Old Philharmonic Pitch

music

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Last updated

July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

The old philharmonic pitch is a tuning standard of English origin. It is approximately 450 vibrations per second for the note A above middle C. This standard was used before the adoption of the new philharmonic pitch in Britain at the end of the 19th century. The new philharmonic pitch, in contrast, is set between 435 and 439 vibrations per second for the same note.12

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…it had reached the “Old Philharmonic Pitch” of about a′ = 453. The inconvenience of this high pitch became apparent, for it strained singers’ voices and made wind instruments quickly out of date. An international commission met in Paris in 1858–59 and adopted a compromise pitch called diapason normal…
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…it had reached the “Old Philharmonic Pitch” of about a′ = 453. The inconvenience of this high pitch became apparent, for it strained singers’ voices and made wind instruments quickly out of date. An international commission met in Paris in 1858–59 and adopted a compromise pitch called diapason normal…
Read More