A-note Tuning: 440 Hz vs 432 Hz

Vince Migliore

There is a curious movement in some musical circles to use a different frequency

scale for standard notes. In modern times we’ve settled upon a standard centered
on the fundamental of 8 cycles per second, which results in the A note above
middle-C measured at 440 Hz. The alternative to 440 Hz offered by this movement
is to define that A note as 432 Hz., which is slightly lower than the musical
standard. This is sometimes called “Verdi’s A-note” as he preferred the lower tone
so that his singers could more easily reach a high-C.

Ukulele and guitar string frequencies for 440 Hz vs. 432 Hz tuning.
Proponents of this revised structure claim the 432 cycle tone is beneficial

According to Richard Huisken, music tuned to 432 Hz is softer and brighter,

giving greater clarity and is easier on the ears.

According to Ananda Bosman, international researcher and musician, archaic

Egyptian instruments that have been unearthed are largely tuned to A=432Hz.
Ancient Greeks tuned their instruments predominantly to 432Hz.

432 Hz seems to work at the heart chakra, “the feeling”, and therefore could
have a good influence on the spiritual development of the listener.
- https://attunedvibrations.com/432hz/ (1)

These claims might be characterized as subjective and difficult to prove. Some

researchers have offered counter points to each of these statements. (2)
Nevertheless, this switch to 432 Hz appears to be growing in popularity. Some
folks even tuning forks at the frequency which they claim has healing properties.

An internet search on the topic reveals quite an intense debate on the subject. The
best known planetary or “Earth frequency” is called the Schumann Resonance,
which is variable, but resides around 7.83 Hz. This is a bit lower than the 8 Hz
system favored in the movement. If we use the Shumann Resonance of 7.83 a
musical scale, then Verdi’s A-note would be 430.65 Hz: pretty darn close to the
favored 432 Hz frequency.

My next project is to plot out the notes of the musical scale using the 430.65 A-
note to see how that sounds. Stay tuned!
References
(1) Healing frequencies.
https://attunedvibrations.com/432hz/
(2) Music Theory: 432 Hz Tuning - Separating Fact From Fiction
https://ask.audio/articles/music-theory-432-hz-tuning-
separating-fact-from-fiction

(3) Wikipedia Pythagorean tuning

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_tuning
(4) Scientific Pitch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_pitch

(5) Reference Tones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVhZ02wBeJc

(6) Musician discussion

http://got-djent.com/content/a-432-hz-guitar-tuning

(7) New Age discussion

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xywy74/the-
fringe-audiophiles-who-want-to-topple-standard-tuning

(8) Discussion and guitar samples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt3EAPDn-Ug