Pitch standards and temperament

[nigelsdtaylor <nigeltaylor@k...>]

Both G & J and Taylor's used A=435 as their standard. This gives 
middle C at 517 Hz. The standard at Whitechapel was A=439, but 
sometimes A=454 was used. We adopted A=440 at the same time as 
adopting equal temperament in 1969.
Stephen Ivin mentions the fact that I now use kirnberger III, 
although this is not the only tuning system that I use: I also use 
modified mean-tone temperaments and occasionally 1/4 comma mean-tone. 
Kirnberger is normally used for modern rings and the other tuning 
systems are used for old rings depending on their antiquity.
For Milton, I used the "C" scale of Kirnberger III because it has a 
softer and better "key-character than the "B" scale which is brighter 
than equal but perhaps a little harsh. For rings of 10 and 12, using 
the "C" scale, the front 6 of 10 would be in the "G" scale, as would 
the front 8 of a ring of 12 with a sharp 2nd. If a flat 6th is used 
you would use the "F" scale which has the same major 3rd value as 
the "G" (+391.5 cents) but a pure 4th (+498) instead of 503.5 as in 
the "G". Although the major 3rd is 5 1/2 cents sharp in the "G" 
scale, because of the 1/4 comma wide 4th, the interval between the 2 
is still a just major semitone (+112).
For relating the pitch standard of an old ring, I normally use A=440 
or A=454 simply as a guide.