A440 (pitch Standard) - Wikipedia

Pitch standard A440, piano and violin

A440 (also known as Stuttgart pitch[1]) is the musical pitch corresponding to an audio frequency of 440 Hz, which serves as a tuning standard for the musical note of A above middle C, or A4 in scientific pitch notation. It is standardized by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 16. While other frequencies have been (and occasionally still are) used to tune the first A above middle C, A440 is now commonly used as a reference frequency to calibrate acoustic equipment and to tune pianos, violins, and other musical instruments.

History and use

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Before standardization to 440 Hz, many countries and organizations followed the French standard since the 1860s of 435 Hz, which had also been the Austrian government's 1885 recommendation.[2] Johann Heinrich Scheibler recommended A440 as a standard in 1834 after inventing the "tonometer" to measure pitch,[3] and it was approved by the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians at a meeting in Stuttgart the same year.[4]

The American music industry reached an informal standard of 440 Hz in 1926, and some began using it in instrument manufacturing.

In 1936, the American Standards Association recommended that the A above middle C be tuned to 440 Hz.[5]

In 1937 Sir James Swinburne, an electrical engineer and avid amateur musician, delivered a lecture to the Royal Musical Association on "The Ideal Scale," discussing the possibility of tuning a scale to pure ratios and adjusting these ratios to maintain consonance across different keys. The following year, Swinburne represented the Musical Association at a preliminary conference to determine the British stance on concert pitch. British piano tuners had adopted A439 as the standard in 1899, but Swinburne pointed out that 439 was a prime number, whereas 440 could be more easily factored and electronically synthesized. In May of 1939, delegates from France, Germany, Holland, Italy, and England convened at Broadcasting House in London, the headquarters of the BBC, to address the issue of concert pitch. Representatives from Switzerland and the United States participated via mail. The other European delegates concurred with Swinburne's position and agreed to a standard of A440.

This standard was taken up by the International Organization for Standardization in 1955 as Recommendation R 16,[6] before being formalised in 1975 as ISO 16.[7]

The A440 standard is not universally adhered to. Early-music ensembles continue to use older, lower pitch levels. Leonard Bernstein often tuned the New York Philharmonic to A442, leading to complaints from the piano tuners’ union, although he claimed both the New York and Boston orchestras had used this higher pitch for years.

Modern practices

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A440 is widely used as concert pitch in the United Kingdom[8] and the United States.[9] In continental Europe the frequency of A4 commonly varies between 440 Hz and 444 Hz.[8] In the period instrument movement, a consensus has arisen around a modern baroque pitch of 415 Hz (with 440 Hz corresponding to A♯), a 'baroque' pitch for some special church music (in particular, some German church music, e.g. the pre-Leipzig period cantatas of Bach)[10] known as Chorton pitch at 466 Hz (with 440 Hz corresponding to A♭), and classical pitch at 427–430 Hz.[10]

A440 5 seconds of a pure tone at 440 Hz Problems playing this file? See media help.

A440 is often used as a tuning reference in just intonation regardless of the fundamental note or key.

The US time and frequency station WWV broadcasts a 440 Hz signal at two minutes past every hour, with WWVH broadcasting the same tone at the first minute past every hour. This was added in 1936 to aid orchestras in tuning their instruments.[11]

See also

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• History of pitch standards in Western music
• Electronic tuner

Preceded byISO 15

Lists of ISOsISO 16

Succeeded byISO 17

References

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1. ^ Apel, Willi (1969). Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674375017. Retrieved 2023-01-09 – via Google Books.
2. ^ Karp, Theodore (1983). Dictionary of Music. Northwestern University Press. p. 406. ISBN 9780810106598. Retrieved 2023-01-09 – via Google Books.
3. ^ Robert Thomas Beyer (1999). Sounds of our times: two hundred years of acoustics. Springer. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-387-98435-3. Retrieved 2023-01-09 – via Google Books.
4. ^ von Helmholtz, Hermann (1863). Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik [The Study of the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Foundation for the Theory of Music (alt: The Sensation of Tones)] (in German). J. Vieweg. p. 29. Retrieved 2023-01-09 – via Google Books, (pre-ISBN); see article on book Sensations of Tone.
5. ^ Martin, George (2008). The Opera Companion. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-57467-168-1. Retrieved 2023-01-09 – via Google Books.
6. ^ "ISO 16:1975(en) Acoustics — Standard tuning frequency (Standard musical pitch)". International Organization for Standardization. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
7. ^ ISO 16:1975 Acoustics – Standard tuning frequency (Standard musical pitch). International Organization for Standardization. 1975. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
8. ^ a b Nistl, Franz. "Europa E - SK". Klavierstimmung.
9. ^ Nistl, Franz. "Afrika Amerika Asien Ozeanien". Klavierstimmung.
10. ^ a b Oxford Composer Companion JS Bach, pp. 369–372. Oxford University Press, 1999
11. ^ "History of WWV". Physical Measurement Laboratory, NIST. September 16, 2015. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

