The great 440 Hz conspiracy, and why all of our music is wrong

WhiteChickens 2019-10-06T09:01

That's not the problem.

The problem is that the music is untalented garbage.

If you think "rap" and modern pop music is good, you're an idiot.

It is the musical equivalent of nursery rhymes.

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CultureOfCritique 2019-10-03T19:21

This article is kind of ridiculous. It claims that 432 Hz is more natural based on... what? Vague references to the golden ratio? Without backing up that claim I don't believe it, and I certainly can't hear a difference in that one tuning sounds "more natural" or better than another. Different orchestras still use tunings other than 440 Hz, and although it sounds slightly different, none of them feel different like one seems like it's "in tune with the Earth" or something.

To me all music is relative to the pitch you start from. That could be an A of 440, or 450, or 432, or whatever. You could even transpose the song to an entirely different key and it would still have the same overall feel.

If you really want to go down a rabbit hole of musical tuning issues, look into how tunings for each note were standardized based on a 12-tone even-tempered scale rather than the true harmonic resonances of each individual key. No chord played on a guitar, piano, etc. will ever have "perfect fifths" or other intervals because each note is slightly detuned to allow the instrument to play in all 12 keys without any "bad intervals". That's why vocal harmonies can sound more resonant and "perfect" than these instruments-- because voices can easily hit those perfect intervals while modern instruments with frets or keys never can.

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CantBuySkills 2019-10-08T17:52

A lot of what this article is referencing (in my opinion) is based off the fact that the human brain emits brainwaves at 432hz, and when music is played at that same frequency, it is more pleasing to the listener. It also kind of plays into chakras as well as other eastern philosophies.

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ScannerDarkly 2019-10-03T04:27

On a Chladni plate, there is a very discernible difference in pattern coherence between the two. Frequencies in the 432 spectrum are more harmonically resonant and generate more stable patterns in the sand.

440 does not divide anywhere near as nicely.

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madhatter67 2019-10-03T11:09

While I believe there is something to the 432Hz thing, the cymatic effect you describe happens if the plate size is related to the wavelength of the signal. Use a plate with edges or radius 432/440 the size and you will get the opposite effect

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Talmuhdick 2019-10-03T04:07

This is the sort of thing that needs a real study to keep the scitzoids away from talking about chakras and Earth vibrations.

If it's better then it's better. I say with digital music it should be easier than ever to break away from conventional sounds in the first place.

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jqueso 2019-10-03T10:38

I think there's probably something to it, but agree that there's a lot of "new age" nonsense associated with it.

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Native 2019-10-03T07:23

I tuned my guitar to 432 and there’s a disernable difference.

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carlip 2019-10-03T01:30

There is literally no discernible difference between 440 and 432

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CultureOfCritique 2019-10-03T19:14

There is a discernible difference if you're a trained musician-- I can hear that one is lower than the other. However, there is no difference to me in the "quality" or "natural-ness" of the music. To me all music sounds essentially the same even if you change the key entirely, or if you tuned A to 450 Hz instead of 440 or 432-- I hear everything relative to the tuning and key the music is based in. I often transpose songs to different keys to make them easier to sing, and yeah it sounds a little different but there's no one key or tuning pitch that sounds more "right" than another.