432 vs 440

For stringed instruments this was critical as the higher pitch created lots of tuning problems on the old animal based strings. So everyone was pushing the envelope towards the modern 440 when synthetic strings became available.

My take on 432 is very different as it's based on the relationship between the wood of an instrument and your wallet.
By using 432 you have less tension on your stringed instruments, this will keep a cheap wood based instrument tuned better and consistent over time with not much truss rod adjustments.

Since 432 produces less tension on the strings this means less pressure on your finger tips in order to press a string into the fret.
This is critical for beginners with weaker hands. I have not used 440 since 1996, it has always been 432 long before this "Internet" thing about 432 vs 440 started.

The main reason why I choose 432 was based on my classical guitar where I started to learn the first notes on a guitar. At 440 I found that I need more pressure to create the notes so I started to use 432 since it was already an established frequency.

All my electric guitars, acoustics, classical's are all 432 this has everything to do with the instruments, maintenance ( string height action), finger pressure needed so I have less pain on my hands and can produce notes with a more soft approach since less pressure is needed. One of the benefits of 432 is it requires less precise string action adjustments.

 

My original comment, which I've now removed, specifically mentioned that in my personal experience, 432Hz was nicer (fuller) sounding for acoustic guitar.

432Hz tuning may be an issue where calibrated tuning is unavailable. Pre-recorded virtual string instruments may be a good example. Post pitch correction may be another example. I'm not up to scratch on what is possible - I use 440Hz for all things because it works with everything else.

 

Mutherffukker! So I decided to implement your idea. Thankfully I took my least favorite guitar down to the shore of Lake Neuchâtel during a thunderstorm and look what it got me .

 

Pleeeeez stop.
It has been debunked so many times.
On YouTube.
On audiosex
On everything

 

Any idea how or where the myth began?

 

Going from 440 Hz to 432 Hz drops overall tension by such a miniscule amount:

(432/440)^2 = less than 4%, less than 2 kgF across the entire neck.

I don't see how you could possibly meaningfully notice when fretting or how this could meaningfully change the lifespan of the instrument?!

Tuning down just a half-step drops tension by 3 times the amount of going from 440 to 432?!

 

The whole thing has a history that you should know. Personally, I am happy with it as it is. So here is the text of our ancestors:

Development

Until the 19th century, there was no uniform pitch, but rather tuning was done differently depending on the location or region as well as the type of music.

Compared to today's standard concert pitch, the pitches in the 16th century were up to four semitones lower or up to three semitones higher. In the middle of the 18th century, the pitches fluctuated in the range of −2 to +2 semitones and in the middle of the 19th century in the range of −1 to +1 semitone, based on a1 = 440 Hz. In Austria, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, higher pitches were preferred, while in France and England, lower pitches were preferred.

As music life became increasingly interregional and international, the need for a uniform pitch grew. In 1788, Paris first agreed on 409 Hz for the middle a, the (early) Parisian pitch. Later, in 1858, the French Academy under Napoleon III set the concert pitch a′ at 435 Hz (with the term “435 double vibrations per second”), introduced it by law in France and adopted it in neighboring countries.

For Russia, Sweden, Italy and various German states, an international pitch conference in Vienna in 1885 decided on an international standard pitch of 435 Hz. The basis for this determination was a communication from the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna:

 

No, 440 > 432
basic math

 

Because 440 Hz is standard, some people assume that it must be "wrong" by default and that they can outsmart the rest of humanity by tuning differently. 432 Hz is just one of dozens of tunings observed in the past when everyone just tuned to what sounded good to them; somewhere between 400 and 450. The magic crystals crowd coalesced around 432 because it was supposedly Verdi's favourite tuning (and because the earth's electromagnetic field vibes best with 432, bro).

Every tuning, including 440 and 432, is arbitrary and has no meaning in nature. Hz is not a natural scale.. no matter how hard people try to rationalise their tuning choice.

 

Traveling musicians used to tune their instruments to the church bells of a city or village which were all a bit different, and later when pipe organs were utilized in cathedrals, to the organ in that church.

 

Eh, I said it back on page one.

 

Last edited: Feb 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM

440 Hz...my fingers...less pressure...

Your technique matters more...a good doobie helps you get a matrix bullet time effect...

 

Last edited: Feb 3, 2025 at 8:20 PM

I wonder how people with absolute pitch, who are said to be sometimes deeply disturbed by small variations in pitch, managed to survive.

 

I've listened to and bunch of her playing and am most impressed by this 18 year old.

 

Absolute pitch is still a relative thing. As you point out the disturbance is due to deviation from the standard, it doesn't care what the standard is.

 

I guess it still is a world of terror for them, since equal temperament, our current system, introduces up to 16 cents "error" from "mathematically perfect" intonation.

 

Just create atonal music. Then you don't have to worry about any of it

 

I prefer 444hz (+16 cents i think) [which I believe is 528hz] over 432hz (-32 cents) myself and Frequencies do have an effect on the body and some say 440hz was made for nefarious reasons. I'm sure some will of seen the sand on a speaker/vibration plate and playing certain frequencies create amazing patterns. Dr Emoto did some experiments with frozen water crystals and humans are made up of 70% water I believe and his photos are amazing which show even our spoken words make a difference to the water crystals or playing it heavy metal music vs some classical music. Some Frequencies can be healing as some people have experienced with the Rife Machine. If anyone has heard of Tantaria where they built amazing buildings which we can't build the same that were used apparently for (World Fairs), well they destroyed all of the big Church Bells too.


Amazing Resonance Experiment!

 

Last edited: Feb 1, 2025 at 4:51 PM

I've started tuning my 5th octave E:s slightly sharp to 666Hz and now my instruments are possessed. Fuck this noise.