v t e ISO standards by standard number
List of ISO standards – ISO romanizations – IEC standards
1–9999	1 2 3 4 6 7 9 16 17 31 -0 -1 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 68-1 128 216 217 226 228 233 259 261 262 302 306 361 500 518 519 639 -1 -2 -3 -5 -6 646 657 668 690 704 732 764 838 843 860 898 965 999 1000 1004 1007 1073-1 1073-2 1155 1413 1538 1629 1745 1989 2014 2015 2022 2033 2047 2108 2145 2146 2240 2281 2533 2709 2711 2720 2788 2848 2852 2921 3029 3103 3166 -1 -2 -3 3297 3307 3601 3602 3864 3901 3950 3977 4031 4157 4165 4217 4909 5218 5426 5427 5428 5725 5775 5776 5800 5807 5964 6166 6344 6346 6373 6385 6425 6429 6438 6523 6709 6943 7001 7002 7010 7027 7064 7098 7185 7200 7498 -1 7637 7736 7810 7811 7812 7813 7816 7942 8000 8093 8178 8217 8373 8501-1 8571 8583 8601 8613 8632 8651 8652 8691 8805/8806 8807 8820-5 8859 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -8-I -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 8879 9000/9001 9036 9075 9126 9141 9227 9241 9293 9314 9362 9407 9496 9506 9529 9564 9592/9593 9594 9660 9797-1 9897 9899 9945 9984 9985 9995
10000–19999	10006 10007 10116 10118-3 10160 10161 10165 10179 10206 10218 10279 10303 -11 -21 -22 -28 -238 10383 10585 10589 10628 10646 10664 10746 10861 10957 10962 10967 11073 11170 11172 11179 11404 11544 11783 11784 11785 11801 11889 11898 11940 (-2) 11941 11941 (TR) 11992 12006 12052 12182 12207 12234-2 12620 13211 -1 -2 13216 13250 13399 13406-2 13450 13485 13490 13567 13568 13584 13616 13816 13818 14000 14031 14224 14289 14396 14443 14496 -2 -3 -6 -10 -11 -12 -14 -17 -20 14617 14644 14649 14651 14698 14764 14882 14971 15022 15189 15288 15291 15398 15408 15444 -3 -9 15445 15438 15504 15511 15686 15693 15706 -2 15707 15897 15919 15924 15926 15926 WIP 15930 15938 16023 16262 16355-1 16485 16612-2 16750 16949 (TS) 17024 17025 17100 17203 17369 17442 17506 17799 18004 18014 18181 18245 18629 18916 19005 19011 19092 -1 -2 19114 19115 19125 19136 19407 19439 19500 19501 19502 19503 19505 19506 19507 19508 19509 19510 19600 19752 19757 19770 19775-1 19794-5 19831
20000–29999	20000 20022 20121 20400 20802 20830 21000 21001 21047 21122 21500 21827 22000 22275 22300 22301 22395 22537 23000 23003 23008 23009 23090-3 23092 23094-1 23094-2 23270 23271 23360 23941 24517 24613 24617 24707 24728 25178 25964 26000 26262 26300 26324 27000 series 27000 27001 27002 27005 27006 27729 28000 29110 29148 29199-2 29500
30000+	30170 31000 32000 37001 38500 39075 40500 42010 45001 50001 55000 56000 80000
Category

v t e Frequency and pitch
Notation	Concert pitch A440 Enharmonic Helmholtz pitch notation Letter notation Piano key frequencies Pitch class Scientific pitch notation
Perception	Absolute pitch Ear training Pitch circularity Relative pitch Tonal memory Tone deafness Virtual pitch
See also	Electronic tuner Mersenne's laws Microtuner Musical tuning Beating Pitch pipe Savart wheel Tuning fork