Carl Moberg

The oboe rules the pitch

October 27, 2022
1 minute read

Today I learned that orchestras tune to the oboe, and they tune to ‘A4’ at 440 Hz1.

They do this because the oboe has a penetrating sound, is rich in overtones, and has a very stable pitch by mechanical design.

Now you know.

  1. Some western European orchestras tune to 442 Hz, and some central European orchestras tune to 443 Hz. ↩