PITCH AND ACOUSTICS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1211, 21 August 1911, Page 4

PITCH AND ACOUSTICS.

WHAT SOUSA SAYS. It is not generally known that none of our wood-wind players in Wellington could piay with Sous.i's Band, or any of tho big orchestral organisations of tho world, with their prer.tnt instruments, neither could they play in nny modern opera band. Tlm trouble is that of pitch. Our players aro equipped with the old liigh-pitchcd instruments, which aro tumid to tho Philharmonic pitch, which has long since been given the go-by in the artistio world. _ Sousa's instruments, brass _ and wood-wind, aro tuned to tho international pitch, which is now the accepted pitch for all big musical organisations in America, England, and on the Continent. The difference is almost a »mi-tone—an enormous discrepancy which cannot bo made right by the most skilful instrumentalists. It; is passible, Sousa _ fays, that on certain notes a high-pitched clarinet may bo brought to within a shade of tho low-pitched instrument, but unfortunately this did not extend to the whole scale, so that, it is impossible to adjust an instrument so as to be cf service in both pitches. Sousa was interested to learn that the fine city organ had been tuned to the low pitch. Had he known that lie. would probably liav« used it in conjunction with the band in some cf tho numbers, in Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" March for one. The best musicians usually order their instruments to be mnA? eighteen months or two years before tliey aro required, and pay special prices for tho special and delieato work required of a first-class instrument, such as a clarinet or oboe, and tho bettor tho player the more particular ho is about getting the very best instrument. Sousa thinks that tho Municipal Orchestra should certainly be equipped with lowpitched instruments, for several reasons. One is that the international pitch was now almost universal, and all conditions were made in conformity to that pitch. Tho big singers wero accustomed to the low pitch, all the leading piano-raanufac? hirers tuned their instruments to tho

"international," and tile b«t argument of nil ivas that our own organ was down . to the low pitch. Aslco'd':Js~ to tlio acoustics of the Town Hall. Sbusa said that they were not al- • together satisfactory when tho hall was half- empty, and' when there .were only a few people there they were very bad. He had been told that some of the accompaniments of tlio band were played too loud, That was not so—it was tlio fault of tho hall, which accentuated tho penetrating powers of fame cf the instruments, notably tho clarinets, and made an echo which blended-with (ho next note, and so mails tho slight blur so distressing in accompaniments. When the hall was filled on Saturday evening, it was acoustically perfect. Everything came away' clear and sharp, and the accompaniments were as subdued and dslicato as a body of well-disciplinod strings. Sousn was informed that a committee of tlio City Council was to report on tho acoustics of tho Town Hall, and was' asked for his opinion as to tho best means of remedying the defect. Ho stated thnt tho very best means of making tlio hall as good acoustically when empty as full was to wiro tlio hall 011 what he called tho "prism system." This consists of hanging rows of wires vertically about. 9ft. in length and about yard apart each way, and at each joining them to« gather by wires suspended laterally tho length and breadth of tho hall, and at. oaeJi intersection of tho wires to hang a prism or glass lustre. This, it is stated, not only effectively prevents tlio sound waves reaching tlio ceiling, but tho prisms help to deflect and crystallise the sound, and are also a prettv ornamentation, l'lio proposition to hang curtains round tlio walls ho condemned entirely, by saying that, "it merely deadened the sound, and would not cffect the echo, which ho thought was deiiected by tho sUinpod steel ceiling.