Pitch

We reproduce below Ellis' famous table entitled History of Musical Pitch which demonstrates the
various pitches used at different times in different places.

Why did pitch vary so much even during the same period in history?

One obvious answer is that there was no universal pitch standard. Before the widespread use of
keyboard instruments, most serious music in the Middle Ages, both sacred and secular, was sung.
The monochord, used to check intervals, was too rudimentary a device to be of use as a pitch
reference.

Even into the sixteenth century, the pitch for a cappella performance was set not by the notated
parts but rather, as Ludovico Zacconi writes in his Prattica di Musica, pub. Venice (1596), "to have
regard for those who are to sing, that they be at ease with the pitch, neither too high nor too low."
Something similar continues to this day, for example, in Sacred Harp singing where tunes are sung
in relative pitch, rather than at an absolute pitch derived from A=440Hz.; referred to as " Pitch of
Convenience", a long standing tradition as can be seen from directions for setting the first note
from the Bay Psalm Book*.

(* For more on this topic see here)

Once we reach an era where pitch and tuning were anchored to that of a pre-tuned keyboard
instrument, any freedom all but disappeared. Where musicians performed in a band, an orchestra,
at court, in the opera house or in a church they would have to cope with several different working
pitches. For stringed and keyboard instruments the solution was to retune the instrument. It is
said that Isabella d'Este (1474-1539) considered stringed instruments, such as the lute, superior to
winds, which were associated with vice and strife. Maybe for wind instruments this association
reflected their inability to cope with changes in the pitch, a problem that could be solved only by
purchasing completely new instruments when moving from place to place, venue to venue, or by
working from parts specifically transposed to take account of the difference in pitch.

Once the Hotteterre family had redesigned woodwind instruments to be made in sections rather
than in a single piece, transverse flutes could be made with extra sections which, if longer,
lowered or, if shorter, raised the pitch of the instrument. An adjustable plug in the head section
was used to correct the tuning and speaking properties of the flute as the middle sections were
exchanged. Brass instruments were also made with extra crooks, small lengths of tubing called
corps de réchange, which could be fitted to the instruments to change their pitch.

Quite apart from the problems of starting at the same pitch, there was also the reality of playing
together as the ambient temperature changed. If the ambient temperature rises, the pitch of
stringed instruments, like harpsichords, lutes and violins, drops, while that of wind and brass
instruments rises. Played together, the two groups move in opposite directions and what might
start out well enough would soon become increasingly strained particularly if the instruments
were being played in small concert halls, theatres or opera houses. Churches were less of a
problem because they tended to remain cool whatever the weather outside.

Sir John Hawkins, writing in 1776, tells us that the tuning fork, originally called the 'pitch-fork', was
invented in 1711, by John Shore, a trumpeter in the band of Queen Anne. It provided the first and,
until the advent of electronic meters, the most trustworthy pitch-carrier, and was in every way
superior to the 'pitch-pipe' about which the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-
1778), writing in 1764, noted "the impossibility of being certain of the same sound in two places at
the same time".

As an interesting aside, in Korea, pitch was set using resonant stones, called kyong-sok, which
whatever the temperature or the humidity would, when struck, produce a reliable pitch reference.

Until comparatively recently, most musicians and scientists, set the note C rather than A. Today,
we tune our instruments to internationally agreed pitch standards set for A (actually a' or la4 )
although it should be pointed out that in a world where equal temperament is widely used, setting
A also uniquely sets every other note of the chromatic scale, including C.

