Re: Music Glossary - 1.64 Concert Pitch (2.12.2)

[Anthony W. Youngman]

In message <address@hidden>, Anthony W. Youngman 
<address@hidden> writes
> In message <address@hidden>, Anthony W. 
> Youngman <address@hidden> writes
> > Ow!
> >
> > Sorry, reading this was painful (I play the trombone, as many of you 
> > know :-)
>
> Replying to myself ... Just in case anyone didn't realise (and I 
> certainly didn't make myself clear :-) these are my revised versions 
> that I think should replace the existing entries. Feel free to edit and 
> improve.

Okay, I think I can modify this to a definitive version now ...
> Cheers,
> Wol
> > 1.64 concert pitch
> >
> > The pitch at which the piano and other non-transposing instruments 
> > play, such music is said to be 'in C'. Officially, it is defined as "A
> > = 440", meaning that the note A in the treble clef indicates a sound
> > that has a frequency of 440Hz. There are other standard frequencies, 
> > but they have mostly fallen into disuse.
> >
> > This convention is used for (almost?) all instruments with multiple 
> > sounding parts, eg tuned percussion and strings.
> >
> > Instruments with a single sounding part (woodwind, brass) follow a 
> > different convention and are generally known as transposing 
> > instruments, although for some instruments (eg flute, oboe), the two 
> > conventions lead to the same result. The trombone is unusual in that 
> > music for it can be written using either or both conventions.
I'm quite happy with the above, as I'm quite happy with Wikipedia's 
statement that concert pitch is a defined standard. If someone wants to 
expand the bit about other standard pitches, they're welcome. Or we can 
simply point people at the Wikipedia entry for "concert pitch", which 
would be my preferred option but doesn't seem to be in line with the 
rest of the documentation.

> > 1.311 transposing instrument
> >
> > Instruments whose notated pitch is different from concert pitch.

Brass instruments are identified in their name by their fundamental 
pitch - the note whose wavelength is equal to the length of the 
instrument. (Not to be confused with the fundamental, an octave below.)
> > For example Concert A is 440Hz, the speed of sound in air is 343m/s, 
> > therefore an A
trumpet (or any other A brass instrument)
> > will have a length of 343/440 = 78cm. (Or be a power of 2 longer or 
> > shorter.)

FIXME - Can someone add a similar definition for woodwind here or after 
the next paragraph, depending on where it fits best.
> > This note is always written as middle C in the treble clef, and is 
> > usually referred to as "being in 'X'" where X is the fundamental of 
> > the instrument it's written for. It is normal, however, to leave the 
> > "in X" off of the music as being redundant because it's already been 
> > specified in the instrument's name. So music marked as
"A Trumpet" or "Bb Cornet"
> > will be assumed to be in A or Bf.
> >
> > Where an instrument's range falls naturally within the treble clef, 
> > the reference to the instrument should always either specify the 
> > fundamental as part of the instrument name, or specify the 
> > transposition, so the player knows what pitch the music is written in 
> > - "alto flute in G", "G flute", "alto flute in C".
> >
> > If the music is written in C it is normal convention NOT to mention 
> > the fundamental
pitch
> > , and only say "in C" if it is needed to prevent confusion.
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -----------------
Okay, I'm happy with this. Can someone put this into the glossary for me 
please?

Cheers,
Wol
--
Anthony W. Youngman - address@hidden