William C. Vough's Changeable Pitch Piano

Have you ever wondered why we tune our music to A440 Hertz? Are you curious about small-factory piano makers from the turn of the 20th century? This is the story of one of those piano makers from the early 1900s and its attempt to stabilize the music industry. By designing a piano that could work perfectly at the two competing pitches of the time period, International Pitch and Concert Pitch, without the need for the piano to be re-tuned, William C. Vough had great success in the music industry…at least until the economy collapsed around him.

With the Panic of 1907, which lead to the total restructuring of the monetary system, and the creation of the Federal Reserve, and later continued with the terrors of WWI, Mr. Vough did his best to keep his company afloat.

Along with the story of the Vough Piano Company, this book also contains a look at the refurbishment of a Vough Changeable Pitch Piano for the Crawford House Museum in Tinton Falls, NJ.

This all leads to the question:
DO YOU KNOW WHAT PERFECT PITCH REALLY MEANS?

“Kestrel brings fascinating and refreshing insight into the complex and controversial history of musical pitch in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. William Vough’s pursuit to design and build a changeable pitch piano is one of the most interesting piano design innovations that took place during this period. A must read for anyone interested in the history of the piano.”
-Don McKechnie
   Former Head Piano Technician, Ithaca College

With a foreword by Charles Becker.