The most widely used standard, first proposed at the Stuttgart conference of 1838, but not
properly established until 1938 in Britain and in 1939 by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), is a'=440 Hz. Hz is an abbreviation of the name of the German physicist,
Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894), and is a unit of frequency equivalent to one cycle per second. Neither
the Stuttgart (1838), the ISO conference (1939) nor its successor held in London in October 1953,
was completely successful in setting an internationally agreed pitch. These points are discussed in
more detail in A Brief History of Musical Tuning by Jonathan Tennenbaum

Sound is a wave associated with the transmission of mechanical energy through a supporting
medium. It can be shown experimentally that sound cannot travel through a vacuum. The energy
available in a sound wave disturbs the medium in a periodic manner. Periodicity is important if a
sound wave is to carry information. In air, the disturbance propagates as the successive
compression and decompression (the latter sometimes called rarefaction) of small regions in the
medium. If we generate a pure note and place a detector (our ear, for example) at a point in the
surrounding medium, a distance from the source, the number of compression-decompression
sequences arriving at the detector during a chosen time interval is called the frequency. The time
interval between successive maximal compressions is called the period. The product of the
frequency and the wavelength is the velocity.

You are probably aware that the speed of sound is far lower than the speed of light (the speed of
light is 299,792,458 metres per second). When, in the middle of a thunder storm, the flash of
lightning is followed, noticeably later, by a clap of thunder, we take ever greater comfort the
longer the delay. At ground level and at 0° C. the speed of sound is approximately 331.5 metres
per second (c. 1,194 km or 760 miles per hour). This is approximately equivalent to 1 mile every 5
seconds (or very roughly 1 km every 3 seconds). The wavelength of the note we call a'=440 Hz
proves to be about 753 mm (approximately 30 inches). Bats, who use a signal of about 35,000 Hz
(usually written 3 kHz) to search for food, switch to higher frequencies (40-90 KHz) in order to
more accurately locate their prey. At these higher frequencies the wavelength is in the range 8-4
mm.

It has long been established, and was described thus by Rayleigh, "that within certain wide limits
the velocity of sound is independent, or at least very nearly independent, of its intensity, and also
of its pitch (that is, its rate of vibration)". In general terms this must be the case otherwise how
could music remain coherent even when it has travelled some considerable distance from
performer to listener. However, high frequency sounds do lose more energy than do low. This is
one of the reasons why we can tell if a known sound is distant: it has lost more high frequency
energy, and this contributes to the 'muffled' sound (see FAQ in music acoustics).

The credit for the first correct published account of the vibration of strings is usually given to
Marin Mersenne (1588-1648) although Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) published a remarkable
discussion of the vibration of bodies in 1638, derived from his study of the pendulum and of the
relationship between pendulum length and frequency of vibration. Although this appeared two
years after Mersenne published his Harmonicorum Liber, Galilei's discoveries pre-date those of
Mersenne. Wallis (1616-1703) and Joseph Sauveur (1653-1716) noticed that along a vibrating
string there are points where there is no motion and others where the movement is particularly
violent. Sauveur coined the term 'node' for the former and 'loop' for the latter, although, today,
we use the term 'antinode' instead of 'loop' and also suggested the terms 'fundamental' and
'harmonic', applied to frequencies that are integer multiples of a particular frequency. In the
discussions that follow, we have adopted the convention that the fundamental is the first
harmonic although, in some books, the first harmonic is the name given to the second, not the
first, note in the harmonic series. By the sixteenth century, it was clear that the interval
relationships between notes, applied to the frequencies of those notes, was identical to the ratios
discovered by the Greek from their study of the sounding length of vibrating strings.
We have prepared an article entitled the Physics of Musical Instruments - A Brief History to which
you may wish to refer for further details on this topic.

Our appreciation of pitch stability has changed as some instruments notorious for their pitch and
tuning instability have been replaced with instruments that are much more stable. For example,
modern electronic instruments are almost entirely insensitive to changes in ambient temperature,
while even the humble modern piano, with its full metal frame, is a much more stable platform
than the half metal half wood framed pianos made three quarters of a century ago, or than the
harpsichords, clavichords and spinets made three centuries earlier. Similarly, the relative
uniformity of pitch standards around the world, makes it much easier for the modern musician to
travel and perform abroad.

However, one must not ignore that fact that 'being' sharp or flat may have its cause outside the
immediate mechanics or physics of the instrument upon which one is playing. James Holland, in
his book Percussion (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides, pub. Kahn and Averill, London), writes of the
problems when playing the xylophone in unison with violinists in the higher registers.

