Posted by Leland on July 19, 1999 at 01:47:02:
In Reply to: Re: Re: A = ? posted by Joe S. on July 11, 1999 at 09:56:35:
Just got back from my week at OK U.'s camp, but we'll hear about that in due time --
Purely an opinion of mine about tuning to the oboe:
That instrument is so darn difficult to change pitch, and the most stable way involves shaping, shaving, and trimming the reed. Definitely, it would be best if the oboist could always be at A=440 (or whatever a particular group uses), but some days it just won't quite happen like htat, and it's better to tune to an instrument that won't be able to change easily, thus covering for it. Besides, it's such a unique cutting sound, it's easy to pick out when the rest of the group is playing.
A tangent, about tuning outdoors --
Changing weather presents a whole slew of pitch problems, so we would tune our horns to the percussion keyboards. They can't do a thing to tune, and the winds can. On separate occasions, we've ended up with pitches as low as 436 on up to 445.
In the end, it's not what the tuner number reads, it's what the audience hears that's important.
Seeya,
Leland