In the process he invented an optical method for calibrating tuning forks using so-called Lissajous figures (see photo), which proved to be of great utility in many other fields (such as in the calibration of television transmission in the 20th century).
This group of experts included the scientist Jules Lissajous (1822-1880) who, with the committee's approval, created a standard tuning fork at 335Hz. In France, after receiving news of Scheibler's achievement, the government set up a commission to establish a French standard pitch. The middle of the 19th century witnessed an international race towards scientific and technical standardization.
In 1834 the German academy of sciences endorsed Scheibler's pitch (the so-called Stuttgart pitch) as the German national standard, but it took until 1926 for this standard to become global. In both endeavors he deployed his invention, the tuning fork tonometer, which comprised 56 precision engineered tuning forks. Amazingly he found time during the 1830s to prove that the average concert A of Viennese concert pianos was 440Hz and also to develop a method for tuning pianos in equal temperament with unprecedented accuracy. Johann Scheibler was a wealthy industrialist specializing in textile manufacture, but he also had strong amateur interests in science and music. Chladni's work on vibrating plates, rods and tuning forks was driven and informed by his passions for music and musical instrument design. Key historical figures in tuning fork history Ernst Chladni (1756-1827)Įrnst Chladni, often refered to as 'the father of experimental acoustics', was the first scientist to systematically investigate tuning forks, using his famous powder method to reveal the patterns of vibration on vibrating objects. One exception is in medicine where tuning forks are still used in the diagnosis of hearing disorders.
The tuning fork continues to be of musical utility, but since the development of electrical technologies in the early 20th century it has fallen out of use in science. Many of the key figures in this history were accomplished musicians as well as scientists. The musical issues mentioned above could not have been addressed by musicians working on their own they also required a detailed scientific understanding of the relationship between frequency and perceived pitch and of the physical properties of vibrating rods and plates, and the rise of scientifically accomplished technicians and instrument makers. Scientific historyĪlthough invented for musical purposes in the early 18th century the tuning fork did not fulfill its true potential until the latter half of the 19th century, by which time it had become a precision scientific instrument of some importance. The tuning fork has also formed the central sound-producing function in several musical instruments such as in the modern Fender-Rhodes electric piano. Second, the tuning fork was central to the attainment and popularization of the now universal equal temperament keyboard tuning system - a defining feature of contemporary Western music. First, it was instrumental in the quest to establish national and eventually international standards for concert pitch (the familiar A=440Hz). The tuning fork has played a vital role in defining at least two aspects of modern music. The tuning fork, in contrast, holds its pitch across a wide range of environmental conditions and in addition produces a very pure tone. Before this innovation musicians requiring a standard musical pitch had to rely on wooden pitch pipes, which were rather unreliable being much affected by changes in temperature and humidity. 1752), the renowned musician, instrument maker and trumpeter to the English Royal Court and favorite of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The tuning fork was invented in 1711 by John Shore (d.
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