It is, I believe, a fact that most people tend to hear sharp in the upper octaves, and of course
violinists are known to play sharp in the upper registers, where the fingering becomes so close
that it becomes almost impossible to play rapid passages without this tendency. These two factors
together have led to many professionals' having the xylophone tuned 'brighter', or very slightly
sharp, in the upper octaves. Even so, the xylophonist, with his instrument of fixed pitch, will
fequently find himself flat compared to the violins in any very high unison passages. In these
instances there is nothing that can be done, apart from trying to make the violins section aware of
their tendency to be too high - no easy matter!

Indeed, the perception of pitch is a complicated process as this extract from Pitch (music) explains:

The note A above middle C played on any instrument is perceived to be of the same pitch as a
pure tone of 440 Hz, but does not necessarily contain a partial having that frequency.
Furthermore, a slight change in frequency need not lead to a perceived change in pitch, but a
change in pitch implies a change in frequency. In fact, the just noticeable difference (the threshold
at which a change in pitch is perceived) is about five cents (five hundredths of a semitone), but
varies over the auditory range and is more precise when the two pitches are played
simultaneously. Like other human stimuli, the perception of pitch also can be explained by the
Weber-Fechner law.
Pitch also depends on the amplitude of the sound, especially at low frequencies. For instance, a
low bass note will sound lower in pitch if it is louder. Like other senses, the relative perception of
pitch can be fooled, resulting in "audio illusions". There are several of these, such as the 'tritone
paradox', but most notably the 'Shepard scale', where a continuous or discrete sequence of
specially formed tones can be made to sound as if the sequence continues ascending or
descending forever.

Before moving on to examine the movement of pitch standards over time it might be instructive to
consider an alternative look at pitch. This extract is taken from Music and Your Health - The
Relevance of Concert Pitch by Patrick Thilmany which is to be found on the ANAWME (The
Association of North American Waldorf Music Educators) web site.

The earliest conventions of Western music held that "Music on earth was a reflection of the
greater 'music of the spheres', a harmony created by relative distances and rates of motions of the
planets - a harmony that was constantly present, if only people were sufficiently sensitive to hear
it" (Yudkin, Jeremy, Music in Medieval Europe, 1989). If we as individuals can identify with the
concepts presented in this statement, and we accept that we as human beings are multifaceted
creatures who must live in harmony with our environment in order to maintain our health and
reach our full potential, we can begin to see into the secrets of music and its impact on our health.
Such a philosophy would indicate that music should be based in nature and the cosmic rhythms of
the universe, if it is to be beneficial to humanity. From this standpoint one can extrapolate that the
standard used to determine concert pitch should have an organic foundation as well. One theory
of setting the standard for a concert A at 432 Hz attempts to utilize the argument that 432 Hz is
based in nature. This theory would indicate by deduction that 440 Hz would then lend itself to
generating an unhealthy effect in the environment. To be sure, this debate becomes a very heady
and esoteric conversation. Some of the more radical proponents of 432 Hz as the true basis for
concert pitch would indicate that everything in nature has a basis in 432 vibrations per second,
most of which has not been verified and/or is not verifiable. There is one realm of nature that does
support the idea that 432 Hz has an organic basis - that is the movement of the sun. Without going
into a lengthy technical monologue we can ascertain that the note C of a scale based on 432 Hz
can be reduced to a vibration rate of one vibration per second. We can further establish that the
true origination for the measure of one second is based on the movement of the sun. There are
further, more in depth, studies based on planetary motion and the harmonic overtones and
undertones which do lend further support to the "organic" basis of 432 Hz as a solid foundation
for musical structure. The tuning of a scale based on 440 Hz does not lend itself to a reduction on
any basis which corresponds to a cosmic movement or rhythm. The difference between 440 Hz
and 432 Hz is only 8 vibrations per second, but it is a perceptible difference in the human
experience.
 The Schiller Institute, for example, has been in the forefront of attempts to 'return' pitch to a' =
432 Hz, which was chosen as the pitch standard for Italy at a musical congress that took place
during the June 1881 Milan Musical Exposition. We quote a relevant passage from their web site.

