COPElAND & lONG | 247
that sounded more in tune. In sum, it is possible that all three of the routines involved in play-
ing the recorded melodies were coded by someone other than Strachey—although naturally all
were inspired by his pioneering routine for God Save the King.
Restoring the recording
Our frequency analysis of the BBC recording revealed that the recorded music was in fact play-
ing at an incorrect speed. This was most likely a result of the turntable in the BBC recording van
running too fast while the acetate disc was being cut. (Achieving speed constancy was always
a problem with the BBC’s standard mobile recording equipment, whose mechanical cutter
gouged out a groove in the rotating disc.^59 ) So when the disc was played back, at the standard
speed of 78 r.p.m.,^60 the frequencies were systematically shifted. It is those shifted frequencies,
rather than the frequencies that the computer actually played, that we found in the National
Sound Archive’s digital copy of the recording.
Thus it became apparent to us that what we had thought was a tolerably accurate record of
how the computer sounded in fact was not. The effect of the frequency shifts was so severe that
the sounds in the recording often bore only a very loose relationship to the sounds that the
computer actually produced. So distant was the recording from the original that many of the
recorded frequencies were actually ones that it was impossible for the Mark II to play.
Table 23.3 The primary note-loops used to play God Save the king.Note Beats Primary note-loop
F♯ 2 42 <3H, 4×7, 5×2>
G 2 40 <3H, 4×9>
A 2 36 <3H, 4×3, 5×4>
B 2 32 <3H, 4×7>
C 3 30 <3H, 4×4, 5×2>
D 3 26 <3H, 4×3, 5×2>
E 3 24 <3H, 4×5>Table 23.4 The primary note-loops for additional notes in the
melodies Baa Baa Black Sheep and In the mood.
Note Beats Primary note-loop
C♯ 3 28 <3H, 4×6>
F♯ 3 21 <3H, 4×3, 5>
G 3 20 <3H, 4×4>
A 3 17 <3H, 4×2, 5>