"A" calibrated to 432 Hz

[delaorden9]

hi guys !

Aside those cosmic theories, Goebbels, Pythagoras etc etc... have you ever tried tuning your guitar to 432HZ instead of 440Hz, which is supposed to be the pattern. I have and I always tune it to 432Hz pattern and, in my ears it really sounds much better. I've been following this procedure for years and when I tried to tune it to 440Hz seems like is not equal. What do you think abut it ?
Appreciate your inputs.

[Bikewer]

8 Hz. That's what, 2% difference overall?

My ears are not sensitive enough to decide if a 2% difference makes an instrument sound "much better".

But then, I'm old and I have tinnitus and shooting-related losses. Maybe some folks can.

[delaorden9]

Thanks @Bikewer ... agree partly. I see it not as a 2% but as a feeling of deepness in the chords, you know, like more expansion of the sound, like a natural reverb, maybe quite sensitive to notice but I swear that I do...

[Long Jon]

A friend of my son's does that, Not entirely sure, but I think that's the frequency he chooses for some kind of "cosmic", "natural vibe of the human heart" or some reasons .. Ha ...

He's a good solo player and a nice singer too, but it sounds more than a little off when you try and join in.

[delaorden9]

@Long jon , I thought in the beginning that it was really BS about "cosmic" and natural vibe ... but after a long period experimenting and comparing it to 440HZ I noticed a difference in the overall tone of the chords, understand ? Maybe is my guitar, who knows, or simply I feel more comfortable playing in that cycle.

[Long Jon]

Originally Posted by delaorden9

@Long jon , I thought in the beginning that it was really BS about "cosmic" and natural vibe ... but after a long period experimenting and comparing it to 440HZ I noticed a difference in the overall tone of the chords, understand ? Maybe is my guitar, who knows, or simply I feel more comfortable playing in that cycle.

OK, that's cool for solo, but it puts you out of pitch with the rest of us.
My son's pal tries to get others around him to re-tune, but we're not having any of it !

[mc1]

i often tune to 432 Hz or 1/2 half step down at 415 Hz. i like the sound and the feel, but i can't say i'm too picky about exactly where i am, except i sometimes calibrate the tuner to 430 or 432. i often tune to 440 as well.

it's is kind of weird to switch back and forth between 432 and 440, with two separate guitars, as either one sounds out until you get used to it, then the other sounds out.

[posternutbag]

A=440 hertz is the standard, but it has varied over time and even today, some symphonies tune to something else; 442 hertz seems to be in vogue. That is just a 0.45% change.

[brucefulton]

A used to be around 435 back in the day (the renaissance day, that is). Now, it may be pushing 445 among some orchestras. Experiment and see where you think your instrument sounds best. If you are soloing, it makes a difference only to you. If you are playing in ensemble, then you'll probably want to decide on a pitch!

[DupleMeter]

According to some the "magic" frequency is 417Hz (Swedenborg, I believe).

I don't know about any of that. I know that as a working musician I'm locked into 440 because it still is the tuning standard. Though, some orchestras are pushing it higher...but that's been going on forever...which is how we got to 440 in the first place.

When I was doing the coffeehouse circuit with my trio we used to tune down to 415 (1/2) because of the whole Stradivari thing (his tuning reference was measured to be 415.xx). I did like the lesser tension and the deeper fundamental that tuning down produced. 415 is often referred to as "Baroque Standard".

Can't say I ever tried 432.

[delaorden9]

Understand guys...It is working for me because I play and sing as a solo so I figure that I have adapted myself to the 432 cycle. This only would work if everyone in the band would tune down to 432. But I would recommend to any of you to try and experiment to tune your guitar down to 432...I would like to hear about the experiences. In my ears I feel that the guitar gets a mellower tone. But this also could be something suggestive in the end. I did not read the theories about this cycles frequencies and vibes, but I do believe that there's something on it related to physics, no doubt.

[brucefulton]

There is some info on historical pitch standards at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History..._Western_music

[sirwhale]

I learnt more about this when I came across an interesting worksheet for when I'm teaching sound in my lessons; it states:

International standard pitch in which concert A (the ‘A’ note above ‘middle C’) is tuned to 440 Hz was only adopted in the western world for musicians in 1939. Before this, a number of different pitches were used. In 1859, a French law fixed concert A at 435 Hz. This was a compromise between the audience’s favourite of 450 Hz, which was too high for singers, and 422 Hz, which was the value used by composers such as Mozart and Handel. This law meant that many new wind instruments and tuning forks had to be made. In 1896, the London Philharmonic Orchestra used scientific knowledge to establish its own preferred value of 439 Hz. They believed that when the French set their concert A at 435 Hz, it was to be played at a room temperature of 59 °F (degrees Fahrenheit). However, normal room temperature is 68 °F and the frequency of a sound wave produced by an oboe increases as temperature increases. So they did some calculations to work out what the sound wave frequency of concert A was at 68 °F. They found that it was 439 Hz. The BBC tried to broadcast an electronic version of this note to help orchestras to tune. However, their equipment was based on a crystal that vibrated at 1 000 000 cycles per second. Using the technology of the time, they could only produce sound waves with frequencies where this number could be divided or multiplied with whole numbers. Dividing 1 000 000 by 1000, and then multiplying by 11 and dividing by 25 got as close as they could – 440 Hz. So 440 Hz was broadcast and it has stuck ever since.

[geordie]

be careful with your Hertzies out there, this could happen to you -

[delaorden9]

Originally Posted by geordie

be careful with your Hertzies out there, this could happen to you -

hahahahaha