History of pitch and tempo
A wasn't always 440, and an Adagio didn't always have the same speed. Here's the story, with the brass that sounded in each period.
The note A through history
| Period | Place and context | A | Brass of the period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 1550–1650 | Venice and northern Italy (church music, 'mezzo punto') The usual pitch of Venetian cornetts. Early-music groups use it today for Gabrieli and Monteverdi. | 466 Hz ≈ 460–470 | Cornett (cornetto) and sackbut | confirmed |
| 17th c. – 1750 | Germany: 'Chorton' (organs and church music) German organs were tuned high. Bach wrote transposed organ parts so they matched the orchestra at 'Kammerton'. | 466 Hz ≈ 460–480 | Natural trumpet, sackbut and cornett of the town musicians (Stadtpfeifer) | confirmed |
| c. 1700–1750 | Germany: 'Kammerton' (chamber music; Bach's cantatas in Leipzig) This is today's 'baroque pitch': a semitone below 440. | 415 Hz ≈ 410–420 | Natural trumpet (clarino register), corno da caccia and sackbut | confirmed |
| c. 1680–1750 | France: 'ton de chambre' and opera (Versailles, Paris). Rome used a similar pitch A whole tone below 440. Used today for Lully, Charpentier, Couperin and Rameau. | 392 Hz ≈ 390–400 | Natural trumpet and hunting horn | approximate |
| 1751 | London: tuning fork attributed to Handel A surviving fork associated with the time of 'Messiah'. | 422.5 Hz | Natural trumpet and natural horn | confirmed |
| c. 1760–1820 | Vienna and central Europe (Haydn, Mozart, early Beethoven) Period-instrument groups use 430 for classical repertoire today. | 430 Hz ≈ 420–435 | Natural horn with crooks and hand technique; natural trumpet; trombones in opera and sacred music; keyed trumpet (Haydn's Concerto, 1796) | approximate |
| c. 1815–1840 | Europe: valves arrive and pitch starts to rise With valves, trumpets and horns can play every note; the tuba and cornet are born. | 440 Hz ≈ 430–450 | First piston and rotary valves (Stölzel and Blühmel patent, Prussia, 1818), ophicleide, cornet and tuba (Wieprecht and Moritz patent, Berlin, 1835) | approximate |
| c. 1840–1860 | London, Paris and Vienna: the 'high pitch' of opera houses and bands Orchestras pushed pitch up for brilliance and singers complained. London reached about 452. | 452 Hz ≈ 445–456 | Adolphe Sax's saxhorns (1840s), cornets, tubas and valve trombones | confirmed |
| 1859 | France: the 'diapason normal' law (16 February 1859) The first official national pitch standard. | 435 Hz | Saxhorn and cornet families; military bands | confirmed |
| 1885 | International conference in Vienna Several European countries adopt the French 435. British military bands kept the high pitch for a long time. | 435 Hz | Military bands with tubas, euphoniums and cornets | confirmed |
| 1939 | International conference in London; ISO 16 standard (1955, reaffirmed 1975) A = 440 Hz becomes concert pitch, the default on almost every tuner. | 440 Hz | Modern piston and rotary-valve brass | confirmed |
| Today | Many orchestras in continental Europe Many orchestras tune slightly above 440 for extra brilliance. | 442 Hz ≈ 442–443 | Modern brass | approximate |
Try every pitch in the tuner or the drone: see 'Historical pitch'.
What speed each marking meant
| Period or source | Marking | Tempo | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renaissance: the 'tactus' | Tactus (normal beat) | tactus beat = 66 | Roughly 60 to 80 per minute. |
| Baroque: Quantz (1752), pulse of 80 | Allegro assai (also Presto, Allegro molto) | quarter = 160 | The half note = one pulse. |
| Baroque: Quantz (1752), pulse of 80 | Allegretto (also Allegro ma non tanto, Moderato) | quarter = 80 | The quarter = one pulse. |
| Baroque: Quantz (1752), pulse of 80 | Adagio cantabile (also Cantabile, Larghetto, Affettuoso, Maestoso, Siciliana) | eighth = 80 | The eighth = one pulse: quarter = 40. |
| Baroque: Quantz (1752), pulse of 80 | Adagio assai (also Grave, Lento, Largo assai, Mesto) | eighth = 40 | The eighth = two pulses: quarter = 20. |
| Beethoven: his own markings (from 1817) | Symphony No. 5, I. Allegro con brio | half = 108 | 2/4: one beat per bar. |
| Beethoven: his own markings (from 1817) | Symphony No. 7, II. Allegretto | quarter = 76 | The famous Allegretto: much more flowing than it is often played. |
| Beethoven: his own markings (from 1817) | Symphony No. 9, III. Adagio molto e cantabile | quarter = 60 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Largo (40–60) | quarter = 50 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Larghetto (60–66) | quarter = 63 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Adagio (66–76) | quarter = 70 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Andante (76–108) | quarter = 92 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Moderato (108–120) | quarter = 114 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Allegro (120–168) | quarter = 144 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Presto (168–200) | quarter = 184 | |
| Modern metronome: usual ranges | Prestissimo (200+) | quarter = 208 |
You can hear all these tempos in the metronome, under 'How fast was it played?'.
Why pitch changed
For centuries there was no standard: every city, church or orchestra had its own pitch, set by its organs and wind instruments. Brass instruments (cornetts, sackbuts, natural trumpets) were built for the local pitch. In the 19th century orchestras kept raising pitch for brilliance, until France fixed A = 435 by law in 1859. A = 440 was agreed internationally in 1939.
Why tempo changed
There was no mechanical metronome until 1815. Italian words (Adagio, Andante, Allegro) described character more than exact speed, and their meaning shifted: in the 18th century 'Andante' meant 'walking', a flowing tempo; in the Romantic era it came to be understood as slower and tempo became flexible (rubato).
Sources
- Johann Joachim Quantz, Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen, Berlin, 1752, XVII (Internet Archive, IMSLP).
- Bruce Haynes, A History of Performing Pitch: The Story of "A", Scarecrow Press, 2002.
- PLOS One (2020): Beethoven's metronome.
- ISO 16 (A = 440 Hz).
Values marked 'approximate' are averages from historical sources: actual pitch varied from place to place.
Frequently asked questions
Was A always 440?
No. In the Baroque it ranged from about 392 to 466 Hz depending on the place; in the 19th century it rose above 450 in some cities; A = 440 was only agreed internationally in 1939.
What is baroque pitch 415?
The pitch used today by baroque ensembles, a semitone below 440. It's based on the German 'Kammerton' of Bach's time.
How was tempo measured before the metronome?
With bodily references: the tactus shown with the hand or, as Quantz proposed in 1752, the pulse of a healthy person, about 80 beats per minute.