The Schiller Institute has become known internationally for its initiative to lower the international
standard musical pitch to C = 256 Hz (A = 432 Hz.), in order to preserve the human voice and
return the performance of Classical music to the pitch for which it was written. The Institute's
1992 publication of A Manual on the Rudiments of Tuning and Registration, Vol. I, Introduction
and Human Singing Voice, is creating an educated leadership in the music world to return the pitch
to that for which all the great Classical music was written - known as the “Verdi pitch" - and to
save the human voice. No less than a revolution in musical history was unleashed on April 9, 1988
in Milan, Italy, when the Schiller Institute brought together some of the world's most highly
regarded Classical singers and instrumentalists, to demand a return to rationality in musical tuning
and performance. At a conference held at the Casa Giuseppe Verdi, conference speakers, including
Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., who had conceived the initiative, called for an end to the high-pitched
tuning, which has been literally destroying all but the most gifted voices during the past century,
and for a return to the principles of Classical aesthetics, according to which the process of musical
composition is just as lawful as are the orbits of the planets in the solar system. To underline this
call, the conference resolved to introduce legislation into the Italian parliament which would
require a return to the natural tuning at which middle-C equals precisely 256 cycles per second -
significantly lower than the current tuning which sets A at 440 cps, or frequently even higher

What one should make of these two extracts, the author leaves to his reader, but it is worth
pointing out that while the belief that Verdi espoused the pitch a'=432 Hz. is supported by a letter
from Verdi to his librettist, Arrigo Boito, that advocated a lower pitch for colouristic reasons, it is
not at all clear that Verdi's suggestion had any philosophical basis at all.

History of Musical Pitch' - a table prepared by Mr. A. J. Ellis and published in 1880
(with additions from later publications)

