8: A440

A440 is not a steak sauce, nor is it a tax form. Rather, A440 hz is the standard tuning for musical pitch. Why is that? The reasons include, but are not limited to: The oboe, church versus secular music, and the difficulty of France. Mike Rugnetta explains. Special Thanks to Nicole He and Proprietous for their help with oboe details. Sources: – History of Performing Pitch: The Story of “A” by Bruce Haynes https://www.amazon.com/History-Performing-Pitch-The-Story/dp/0810841851 – A=432hz: On the Proper Concert Pitch and a New Standardization of Tempo by Brendan Bombaci https://www.amazon.com/432hz-Proper-Concert-Pitch-Standardization-ebook/dp/B009TTBOAI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415310567&sr=8-3&keywords=concert+pitch – Why does the orchestra always tune to the oboe? http://www.rockfordsymphony.com/faqs/why-does-the-orchestra-always-tune-to-the-oboe/ – ISO 16:1975 http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=3601 – Why is A4 the standard pitch reference for tuning? http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/18969/why-is-a4-the-standard-pitch-reference-for-tuning/18973#18973 – Why are orchestras tuned differently? http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/776/why-are-orchestras-tuned-differently In a previous version of this episode, the music used was is (in order of appearance): – Walking (In Tune), Rene Hell – Swan Lake, Swan Theme, Tchaikovsky – Polovtsian Dances, Borodin – Piano Sonata 15, Beethoven (Digression Music) – Peer Gynt: Morning Mood, Grieg – Die liederliche Gesellschaft von allerley Humor: Allegro – Battalia a 10, Biber