Concert pitch

Concert pitch
Pitch Pitch, n. 1. A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand; as, a good pitch in quoits. [1913 Webster]

{Pitch and toss}, a game played by tossing up a coin, and calling ``Heads or tails;'' hence:

{To play pitch and toss with (anything)}, to be careless or trust to luck about it. ``To play pitch and toss with the property of the country.'' --G. Eliot.

{Pitch farthing}. See {Chuck farthing}, under 5th {Chuck}. [1913 Webster]

2. (Cricket) That point of the ground on which the ball pitches or lights when bowled. [1913 Webster]

3. A point or peak; the extreme point or degree of elevation or depression; hence, a limit or bound. [1913 Webster]

Driven headlong from the pitch of heaven, down Into this deep. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Enterprises of great pitch and moment. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

To lowest pitch of abject fortune. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

He lived when learning was at its highest pitch. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

The exact pitch, or limits, where temperance ends. --Sharp. [1913 Webster]

4. Height; stature. [Obs.] --Hudibras. [1913 Webster]

5. A descent; a fall; a thrusting down. [1913 Webster]

6. The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent or slope; slant; as, a steep pitch in the road; the pitch of a roof. [1913 Webster]

7. (Mus.) The relative acuteness or gravity of a tone, determined by the number of vibrations which produce it; the place of any tone upon a scale of high and low. [1913 Webster]

Note: Musical tones with reference to absolute pitch, are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet; with reference to relative pitch, in a series of tones called the scale, they are called one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight is also one of a new scale an octave higher, as one is eight of a scale an octave lower. [1913 Webster]

8. (Mining) The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out. [1913 Webster]

9. (Mech.) (a) The distance from center to center of any two adjacent teeth of gearing, measured on the pitch line; -- called also circular pitch. (b) The length, measured along the axis, of a complete turn of the thread of a screw, or of the helical lines of the blades of a screw propeller. (c) The distance between the centers of holes, as of rivet holes in boiler plates. [1913 Webster]

10. (Elec.) The distance between symmetrically arranged or corresponding parts of an armature, measured along a line, called the pitch line, drawn around its length. Sometimes half of this distance is called the pitch.

{Concert pitch} (Mus.), the standard of pitch used by orchestras, as in concerts, etc.

{Diametral pitch} (Gearing), the distance which bears the same relation to the pitch proper, or circular pitch, that the diameter of a circle bears to its circumference; it is sometimes described by the number expressing the quotient obtained by dividing the number of teeth in a wheel by the diameter of its pitch circle in inches; as, 4 pitch, 8 pitch, etc.

{Pitch chain}, a chain, as one made of metallic plates, adapted for working with a sprocket wheel.

{Pitch line}, or {Pitch circle} (Gearing), an ideal line, in a toothed gear or rack, bearing such a relation to a corresponding line in another gear, with which the former works, that the two lines will have a common velocity as in rolling contact; it usually cuts the teeth at about the middle of their height, and, in a circular gear, is a circle concentric with the axis of the gear; the line, or circle, on which the pitch of teeth is measured.

{Pitch of a roof} (Arch.), the inclination or slope of the sides expressed by the height in parts of the span; as, one half pitch; whole pitch; or by the height in parts of the half span, especially among engineers; or by degrees, as a pitch of 30[deg], of 45[deg], etc.; or by the rise and run, that is, the ratio of the height to the half span; as, a pitch of six rise to ten run. Equilateral pitch is where the two sloping sides with the span form an equilateral triangle.

{Pitch of a plane} (Carp.), the slant of the cutting iron.

{Pitch of poles} (Elec.), the distance between a pair of poles of opposite sign.

{Pitch pipe}, a wind instrument used by choristers in regulating the pitch of a tune.

{Pitch point} (Gearing), the point of contact of the pitch lines of two gears, or of a rack and pinion, which work together. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Concert pitch — refers to the pitch reference to which a group of musical instruments are tuned for a performance. Concert pitch may vary from ensemble to ensemble, and has varied widely over musical history. This is also referred to as the reference frequency… …   Wikipedia

  • Concert pitch — Concert Con cert (k[o^]n s[ e]rt), n. [F. concert, It. concerto, conserto, fr. concertare. See {Concert}, v. t.] 1. Agreement in a design or plan; union formed by mutual communication of opinions and views; accordance in a scheme; harmony;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • concert pitch — n. Music 1. a pitch, slightly higher than the usual pitch, to which concert instruments are sometimes tuned to achieve an increased brilliance of quality 2. the standard pitch to which instruments are tuned and voices are pitched so as to be… …   English World dictionary

  • concert pitch — 1. Music. a standard of pitch used for tuning orchestral instruments, usually established at 440 vibrations per second for A above middle C. 2. a state of heightened eagerness, readiness, or tension: Spring training had brought the athletes up to …   Universalium

  • concert pitch — noun the pitch used to tune instruments for concert performances; usually assigns 440 Hz to the A above middle C • Syn: ↑philharmonic pitch, ↑international pitch • Hypernyms: ↑pitch …   Useful english dictionary

  • concert pitch — con′cert pitch n. 1) mad a standard of pitch used for tuning concert instruments, 440 vibrations per second for A above middle C 2) cvb a state of heightened eagerness, readiness, or tension • Etymology: 1760–70 …   From formal English to slang

  • concert pitch — noun Date: 1767 1. international pitch 2. a high state of fitness, tension, or readiness …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • concert pitch — /ˈkɒnsət pɪtʃ/ (say konsuht pich) noun 1. the standard pitch to which all instruments are tuned, where the frequency of A above middle C is 440 hertz, at 18°C. 2. a state of complete readiness for an event …  

  • concert pitch — noun 1》 Music a standard for the tuning of musical instruments, in which the note A above middle C has a frequency of 440 Hz. 2》 a state of readiness and keenness …   English new terms dictionary

  • Concert — Con cert (k[o^]n s[ e]rt), n. [F. concert, It. concerto, conserto, fr. concertare. See {Concert}, v. t.] 1. Agreement in a design or plan; union formed by mutual communication of opinions and views; accordance in a scheme; harmony; simultaneous… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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