 units, hertz or Hz, are equivalent to vibrations per second

 c'' (one octave above middle C, C5 in scientific notation) is calculated from a' (A4 in scientific notation)
using equal temperament
 c' (middle C, C4 in scientific notation) is calculated from a' (A4 in scientific notation) using equal
temperament
 if another note was originally measured this has been converted to a' using equal temperament
 all pitches assume an ambient temperature of 59° Fahrenheit (15° centigrade)
 The speed of sound in air increases as the square-root of temperature
 The speed of sound in air at 0° centigrade is 331.5 m/s, and it increases by 0.6 m/s for each increase of
1° centigrade
a' (A4, c'' c' (C4, Place Date Description
la3) (C5, do3)
 do4)
(in her (in her
(in her
tz) tz)
tz)
Lille, 1700 Pitch taken by Delezenne from an old
376.3 447.5 223.75
France (anté) dilapidated organ of l'Hospice Comtesse
Paris, Pitch calculated from data given by Dom
378.8 450.5 225.25 1766
France Bédos in L'Art du Facteur d'Orgues
Heidelbe
Pitch calculated from data given by Arnold
380.0 451.9 225.95 rg, 1511
Schlick
Germany
St.
392.2 469.1 234.55 Petersbur 1739 Euler's clavichord
g, Russia
Versaille
395.8 470.7 235.35 1789 Organ of the palace chapel
s, France
Pitch estimated from a flute described by Jean
Berlin,
398.0 473.3 236.65 1775 Henri Lambert in Observations sur les Flûtes,
Germany
pub. Académie Royal des Sciences, Berlin
Pitch estimated from a flute made by T Lot,
Paris,
400.0 475.7 237.85 c. 1756 one of the five 'maîtres constructeurs' of wind-
France
instruments in Paris, France
Paris,
401.3 477.8 238.9 1648 Mersenne's Spinet
France
Paris,
404.0 480.4 240.2 1699 Paris Opera A
France
Paris,
405.8 482.6 241.3 1713 Sauveur's calculation
France
Hamburg
407.9 485.0 242.5 , 1762 Organ of St. Michael's Church, Hamburg
Germany
seventee
408-
n/a n/a Italy nth tuono corista
409
century
Paris,
409.0 486.4 243.2 1783 Tuning fork of Pascal Taskin, court tuner
France
Dresden,
415.5 494.1 247.05 1722 Organ of St. Sophia
Germany
Seville, 1785 &
419.6 499.0 249.5 Organ of Seville cathedral
Spain 1790
 Vienna,
421.6 501.3 250.65 1780 supposed to be Mozart's pitch
Austria
London,
422.5 502.4 251.2 1751 Handel's tuning fork
England
London,
423.5 503.6 251.8 1711 an existing tuning fork of John Shore
England
Paris,
425.5 506.0 253.0 1829 Pianoforte at the Paris Opera
France
Paris,
427.6 508.5 254.25 1823 Opèra Comique
France
Paris, Opera pitch as related by Drouet, the
430.8 512.3 256.15 1830
France celebrated French flautist
Brussels,
1876 Proposed pitch standard
Belgium
at a musical congress in Milan as part of the
432.0 513.7 256.85 Musical Exposition held in June 1881, it was
Milan, decided to stabilise pitch in Italy at a'=432.
1881
Italy [quoted in a message on
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/earlyflu
te/message/8074]
'Joseph Sauveur's Philosophical Pitch, C-512',
also called 'scientific pitch', fixed middle C at
exactly 256 Hz (arrived at by computing the
ninth power of 2) and resulted in the A above
it (a') being tuned to approximately 430.54 Hz.
Paris, It gained some popularity due to its
432.54 512.00 256.00 c.1700
France mathematical convenience (the frequencies of
all the Cs being a power of two) but it never
received the same official recognition as
diapason normal (a'=435 Hz) and was not as
widely used. Joseph Sauveur (1653-1716) was
a French physicist and mathematician
433.0 512.54 256.27 London, 1820 Ellis reported, at a meeting of the Musical
England Association held on 4 Apr. 1881, that this
pitch was introduced in England by Sir George
Smart - indeed it was known as Smart's pitch
in England for a long time before the
'Diapason Normal' was constructed. Ellis'
appendix in Helmholtz's On the Sensations of
Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory
of Music reports that the pitch was adopted
'with much hesitation' for the London
 Philharmonic Society in about 1820
The French 'Diapason Normal', set in a law
passed on 16 February 1859 by the French
government acting with the advice of Halvy,
Meyerbeer, Auber, Ambroise Thomas and
Rossini, although the mean of several forks set
Paris, to this pitch lies slightly higher at a'=435.4
435.0 517.3 258.65 1859
France which is equivalent to c''=517.8 or c' = 258.9.
This pitch was adopted outside France. For
example, several Italian institutions, including
the Istituto Musicale di Firenze (Florence) and
the Teatro San Carlo in Naples adopted the
French 'Diapason Normal'
Paris and The earlier was the pitch of the Italian Opera
1836 &
437.0 519.7 258.85 Toulouse in Paris, the later that of the Conservatoire in
1859
, France Toulouse
261.62 Paris,
440.0 523.25 1829 Orchestral pitch of the Paris Opera
