440 vs 441

December 3, 2016 at 05:54 PM · Either way would be fine, though you will find most orchestras are tuned to 441, that one extra Hz might just produce more clarity :)

December 3, 2016 at 06:25 PM · Will you really hear the difference? I asked a good pro orchestra harpist what she tunes to before a concert, since she can't retune over the course of the evening. She told me her orchestra starts every concert at 440 and ends near 444. So she tunes to 442.

Object is to stay reasonably in tune with the people you're playing with.

December 3, 2016 at 06:38 PM · It's up to you -- depends on your preference and which groups you play with.

I grew up on 440 and don't see any reason to change now, so I've stayed with it. I don't do orchestra anymore -- haven't since 21 y/o -- so I'm not subject to someone else's organizational pitch-setting requirements. I don't like the idea of stretching my strings tighter to get a more brilliant sonority. If I need more brilliance, I'll use more brilliant strings and/or find a room with brighter acoustics.

I thank the singers -- and I'm not alone here -- for holding the line on pitch inflation. Check out here what the late Renata Tebaldi had to say on the subject. She had it written into her contract that the tuning was not to go above 440. Just search on the page for 440. If you have time, the rest of the page is worth reading, too.

http://www.renata-tebaldi.com/rasponi.htm

December 3, 2016 at 06:41 PM · My orchestra tunes to 442. I hate it, but I have no choice.

December 3, 2016 at 07:41 PM · Our orchestra tunes to 441, our conductor told me once that tuning a little bit higher is for the benefit of the wind players (both brass and wood), but I didn't quite get how exactly. Can anybody here explain perhaps? Otherwise I can ask him next time I see him.

December 3, 2016 at 07:43 PM · No, you should tune to 432Hz!

December 3, 2016 at 07:44 PM · Woodwind can be lenghthened a fraction by undoing the joints a little, but not shortened; maybe they are constructed for a higher pitch, just in case?

December 3, 2016 at 08:22 PM · Many orchestras in Los Angeles including the LAPhil tune to 442. The world keeps getting sharper and faster it would seem!

December 3, 2016 at 10:22 PM · I usually tune to 440 for my personal practice - after all, that's what my school orchestra and my youth symphony tune to, so it's good for that. But when I was at the Lamont Summer Academy a couple of months back (well, more than a couple at this point - time flies!), they tuned to 441. My ear got used to that over the two weeks I was there, and when I arrived home and started tuning to 440 again, it sounded so flat! I guess it's just a sign that my ear has gotten better over the years.

Of course, I also miss playing period accurate Baroque instruments....415 is so cozy.

December 4, 2016 at 12:14 AM · My teacher prefers 442, but my orchestra tunes to 440, and I have my piano tuned to 440. So I normally tune to 440. My violin prefers less tension, too; it's more resonant.

December 4, 2016 at 09:25 PM ·

December 5, 2016 at 12:43 AM · Depending on the situation, I tune to either:

1. A certain range in my head (perhaps half a quarter tone). I don't know the exact Hz value, but somewhere around 440.

2. Another sound, such as a piano.

December 5, 2016 at 02:35 PM · 441 is 4c higher than 440, or about 1/12th of a semitone. Scientific studies demonstrate that a majority of people cannot distinguish between the two tones when played one after the other.

IOW, 4c difference is just beyond the limit of what most people can detect.

However, when both tones are played at the same time, many people do perceive a change in timbre or quality of the combined sound. But unless a composition has a lot of notes played on the open strings, I am at a loss to explain why one would want such small variation in the tuning as a formal thing.