Re: Fwd: Music Glossary - 1.64 Concert Pitch

[Wols Lists]

On 09/07/10 05:56, Peter Chubb wrote:
>>>>>> "Paul" == Paul Scott <address@hidden> writes:
>>>>>>             
> Paul> On 07/07/2010 04:06 PM, Wols Lists wrote:
>   
>>> On 07/07/10 19:06, Paul Scott wrote:
>>>       
>>>> On Tue, Jul 06, 2010 at 11:54:29AM +0100, Wols Lists wrote:
>>>>         
> Paul> The lowest note on a woodwind is a fundamental.  It's just not
> Paul> directly related to how the key of the instrument is determined.
> Paul> All woodwinds except the bassoon have a six finger notes in one
> Paul> of it's registers (harmonics) that is named D and usually
> Paul> written on the fourth line of the treble clef.
>
> And the (F-lowest-note, e.g., bass, treble or sopranino) recorder, and
> the (alto) shawm, and the whistle.  
>
> Given the variety of transposing instruments out there, I'd avoid any
> of these details, and leave it that some instruments are
> conventionally notated at a different pitch from their sounding pitch,
> typically notated one tone higher (so-called B-flat instruments) or a
> minor third lower (so-called E-flat instruments) than they sound.
>   

But make the point that they typically come in families identical apart
from length, and it's the length that determines the note, not some
arbitrary name. It doesn't happen that often, but people who should know
better still call orchestral trombones "C" trombones and band ones "Bb",
despite them being the same instrument!
> And leave out the term `concert pitch' for this --- concert pitch just
> means that the sounded A is at 440Hz, and doesn't really affect the
> written notes.  I can play in concert pitch on my B-flat clarinet, but
> can't with my Renaissance recorder (because it's pitched to A=460Hz),
> despite the clarinet music being transposed and the recorder music not
> transposed. 
>   

Just call it "standard" pitch - which standard is up the reader :-)

Cheers,
Wol