opossum said:Hi All,
I've been experimenting with different tunings for weeks,my interest sparked by this discussion. Although the theories are certainly thought provoking, as my musician friends would put it, "the proof is in the pickin' ".
First I tuned my banjo to A432 which sounded better to me than A440 and did seem calmer and more soothing. However, the songs didn't seem right to me and there was something that sounded a little "off". I tuned back to A440 and was horrified that I could no longer tolerate it and it was very irritating. Back to A432 and again better but a little "off". Then I decided to try A417 and BINGO! As far as I am concerned, this is it for me. I have never heard anything that resonated with my own FRV so well and I am hooked.
Before anyone asks, yes I re-tuned all the strings. I played several songs and they sounded delightful and the intonation "up the neck" was better than when tuned to A440.
Next, in order to test possible healing benefits of vibrations in regard to music or otherwise, I downloaded a frequency generator and spent a few minutes playing frequencies ranging from 1hz (which of course I couldn't hear) to about 200 HZ. For some reason, at a certain frequency at a level inaudible to my ears, a small lump which had been in my underarm for years began to vibrate and has shrunk in size over the last few days. Sadly, I do not remember which frequency it was and will have to repeat the experiment.
Anyway I appreciate this thread even though some of the more detailed explanations left me feeling somewhat dizzy. I would love to know of the results of experimentation by any members.
Jonathan said:I've been reading about this as well, but can't come to any conclusions about who exactly changed the standard tuning from A432 to A440. Some say Bach, some Goebbels, it goes all over the place...
Two interesting bits I found said Verdi's music was composed and originally played at A432, and that the original Stradivarius violins were designed to be tuned to A432.
Also 432 squared is 186,624, which comes close to Einstein's figure for the speed of light - 186,282 miles per second.
Aaand, if you plot the Pythagorean tuning for the C-Major scale on a 360 degree wheel, the wheel is based on 16 divisions, and if you set middle C as 256Hz (A432 tuning), you get 16 sections of 16Hz in the wheel.
One thing that caught my eye was when I calculated the hertz frequencies for the C-Major scale in 432. I posted this on my facebook as well, but here it is... I find it fascinating that the cycles per second work out to whole numbers with A432 and NOT with A440. Seems to make sense that this tuning would "feel better" to the human ear.
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Modern Standard Tuning (A = 440 hz, C = 261.63 hz)
Sources: http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html and http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-notenames.htm
Note Frequency (hz)
- Mid Low (1 octave below middle C)
C 130.81
D 146.83
E 164.81
F 174.61
G 196
A 220
B 246.94
- Mid (middle C)
C 261.63
D 293.66
E 329.63
F 349.23
G 392
A 440
B 493.88
- Mid High (1 octave above middle C)
C 523.25
D 587.33
E 659.26
F 698.46
G 783.99
A 880.00
B 987.77
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Stradivari/Verdi Tuning (A = 432 hz, C = 256 hz)
Calculated using the Pythagorean method of 3:2 ratio for dominants, 11:8 for sub-dominants, 2:1 for octaves.
Note Frequency (hz)
- Mid Low (1 octave below middle C)
C 128
D 144
E 162
F 176
G 192
A 216
B 243
- Mid (middle C)
C 256
D 288
E 324
F 352
G 384
A 432
B 486
- Mid High (1 octave above middle C)
C 512
D 576
E 648
F 704
G 768
A 864
B 972
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edit: WIN32, did you post this originally in baked noodles? it doesn't seem that baked to me...
Gandalf said:Hi kairologic,
Welcome to our forum. :)
We recommend all new members to post an introduction in the Newbies section telling us a bit about themselves, how they found the cass material, and how much of the work here they have read.
You can have a look through that board to see how others have done it.
mkrnhr said:Audacity is a free software that allows to change the pitch. Regardless of the real resonance effects of the 432Hz tunning (could be another frequency after all), it's fun to experiment with no wishful thinking.
opossum said:The link is to purchase the article.