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A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal (usually steel). It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it against a surface or with an object, and emits a pure musical tone once the high overtones fade out.
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 A 4 in scientific pitch notation. It is standardized by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 16.
An A440 tuning fork A common method of tuning the piano begins with tuning all the notes in the "temperament" octave in the lower middle range of the piano, usually F3 to F4. A tuner starts by using an external reference, usually an A440 tuning fork , (or commonly a C523.23 tuning fork) to tune a beginning pitch, and then tunes the other notes ...
The tuning fork was invented in 1711, enabling the calibration of pitch, although there was still variation. For example, a 1740 tuning fork associated with Handel is pitched at A = 422.5 Hz, ⓘ while a specimen from 1780 is pitched at A = 409 Hz, ⓘ about a quarter-tone lower. [ 4 ]
For other tuning schemes, refer to musical tuning. This list of frequencies is for a theoretically ideal piano. On an actual piano, the ratio between semitones is slightly larger, especially at the high and low ends, where string stiffness causes inharmonicity, i.e., the tendency for the harmonic makeup of each note to run sharp.
Scientific pitch, also known as philosophical pitch, Sauveur pitch or Verdi tuning, is an absolute concert pitch standard which is based on middle C (C 4) being set to 256 Hz rather than ~ 261.63 Hz, [a] making it ~ 31.77 cents lower than the common A440 pitch standard.
Pitch pipes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Pitch pipes of this sort were most often used in the 18th and 19th centuries in churches which had no organ to give the opening note of a hymn. They are now quite rare, and hardly ever used for what they were intended for, but may still be used as an alternative to a tuning fork.
Tuning to a pitch with one's voice is called matching pitch and is the most basic skill learned in ear training. Turning pegs to increase or decrease the tension on strings so as to control the pitch. Instruments such as the harp, piano, and harpsichord require a wrench to turn the tuning pegs, while others such as the violin can be tuned manually.