The "Pitch Perfect Photographs" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Placing the step-ladder in the front of the orchestra room, preparing for the yearbook photo of the 5th grader orchestra at the Landis Run Intermediate School in the Manheim Township School District.  Every year, since the school opened four years ago, I have take the orchestra and band photos of both the 5th and 6th graders.  I place the ladder in the front of the room, directly in the middle of the chairs, and take a photo of the left side of the musical group and then one of the right side of the group.  In the yearbook I place one half on the left page and one half on the right page.  

The Intellitouch PT10 is being used
by this young girl to tune her violin.

Works well and allows me to make the photo slightly larger, thus showing the faces of the musicians a bit more.  Well, my ladder is in place and a few of the students have arrived.  One young girl to my left has her violin in place and has attached a small electronic device to the top of it and seems to be tuning it.  Just then Ted, the music teacher whom I taught with when we both taught at the high school, arrived and checked to see if I was ready.  I asked him about the small device and he showed me exactly what it was and how it worked.  Seems they have been using what is known as the Intellitouch PT10 tuner for many years.  Very simple to use for the students and when they begin their class, they all sound the same.  Tuning an instrument requires that you rely on a tuner that measures vibrations.  

The older traditional tuning fork
is used to tune a piano.

A tuning fork, which is what I remember from years ago, is made to vibrate at 440 Hz which produces what is known to musicians as "concert A".  If you are playing a piano, you would strike the "A" key while ringing the pitch fork.  Well, the young girl that has the miniature electronic tuner attached to her violin is striking the different strings on her instrument and the tuner is telling her the exact pitch based on the vibrations the individual strings make.  That pitch is displayed in the window of the device.  By turning the tuning pegs on her violin she can get the violin in exact pitch.  When all students have their instruments tuned to the exact same pitch, it will keep Ted from pulling out any more of his hair.  

Ted is explaining the tuner by striking a string.

After teaching for close to 30 years, he certainly doesn't need to pull out any more hair.  He also explained to me, while showing me the keyboard of a recently tuned piano, that by striking the "A" key one octave below the 440 vibration "A", that key will vibrate at 220 Hz and the "A" key one octave above the 440 key will vibrate at 880 Hz.  Aren't electronics amazing.  I learn something new just every day!  Now, it is time to use my Digital SLR camera and take the photos I need for the yearbook.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.