Orchestra Timer
May 23, 2006 1:00 PM Subscribe
Some time ago I went to the Boston Pops reformance. My seat was on the far wing of the first balcony that overlooked the orchestra. One of the performers was operating a large darkroom timer in addition to his instrument. What was he doing with this timer?
All I can think of is it being a dial metronome/tuner and he was checking pitch.
posted by Sangre Azul at 2:23 PM on May 23, 2006
posted by Sangre Azul at 2:23 PM on May 23, 2006
Wild and probably unlikely guess here --
Were you there on one of the evenings when PBS was filming for the 'Evening at the Pops' television program? If so, could it have to do with tracking time constraints?
posted by ericb at 2:26 PM on May 23, 2006
Were you there on one of the evenings when PBS was filming for the 'Evening at the Pops' television program? If so, could it have to do with tracking time constraints?
posted by ericb at 2:26 PM on May 23, 2006
Was the guy with the "timer" the timpanist? (kettle drum player). If so, it may have been a tuner that (s)he was using to adjust the drums. It's unlikely, though. Timpanists usually don't use tuners, especially in performance.
As Mikeh said, an indication of what instrument the person was playing (or even the general family) would be helpful.
posted by rossination at 4:02 PM on May 23, 2006
As Mikeh said, an indication of what instrument the person was playing (or even the general family) would be helpful.
posted by rossination at 4:02 PM on May 23, 2006
If the performance was being recorded for broadcast, he may have been timing the movements and pieces. Timing information is essential for radio and stations, so that they know when the breaks will come.
It used to be that a human would hear the music stop and push a button to start the commercials. Now, it's all preprogrammed into a computer, which therefore needs the exact timing.
posted by KRS at 11:26 AM on May 24, 2006
It used to be that a human would hear the music stop and push a button to start the commercials. Now, it's all preprogrammed into a computer, which therefore needs the exact timing.
posted by KRS at 11:26 AM on May 24, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:17 PM on May 23, 2006