have to accept that this is an imperfect world.

Just an comparison. I wonder how much fuzz it should be from classical
musicians if a Bach A-moll concert suddenly was broadcasted in near but not
B. It should probably be a lot of angry comments specially from those with
perfect pitch. But we OKOM´rs are of course dealing with a less important
type of music, so who cares? :-).    

Ulf
Radio and TV-engineer since 1958 who really very much like the OKOM radio
idea. Thanks to all of you for all your hard work to get it running. I know
how it is to run broadcasting services after 42 years in the business.

-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
Från: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] För Robert Ringwald
Skickat: den 25 december 2010 23:26
Till: Ulf Jagfors
Kopia: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Ämne: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Correct pitch in recordings

Ulf Jagfors, ulf.jagfors at telia.com wrote:

(Snip)
By using the tunes that constantly come up
on OKOM radio I get a very good practice for both the harmonies and rhythm.

However very often the tunes played are much out of the regular 440-442 A
pitch, sometimes up to half or whole tone away. C will be C# etc. That goes
both for old recordings as well as contemporary ones. The question from side
is following. How come? Are there a problem in the player equipment used by
the different programmers? If not, in many cases a piano is involved. I
always assume that the piano should set the pitch for band at least around
440, at least for modern recordings after WW II. Then you have the none
conform standard of the old 78 rpm records of the 20´s were the different
recording companies not always recorded in 78 rpm. 
(Snip)

Ulf,

As far as I know, the newer recordings, if done professionally at all,
should have been recorded at the correct speed.  Thus the pitch, if played
on a device that is calibrated to the correct speed, should be at the right
pitch.  

On Radio OKOM, if the pitch is off, then I would guess that the equipment
used while producing the show was faulty.  This, especially on the shows
that were recorded early on, around 2002, before some of the equipment was
updated.  This would be especially true if the DJ was using a turntable or
cassette player.  These devices can very easily not be calibrated and be
running at the wrong speed.  The shows also might have been recorded on
tape.  That machine could also be off-speed.    

Anyone on DJML who does shows on Radio OKOM, such as Harry Callaghan, or a
recording engineer such as Jim Kashishian might be able to shed more light
on the subject.  

Best,

--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
530/ 642-9551 Office
916/ 806-9551 Cell
Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. 
Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz
Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:

http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz

Dixielandjazz mailing list
Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com

_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz
Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:

http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz

Dixielandjazz mailing list
Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com