In that place between physical frequencies and brains there is some appreciation that different tuning standards feel different. I play a lot at A=440, but I a

In that place between physical frequencies and brains there is some appreciation that different tuning standards feel different. I play a lot at A=440, but I also play a lot at A=415 - mostly on the viola da gamba. A=415 is roughly one semitone lower, and it changes the way the instruments resonate. My viol happens to sound good at either pitch, but as an ensemble we find that when we're playing at A=440 the whole sound doesn't blend in quite the same satisfying way. This is due to the construction of the instruments themselves, but also just how those slightly lower pitches sound. Oh and recorders built to A=415 just sound great. I think that slightly bigger body gives them the chance to produce a richer resonance, but then again you also don't find cheap plastic recorders (or cheap wooden ones) built at A=415 because only "serious" players go looking for those instruments. One nitpick on the article though - historical tunings don't range from A=415, my recorder teacher has two flutes at what is sometimes called "French baroque pitch" - that's A=392!