Musiktheorie: 432 Hz - Die Trennung von Fakten und Fiktionen (2024)

Strange how Antonio Stradivari, who lived between 1600 and 1700, was able to build violins in resonant proportions of the harmonic scale that sees A=432Hz (ask a luthier how the proportions of an instrument have to do with the tension of the strings and their vibrational frequency), for example...

Strange how Pythagoras with his monochord was using frequencies concerning the mathematics of 8, using as a reference the8 Hz (third octave above the starting point of 1Hz, from where climbing some octaves up the ladder we get a frequency of 256Hz, which corresponds to a C in the scale where A has a frequency of 432Hz) for therapeutic purposes... In ancient Greece, as already earlier in ancient China, sound was used as medicine, and not for entertainment purposes as today (while we are (re)discovering more and more the therapeutic sound power)...

Strange how in ancient Egypt they were able to build the great Pyramid of in the proportions of the harmonics of 432, and used stones that resonate at 432Hz, like those of many other prehistoric constructions such as Stonegenge or african sound stones...

These are just three examples (everyone is free to make their own research), but it is clear that even before the invention of the tonometer and the modern possibility to measure cycles per second,, thanks to astronomical observations, mathematics, or other, some cultures found a way to measure sound, or to define it, and check its effect on living beings and matter…

The implications and parallels between the microcosm at the molecular and atomic level, and the macrocosm in relation to the measures and distances of the planets and, through the discovery of Cymatics, with sacred geometry and the platonic solids, have only been rediscovered in modern times, but several great cultures of the past already had this knowledge!

Tuning systems such as the Equal Temperament and others, are applicable starting from a pitch of note, as is the A, at any frequency arbitrarily established, while the 432Hz Concert Pitch is called "Scientific Tuning" because of its correlations with mathematics, nature and the universe.

Consider that in the past, every family that was building musical instruments, before the mass production started, had its own pitch of intonation, as I was told by a musicologist, which varied from one family to another, according to what each luthier felt to be more correct... For example, some tuned their instruments to the singing of the birds. Every time a new instrument was built, it was tune to the previous one so that they could play together!

Giuseppe Verdi at one point decided to tune the note A to 432Hz because he had understood its mathematical and scientific implications (and not for cosmic and / or spiritual reasons)...

At a certain point of history, with the beginning of globalization on a musical level, and the development of industrial mass production of musical instruments, an international standardization was necessary, so that musicians of different nations could play together.
PS: See the intonation of Spanish Baroque music that was even at 415Hz... ;)

It is true that the brainwaves show a wide range of frequencies, but it is at 8Hz that the left and right hemispheres are working in perfect sync ...

Cymatics do not provide proof images that 432Hz is the frequency of the water or the universe (as written in the article).
It simply makes the effect of sound on matter visible, and the fact that certain harmonic frequencies form more precise patterns than other frequencies.., be they water waves or sand / salt designs on a metal plate.

It is curious that the global trend among orchestra musicians is to further raise the intonation frequency: In the US they are using frequencies between 444 and 450Hz, which implies, for example, that Pianos need to be reinforced of the with steel plates (to resist to the string's higher tension), and the life-span of concert Harps is reduced to a few years (as the extreme tension of the strings shortens the column)… In fact, we notice how the wood used to build these instruments, shows us the frequency of the natural concert pitch that should be used!

In the same way, a higher concert pitch frequency affects the vocal cords of the lyric singers, that see their vocal chords irreparably damaged after only a few years (and singers that can produce such high-pitched sounds are rare).

However music is also a personal experience and a matter of taste, hearing and individual sensitivity.

I personally prefer music tuned to A = 423Hz :) and I also have been able to notice a big difference for its calming and centering effect on hyperactive and autistic children…

Musiktheorie: 432 Hz - Die Trennung von Fakten und Fiktionen (2024)
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