Topmusicanswers
If you go to a concert performed by an orchestra, you will first hear the oboe play an A note (the standard tuning note) right before the performance starts, followed by each instrument playing an A and the entire orchestra tuning with one another.
- Which instrument does the orchestra usually tune to?
- What note do musicians tune to?
- Why is a tuned to 440?
Which instrument does the orchestra usually tune to?
Why does the orchestra tune to the oboe? Circumstances of history, mostly, but also acoustics. The first orchestras (in the late 1600s) were mainly string instruments. A pair of oboes was sometimes used to strengthen the first and second violin parts.
What note do musicians tune to?
Orchestras always tune to concert pitch (usually A=440 Hertz, 440 vibrations per second). Conveniently, every string instrument has an A string.
Why is a tuned to 440?
In modern music, 440Hz has been established as the tuning standard. The pitch is that of A above middle C, and it provides a measure by which musicians can ensure their instruments will be in tune with others. ... In 1939, an international conference set the standard to 440, which is now known as “concert pitch.”
