A440 (pitch standard)

For other uses, see A440.

A440  Play (help·info).

A440 is the musical note A above middle C. It has a frequency of 440 Hz and serves as a general tuning standard for musical pitch.

Prior to the standardization on 440 Hz, many countries and organizations followed the Austrian government's 1885 recommendation of 435 Hz. The American music industry reached an informal standard of 440 Hz in 1926, and used it in instrument manufacturing. In 1936 the American Standards Association recommended that the A above middle C be tuned to 440 Hz.^[1] This standard was taken up by the International Organization for Standardization in 1955 (reaffirmed by them in 1975) as ISO 16.^[2] Although still not universally accepted, since then it has served as the audio frequency reference for the calibration of acoustic equipment and the tuning of pianos, violins, and other musical instruments.

In the period instrument movement, a consensus has arisen around a modern "baroque pitch" for strings (Kammerton) of 415 Hz, baroque for wind instruments and church voices (Chorton) at 466 Hz and "classical pitch" at 430 Hz.^{[citation needed]}

A440 is sometimes referred to as Concert A. (The C above Concert A is called Concert C.)

See also

• History of pitch standards in Western music
• Pitch (music)
• Electronic tuner
• A (musical note)

References

1. ^ George Martin (2008). The Opera Companion. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-57467-168-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=MjTLYqOoi3kC&pg=PA92&dq=440-cps+1936#PPA92,M1. 
2. ^ ISO 16:1975 Acoustics -- Standard tuning frequency (Standard musical pitch). International Organization for Standardization. 1975. http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=3601. 

External links

• ISO 16:1975 as described in their catalog

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This standards- or measurement-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Musical tuning Music theory stubs Standards and measurement stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат Concert Ballet of Virginia Pastoral Concert Look at other dictionaries: A440 — is the 440 Hz tone that serves as the standard for musical pitch. A440 is the musical note A above middle C (A4).In 1936, an international conference recommended that the A above middle C be tuned to 440 Hz. This standard was taken up by the… …   Wikipedia Concert pitch — refers to the pitch reference to which a group of musical instruments are tuned for a performance. Concert pitch may vary from ensemble to ensemble, and has varied widely over musical history. This is also referred to as the reference frequency… …   Wikipedia Pitch (music) — In musical notation, the different vertical positions of notes indicate different pitches. Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency related scale.[1] Pitches are compared as higher and lower in… …   Wikipedia A440 — noun A four hundred and forty Hertz tone that serves as the standard for musical pitch, and is the musical note A above middle C …   Wiktionary Scientific pitch notation — The first ten Cs in scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch s octave.… …   Wikipedia Millisecond — Horizontal logarithmic scale marked with units of time A millisecond (from milli and second; abbreviation: ms) is a thousandth (1/1,000) of a second.[1] 10 milliseconds (a hundredth of a secon …   Wikipedia Western concert flute — Flute Other names Transverse flute, Boehm flute, C flute Classification Woodwind Wind Aerophone Playing ran …   Wikipedia Electronic tuner — Pocket sized Korg chromatic LCD tuner, with simulated analog indicator needle The term electronic tuner can refer to a number of different things, depending which discipline you wish to study. In the Discipline of radio frequency electronics an… …   Wikipedia MIDI — For other uses, see MIDI (disambiguation). Note names along with their accompanying MIDI note numbers MIDI (   …   Wikipedia Music theory — is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods. In a grand sense, music theory distills… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”