Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!jarthur!petunia!news
From: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: Perfect Pitch
Message-ID: <27ec3160.9d3@petunia.CalPoly.EDU>
Date: 24 Mar 91 04:56:00 GMT
References: <1991Mar18.214745.6496@spool.cs.wisc.edu> <1991Mar19.082948.10987@athena.mit.edu> <3722@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP>
Organization: Cal Poly State Univ,CSC Dept,San Luis Obispo,CA 93407
Lines: 37



In an article carroll@ssc-vax.UUCP (Jeff Carroll) wrote:
>In article <1991Mar19.082948.10987@athena.mit.edu> jsc@riddler.MIT.EDU (Jin S Choi) writes:
>>the difference. A slightly more relevant case: many classical tapes are 
>>recorded to play back at a slightly higher pitch than recorded. This is 
>>supposed to give the music a '
>(I assume he typed 'brighter' here, and his text editor chopped the line.)
>>
>Although I haven't heard this in broadcasts of classical music, I
>*have* heard it on both classical and popular recordings. I have also heard
>cases in which popular songs with which I was familiar were played by local
>radio stations at a *lower* pitch than the recording released to the public 
> - clearly a case of a slow turntable or tape deck. On one occasion I called
>a station to complain, and the engineer dismissed me as a crackpot.

From the technical standpoint, it is VERY difficult to maintain the correct
pitch of recordings that are made using tape, and especially cassettes.
I doubt that any of these alleged pitch changes were intentional.  Now if
the music was recorded all-digitally using Digital Audio Tape and CD's,
then one could complain, since there is sufficient control.  But tape
recorders just aren't that precise, unless every machine along the line
from the original recording through the radio station has been carefully
calibrated.

I do believe that pop stations speed thing up for commercial reasons--to
get more songs per hour.  But I doubt that classical music stations do this.

I once worked in a radio station where we had the programming pre-recorded
at another studio in 3-hour segments on big reels.  At the end of 3 hours
the tapes could easily be +/- 5 minutes off.  Cassettes are much worse.


-- 
John Dudeck                                        "Communication systems are
jdudeck@Polyslo.CalPoly.Edu                              inherently complex".
ESL: 62013975 Tel: 805-545-9549                                 -- Ron Oliver