Today I Learned (TIL)

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TIL the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I also included a clause establishing concert pitch as A = 435 Hz (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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From pages 170 & 171:

[T]he multilateral treaties, conventions and agreements of an economic or technical character enumerated below … shall alone be applied as between Germany and those of the Allied and Associated Powers party thereto:

. . . .

(22) Convention of November 16 and 19, 1885, regarding the establishment of a concert pitch.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Oh gimme a break I misread the headline. I’m way to old to be called a child by anyone.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Headline aside, what most people don't realize is that the mapping of frequency to pitch is a social construct. Outside of the VERY few people with perfect pitch.

What humans hear musically are the relative construction of sound which is why key transposition is generally unnoticed even by lifetime professional musicians.

I didn't mean to rib you specifically. I meant to rib in general the beautiful disconnect between science and art that exists in the domain of the humanity of music

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Fair. I’m a 25yr musician and 20yr audio engineer. I innately understand and agree with all those points.