5 France
Proposed pitch standard, Stuttgart congress
261.62 Stuttgart,
440.0 523.25 1838 (actually a'=440.2 when corrected to table
5 Germany
temperature); also Scheibler's standard.
440- 17th
n/a n/a Italy tutto punto
443 century
Pitch calculated from a flute made by Biglioni
Rome, 1725
441.0 524.4 262.2 and possibly brought from Rome by J. J.
Italy (anté)
Quantz when he left Rome in 1725
Standard intended for the Society of Arts -
London, (however a fork set to this standard by J.H.
444.0 528.0 264.0 1860
England Griesbach has a measured pitch of a'=445.7,
equivalent to c''=530.1 or c'=265.05)
Madrid,
444.5 528.6 264.3 1858 Theatre Royale, Madrid
Spain
London,
444.5 528.6 264.3 c. 1810 Pitch of a flute made by Henry Potter
England
London,
444.6 528.7 264.35 1877 Organ in St. Paul's Cathedral
England
Turin,
Weimer, Measurements made for the French
444.8 528.9 262.45 1859
Würtemb Commission
erg
445.7 530.1 265.05 London, 1860 see comment for a'=444.0 (above)
 England
Paris,
France;
Dresden Pleyel's Piano taken by Delezenne and the
446.0 530.4 265.2 and 1859 pitches at the Opera houses of Dresden and
Pesth, Pesth
Germany
,
London, Pitch calculated from a fork said to be at the
447.11 531.7 265.85 1845
England pitch of the Royal Philharmonic Society
Hamburg
1839 &
448.0 532.8 266.4 , Opera
1840
Germany
Paris,
448.0 532.8 266.4 1854 Opéra Comique
France
Paris,
448.0 532.8 266.4 1858 Grand Opèra
France
Liège,
448.0 532.8 266.4 1859 Conservatoire
Belgium
London, 1850 to An average of the pitches of London
England 1885 orchestras during this period
450.0 535.1 267.55 mid- Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome adopted
Rome, as its own pitch a'=450. Other musical
nineteent
Italy institutions adopted the French 'Diapason
h century
Normal' while others used a'=432
Lille, 1848 &
450.5 535.7 267.85 Lille Opera, measured during performance
France 1854
Brussels,
451.0 536.3 268.15 1879 Pitch standard proposed for the Belgian Army
Belgium
St.
451.5 536.9 268.45 Petersbur 1858 Opera
g, Russia
Milan,
451.7 537.2 268.6 1867 La Scala Opera
Italy
Berlin,
451.8 537.3 268.65 1859 Opera
Germany
London,
451.9 537.4 268.7 1878 British Army Regulations
England
452.0 537.5 268.75 Lille, 1859 Conservatoire
 France
Official Pitch at the 'Inventions' Exhibition in
London,
452.0 537.5 268.75 1889 1885 - the highest pitch used intentionally by
England
English orchestras up to 1890
Mean pitch of the Philharmonic Band under
Sir Michael Costa. His Majesty's Rules and
Regulations required Army Bands to play at
London, 1846 to
452.5 538.2 269.1 the Philharmonic pitch, and a fork tuned to
England 1854
a'=452.5 in 1890 is preserved as the standard
for the Military Training School at Kneller
Hall
London, 1837 Pitch calculated from a flute made by Rudall
453.3 539.0 269.5
England (anté) and Rose possibly as early as 1827
London, Old Philharmonic Pitch, instigated by Sir
454.08 540.0 270.0 1874
England Charles Hall
London, Fork representing the highest pitch adopted for
454.7 540.8 270.4 1874
England Philharmonic concerts
London, Steinway's English pitch; also Messrs.
454.7 540.8 270.4 1879
England Bryceson's pitch
London,
455.3 541.5 270.75 1879 Messrs. Erard's pitch
England
Brussels,
455.5 541.7 270.85 1859 Band of the Guides
Belgium
London, Fork set to the French Society of Pianoforte
456.1 542.4 271.2 1857
England Makers
New
457.2 543.7 271.85 York, 1879 Pitch used by Messrs. Steinway in America
USA
Vienna,
456.0 542.30 271.15 1859 Viennese 'high pitch'
Austria
Vienna,
457.6 544.2 272.1 c. 1640 Great Franciscan organ
Austria
273.52 Vienna,
460.0 547.05 1880 Old Austrian Military Pitch
5 Austria
seventee
460-
n/a n/a Italy nth mezzo punto
470
century
460.8 548.0 274.0 America 1875 the pitch to which a number of American
institutions worked, as reported by Ellis in his
 appendix to Helmholtz's On the Sensations of
Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory
of Music
London, 1838 Actual pitch of a flute said to be tuned to
461.0 548.3 274.15
England (anté) a'=453.3
Durham,
474.1 563.8 281.9 1683 Cathedral Organ by Bernhardt Smith
England
London, Organ of the Chapel Royal by Bernhardt
474.1 563.8 281.9 1708
England Smith
Hamburg
1543 &
480.8 571.8 285.9 , Organ at the church of St. Catherine
1879
Germany
Lübeck,
484.1 575.7 287.85 1878 Cathedral, small organ
Germany
Hamburg
1688 &
489.2 581.8 290.9 , Organ at the church of St. Jacob
1693
Germany
Paris,
505.6 601.4 300.7 1636 Mersenne's church pitch
France
Halberst
506.9 602.9 301.45 adt, 1361 Cathedral Organ
Germany
Paris,
567.6 675.2 337.6 1636 Mersenne's chamber pitch
France
Pitch called Kammerton (chamber pitch) by
570.7 678.7 338.35 Germany 1619 Praetorius; also called North German church
pitch

