【音樂趣談】標準音高

當人們問你能唱多高時，我們一般都回答是F, G, A, 或 HIGH C等等。那麼到底我們所說的HIGH C 是多高呢？準確地說，它的頻率是多少了？這就涉及到標準音高問題了。

1939年國際標準組織將A4 的音高定為440HZ（註：我們常說的中央C 是C4，A4就是在中央C八度里的A）。有了A4標準音高，其他音的標準音高（頻率）就可以由十二平均律的公式推出 （以OFFICE EXCEL 為例）：  =2^(n/12) *440   這裡 n 是指你的音和A4差n個半音。

例如： 中央C比A4低9個半音，這它的音高是 2^(-9/12)*440 = 261.626Hz .

那麼到底我們所說的人聲的HIGH C 是多高呢？對於女生來說，HIGH C是 C6， 它的音高是2^(15/12)*440 = 987.767Hz。 而男聲的HIGH C是 C5，它的音高是2^(3/12)*440 = 523.251Hz。

再問一個有趣的問題，一百多年前，HIGH C有多高呢？看看下面的表格，你就會發現，HIGH C

在大部分的時間裡都比現在的要低 （甚至要低半個音或更多）。如果你現在你唱不了HIGH C，沒關係，你可以說，早生二百年我就唱得了了。

在世界標準沒有建立的年代裡，痛苦的是那些歌劇演員了。因為每個歌劇院有不同的音高，你在這個歌劇院能唱HIGH C，一跳槽到另一歌劇院可能就唱不了。我們的歌劇演員們特別盼望能夠有世界通用的標準音高。

儘管如今我們有了標準音高，但在東歐一些國家裡的交響樂團還會用略高一點的音高，即A4=444Hz或更高一點。所以在英國和歐洲的音樂廳經常會常備有兩架鋼琴，一架調成A4=440Hz, 另一架調成A4=444Hz。

另外，我還可以告訴你一點小秘密：還有一些歌劇院，會常年把標準音高降低一些，這樣一來可以保護它的歌劇演員的嗓音。

附：不同時代音高一覽:

1640 Vienna Franciscan Organ A457.6

1699 Paris Opera A404

1711 John Shore's tuning fork, a pitch of A423.5 He invented the tuning fork, one of which still exists today.

1780 Stines, for Mozart, A421

1780 Organ builder Schulz A421.3

1714 Strasbourg Cathedral organ A391

1722 Dresden's chief Roman Catholic church organ A415

1759 Trinity College Cambridge organ A309

1762 Stringed instruments at Hamburg A405

1772 Gottfried Silbermann built the organ in the main Roman Catholic church in Dresden, and it had a pitch of A 415 at the time.

1780 Organ builder Schulz A421.3

1780 Stein's tuning fork A422.6

1751 Handel's own fork A422.5

1800 Broadwood's C fork, 505.7, which is about half a semitone lower than that of today

1811 Paris Grand Opera A 427

1812 Paris Conservatoire A440, as modern pitch

1813 George Smart adopted for the Philharmonic Society the pitch of A423.3.

1820 Westminster Abbey organ and possibly Paris Comic Opera used a pitch of A422.5.

1828 Philharmonic Society A 440

1834 Vienna Opera A 436.5

1835 Wolfels piano maker A443

1836 Pleyel's Pianos A446

1846 Philharmonic pitch was A452.5 (very high) which lasted till 1854

1846 Mr Hipkins piano tuner (Meantone) A433.5 (Equal) A436.0

1849 Broadwood's medium pitch was A445.9 which lasted till 1854

1858 New Philharmonic pitch C522

1860 Cramer's piano makers of London A448.4

1862 Dresden Opera A 440

1871 Covent Garden Opera House A 440

1877 Collard's piano maker standard pitch was A 449.9

1877 St. Paul Cathedral organ A446.6

1877 Chappell Pianos A455.9

1877 Mr Hipkins piano tuner A448.8

1878 Her Majesty's Organ A436.1

1878 Vienna Opera A447

1879 Covent Garden Opera A450

1879 Erard's factory fork 455.3

1879 Steinway of England A 454.

1879 British Army regulation pitch for woodwinds A451.9

1880 Brinsmead, Broadwood, and Erard apparently used a pitch of A455.3

1880 Steinway may have been using a pitch of A436. According to Steinway of New York, 1880 is right around the time they switched from three piece rims to the continuous rim that is used today. So it is unlikely the pitch was any higher before 1880, yet Steinway of London had a fork A454.7.

1885 In Vienna a pitch of A435.4 was adopted at a temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit for A.

1885 At an international exhibition of inventions and music in London a pitch of A452 was adopted.

1896 Philharmonic pitch A439, giving C522

1925 On the 11th of June the American music industry adopted A440.

1936 American Standards Association adopted A440.

1939 At an international conference A440 was adopted.