[Dixielandjazz] Correct Pitch frequency? (was: correct pitch, Ory, Savoy Blues)

[Allan Brown]

This is a question I've pondering of late too. Whilst looking to buy a secondhand clarinet I was made aware that there is a difference between the tuning of American and European clarinets, although even then not all European countries adhere to the same standard. I can't remember the details though.

I was chatting to a piano tuner recently and he mentioned that generally the 'standard' pitch has risen since the 19th Century. 

There is an interesting summary on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_pitch_standards_in_Western_music

All the best,

Allan Brown


On 5 Feb 2011, at 14:30, Bob Smith wrote:

> While we're on this question of correct pitch, does anyone know the frequency of concert A in the 1920's. It's not all that long ago that it went up from 440 Hz to 442 Hz. The first trombone (2nd hand) that i bought in 1947 was tuned to concert pitch B, and to use it in our jazz band I had to pull the tuning slide out until it was about to drop off! This of course meant I couldn't position the slide to the seventh position, so that low B and low E had to be faked with the lips.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Bob Smith
> 
> 
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