Gill Green's History of Piano Tuning tells us that pitch varied from town to town in England as well,
providing another tuning headache: in 1880 Henry Fowler Broadwood wrote to George Rose
regarding the difficulty of supplying instruments for provincial tours:

I will not send out new non-concert instruments, therefore the regular concert instruments form
our only resource - then again I will not send these packed - but only in a van - and accompanied
by a tuner.
 A letter to The Pianomaker in 1913 showed the extent to which the problem had escalated:
despite an agreement being made in the 1890s to standardize pitch, military bands were a law
unto themselves, fuelled by cynical instrument makers in league with bandmasters who changed
pitches arbitrarily to force bandsmen to periodically renew their instruments. T.G. Dyson, then the
President of the Music Trades Association of Great Britain, wrote:

So long as the military bands retain their present pitch (C=537.5 Hz), it must be recognized; but
there is no reason why some eight other pitches should not be swept out of the way for musical
purposes, leaving the international pitch (C=517.3 Hz) which is now the only recognized pitch in
America as well as on the Continent, and the military band pitch as the low and high pitch of this
country.

Considering the 'international pitch' had been in effect for over twenty years at that time, it
seemed to have had little or no effect on the music world in general, if Dyson was referring to
'some eight other pitches'.

In 1896 A.J. Hipkins wrote in his History of the Pianoforte that:

The French pitch, or Diapason Normal, is now generally adopted on the Continent and has made
its way to the United States of America. In this country, with the exception of the Italian opera,
which has been at the low pitch for the last 15 years, we may say the high or Philharmonic pitch
has, from 1846 to 1895, prevailed. ... The Philharmonic Society, has, however, for 1896,
relinquished its high pitch and adopted the Diapason Normal.

Different piano makers had their own pitches: from 1849-1854 Broadwoods used A=445.9 Hz,
escalating to A=454.7 Hz in 1874. Collard's 1877 pitch was A=449.9 Hz, Steinway (in England) in
1879 used A=454.7 Hz, Erard used A=455.3 Hz and in 1877 Chappell tuned at to 455.9 Hz.

No wonder that in June 1860 The Society of Arts established a commission to try to establish a
single UNIFORM MUSICAL PITCH.

pitches in use in England in the 1920s : frequencies in Hz : taken from Notes on Concertina Pitch

New Society of Arts

Normal (-20 Stuttgart/IS Old Philharmonic (+54
note Philharmonic (-4 (+22 cents to
cents to ISO) O cents to ISO)
cents to ISO) ISO)
A 434.91 438.95 440 445.68 454.08

A# 460.77 465.05 466.16 472.18 481.09

B 488.17 492.70 493.88 500.25 509.69

C 517.20 522.00 523.25 530.00 540.00

C# 547.95 553.04 554.37 561.52 572.11

D 580.54 585.93 587.33 594.90 606.13

D# 615.06 620.77 622.25 630.28 642.17

E 651.63 657.68 659.26 667.76 680.36

F 690.38 696.79 698.46 707.47 720.81

F# 731.43 738.22 739.99 749.53 763.68

G 774.92 782.12 783.99 794.10 809.09

G# 821.00 828.62 830.61 841.32 857.20

A 869.82 877.90 880.00 891.35 908.17

A# 921.55 930.10 932.33 944.35 962.17

B 976.34 985.40 987.77 1000.51 1019.38

C 1034.40 1044.00 1046.50 1060.00 1080.00