Books › A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891 › scan 265
Scan 265
A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891
14 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. Printed page 245. See the scan on archive.org.
1The fork is therefore
3at 40° Fahrenheit 479.9
4,, 50° ,, 479.6
5,, 60° ,, 479.3
6,, 70° ,, 479.0
7,, 80° ,, 478.7
9The difference here noted is, of course, too small to be of any consequence in practical music; it is sufficient, however, for it to be a matter of importance that the temperature at which a standard fork has a given rate of vibration should always be stated, and this difference has also to be borne in mind when forks are adjusted or tuned to a standard fork by filing. A fork is heated by handling, and especially by filing; consequently a fork which immediately after filing appears to be in agreement with a standard will be found after a few hours to be appreciably sharper.
11Metal Reeds.—These also flatten with increase of temperature, but the amount of total fluctuation depends somewhat upon the resonating chamber associated with the reed, and no exact rate of variation can be given. It may be generally taken as rather greater than that of tuning forks.
13Wind Instruments.—We have now to consider the effect of temperature upon the instruments in a wind band. The result of increase of the heat of the air as from a winter to a summer temperature is equal to a rise of pitch of a quarter of a tone between 47° and 73°, a very ordinary range of temperature. The full effect of this variation is seen in the flue pipes of organs, but the variation of the reed pipes is less uniform. In wind instruments also the full effects can be observed if the comparison is made directly a large instrument, say a euphonion, is blown into at two different temperatures; for instance out of doors at 47°, and then indoors at 73°, after the instrument has been in the warm room long enough to have risen to the higher temperature. The difference of a quarter-tone between 47° and 73° is equal to slightly more than 1 per cent. in the number of vibrations for every 10 degrees Fah., so that a cornet giving b'b 479.3 at 60° would give 479.3 + 4.8 or 484.1 at 70°, nearly 5 beats sharp,
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.