standard 440 pitch vs. 435 pitch

[valen1]

Recently I became an owner of a Chickering Grand. This piano is dated between the years of 1909 - 1910. The pitch is 435. Besides the tonal differerce any information would be great. Please feel free to recommend musical pieces that may be sutible for this pitch.

[PianoStudentReady2Perform]

maple leaf rag, the entertainer, anything scott joplin for that matter; ive got rhythm, Gershwin preludes...most anything gershwin for that matter except rhapsody in blue probably.  Hope this helps!

[Michele Felice]

I am assuming that you are referring to a pitch frequency that is stated somewhere on the piano. This is simply the old US standard pitch for A one octave above middle C (also known as A4).

The actual pitch that your piano is tuned to is undoubtedly NOT A435. The standard for A4 in the US was changed to A440 long ago (I think in the 1920s). If your piano has been tuned since the 20s it undoubtedly has been tuned to A440. The difference in string tension between A435 and A440 is small enough that it is usually not considered a threat to the intregity of a well-built piano.

If your piano has NOT been tuned since the 1920s it will also definitely NOT be at A435, but very likely as much as a whole tone flat, with B4 somewhere near 435 Hz.

Whether or not your piano is tuned at A440 has no relation to its suitability for any particular style of music. The only tuning consideration with regard to various types of music has to do with the type of temperament the piano is tuned in, which has to do with the spacing of the notes rather than the pitch standard at A4. In Europe pianos are tuned to A442 as standard, and music there sounds the same as it does here. The main problem regarding standard pitch has to do with two or more fixed pitch instruments (like the piano) playing together, for example the piano and the vibraphone. Most instruments are not fixed pitch (eg brass or woodwinds) so standard pitch is not so much a problem with them

If this is a piano which you have recently obtained and is newly in your house, you need to have a piano technician tune it for you. The technician will be able to answer any of your questions regarding your piano's actual or theoretical pitch.