Books
FictionSource 1 and 2:
Cowan, Catherine. My Friend the Piano. Illus. Kevin Hawkes. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1998. Print. Busse, Sarah Martin, and Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Banjo Granny. Illus. Barry Root. Boston: Houghton, 2006. Print. Both of these sources are children’s picture book. The first is about a little girl whose emotions are represented through the piano (the little girl also plays the piano) and the second is about the tale of how a grandmother and her banjo came to see her grandson. For both of these books my interest is less related to the actual book itself and more to the exposer it brings to children of young ages. Nearly all pianos and banjos today are tuned to equal temperament and so there is an unconscious association where young children believe that equal temperament is “right,” though they probably do not know what equal-temperament is (this is more so the case with pianos, as pianos are a much more common instrument). Through these two books I can demonstrate (a little) how equal temperament is built into us from a very early age as the “right” way of doing things. |
Non-FictionSource 1:
Martin, George Whitney. "VIII: Tuning a - the Problem of Pitch." The Opera Companion. New York: Amadeus, 2008. 87-94. Print. The book is seemingly well known and (by what I could find) is well referenced. (This source seems legit.) At least the chapter I am referencing has a lot of relevance in todays time, disusing issues that are still debated to this day. In this chapter Martin discusses the problem of pitch regarding more to standard pitch (440hz A). He begins by mentioning the limitations that it sets on singers, for if music for an opera is tuned to high, the music may be impossible to sing. Also he mentions how the conflict of pitch (one orchestra to another) causes issues. However he also brings up the point of why tuning higher is desired. The reason many orchestras tuned their pitch higher (other than because the composer of the work did as well) is because higher notes are easier to hear. 100 years ago, there were no microphones, so every opportunity conductors had to be heard more was exploited. It should be mentioned that he wrote a book about operas, and so he favors a unison version of pitch, in which the operatic singers can...sing well. (He favors singers, and what is easiest for them, not necessarily what is best for everyone...although, is there really a best option for everyone?) Though this source does not mention anything about equal temperament vs. perfect intonation, it does mention the importance of pitch, and some of the limitations and benefits of tuning to the 440hz A. The source gives me a few examples (from a singers point of view) of the significance of pitch, and how it can affect works of music. Source 2:
Sacks, Oliver W. "Papa Blows His Nose in G: Absolute Pitch." Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Toronto: Alfred Knopf, 2007. 120-26. Print. Musicophilia, though written in 2007, is a reliable source, as Sacks referenced many other reliable sources in his work to support his claims. The book also is referenced in many scholarly journals and was listed as one of the best books of 2007 by The Washington Post. From the small part that I read, Sacks is speaking more from the point of view of a neurologist, and less of that of a musician, being very analytical in the way he responds to the research. This non-fiction book discusses music and the human brain. The part that I focused on discusses those with the condition of absolute pitch. After introducing the topic he then went on into describing some of the downsides of absolute pitch. According to Sacks, even the slightest deviation in pitch from the original work, can cause those with absolute pitch to be discussed. Musicophilia discusses how each individual key has a unique “character” and so changing the key, or the pitch, changes the music entirely. This source represents a downside to the manipulation of pitch, as changing it can give the music a different character than originally intended, and especially to those with absolute pitch, can be irritating. |