Dale Proctor

Just a little info concerning low pitch. Low pitch is not "A", but refers to the modern frequency A=440. This excerpt form The Cornet Compendium by Richard Schwartz (a VERY interesing read, BTW) explains it:

"There was a lack of a standardized frequency for tuning in the nineteenth century and three basic pitch levels existed at which to tune brass instruments: (Scott 1988, 21-25)

1. Diapason Normal, A=435
2. American Standard Pitch, A=440
3. High Pitch, A=452.5, otherwise known as Old Philharmonic Pitch. This pitch level was actually used in England until 1929.

This "high pitch" level could even be as high as A=462.5 (Lewis 1991, 17-23). Such "high pitch" instruments are more properly referred to as "military band, high pitch" instruments (Scott 1988, 22).

Apparently an "International Standard" was already known by 1899 (C. G. Conn n.d., 10). A citing for its exact frequency rate, however, was not found by the author of this document.
In the late nineteenth century, pitch varied greatly even within various localities. Some models of cornets were even built to "low pitch," "high pitch," and "International Standard." Conn built such instruments in the late nineteenth century. Performers would often bring more than one cornet to a job to see which one played best in tune. The American Federation of Musicians attempted to standardize A=440 in 1917, but it was not universally accepted until after 1920. Sometimes A=440 was often termed "low pitch" because so many other instruments were constructed even higher. A convention of the time was to stamp "L P" on leadpipes to indicate that the instrument was a "low pitch" (A=440) cornet."