Jump to content
Why become a member? ×
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt

Using A - 432Hz Tuning


Nodd

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Woodwind said:

 

I wouldn't be able to get my instrument down to 432 without physical modification.

 

I was regularly commissioned to make crooks for bassoonists returning from positions in European orchestras so they could tune to 440 better (for example 442/443 is the norm in Germany).

 

 

Until not that long ago the UK used two pitches 440 and 452(or something close). high Pitch stayed on in brass bands after it had died out in orchestras.

 

If you're enjoying the lower tuning why not go baroque and tune to 415? (Which is basically half a step/semitone down)

 

 


I don’t think an oboe could do it either.

That might be the only valid argument for 432 I’ve ever seen. 
 

Horrible sounding things! 

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, TimR said:

What a load of nonsense. 

 

Octaves based on 8hz are 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 and 512. 

 

People will believe anything it seems. 🤦‍♂️😂


Haven't watched the vid, but if the C=512, then the A can well be 432, depending on the system.
The nonsense is not in the arithmetics, but in the taking random frequencies as being somehow "better".

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BassTractor said:


Haven't watched the vid, but if the C=512, then the A can well be 432, depending on the system.
The nonsense is not in the arithmetics, but in the taking random frequencies as being somehow "better".

 

The video claims that the nautral frequency of 8hz is the resonance of thunder. And our ears have evolved to resonate at certain frequencies because of that. 

 

I didn't watch further than that. 

  • Like 2
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the biggest thing here is to make people doubt, and that easily leads to nonsense, and conspiracy theories = theories created by the uneducated people.

 

Here uneducated means someone who does not know the area s/he tries to explain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TimR said:

The video claims that the natural frequency of 8hz is the resonance of thunder. And our ears have evolved to resonate at certain frequencies because of that. 

 

I didn't watch further than that. 

 

Thanks. You've saved me from wasting time watching it. The "resonance of thunder" = 8hz and this has caused our ears to evolve to resonate at certain frequencies? Oh dear.

Edited by Dan Dare
Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Thanks. You've saved me from wasting time watching it. The "resonance of thunder" = 8hz and this has caused our ears to evolve to resonate at certain frequencies? Oh dear.

 

If you are referring to the Adam Neely video posted at the bottom of the last page, the fact that pitch is essentially arbitrary and A=440Hz was just chosen for consistency/pragmatic reasons is actually his conclusion - he calls the whole 8Hz thing bollocks fairly soon into the video - I did watch the whole thing and found it quite educational.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I was ever to find myself in a band that was popular enough for people to want to cover my songs, I would be seriously contemplating making an album where every song used a different non-A=440 tuning reference.

 

In my first band we had two reed organs neither of which were at A=440, as a result our recording were tuned to three different references - whichever reed organ we were using or a set of pitch pipes if we weren't using either. Since I got my first electronic tuner in 1983, everything I have done has been to A=440, although one of the cassette recorders that we used to make copies of our demos in the 80s ran slightly slow so anyone listening to them on a machine that ran at the correct speed would be hearing the recordings at the wrong pitch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, TimR said:

 

The video claims that the nautral frequency of 8hz is the resonance of thunder. And our ears have evolved to resonate at certain frequencies because of that. 

 

I didn't watch further than that. 

 

Ah, then you missed the bit where he says something along the lines of "everything I've said up until now in this video is complete bull****", then proceeds to explain why, for the rest of the video.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a band in once and their bassist forgot he had his tuner set to 432Hz. Everyone else was tuned to A=440 and I could not figure out what was wrong. In the end I realised after opening the bass track up with the pitch and time tool. It was so subtlety out of tune it was almost nauseating. 

 

I had a solo artist who recorded his album with me. He was well into all sorts of spiritual and conspiracy theories. Anyway, after he'd finished the album, he left me to mix it while he was away. I sent him a first mix and he came back with "Sounding great but have you read about the resonant frequency? Everything should be tuned to 432Hz in order to resonate with the body, can you retuned the album?"

 

Mad that he thought that digitally re-tuning acoustic instruments and vocals would help the music resonate with your body/spirit. Anyway, I did it and he didn't like the result 🤣

  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, knirirr said:

 

Ah, then you missed the bit where he says something along the lines of "everything I've said up until now in this video is complete bull****", then proceeds to explain why, for the rest of the video.

 

The worst kind of click bait then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, itu said:

I think the biggest thing here is to make people doubt, and that easily leads to nonsense, and conspiracy theories = theories created by the uneducated people.

 

Here uneducated means someone who does not know the area s/he tries to explain.

 

 

There are plenty of examples of people educated in the area who nevertheless reject it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course in the days of recording to analogue tape, the final mixes would often be sped up (or very occasionally slowed down) to achieve a better feel when the record was cut without any regard for what it would do to the pitch.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, SimonK said:

 

If you are referring to the Adam Neely video posted at the bottom of the last page, the fact that pitch is essentially arbitrary and A=440Hz was just chosen for consistency/pragmatic reasons is actually his conclusion - he calls the whole 8Hz thing bollocks fairly soon into the video - I did watch the whole thing and found it quite educational.

 

I was trying to think where I'd heard the Schumann resonance mentioned recently - it was in The Listeners[1], and I remember thinking then (it was referred to as an acoustic phenomenon) that as it's an electromagnetic effect, you'd have to have very strange ears to hear it.

 

[1] A recent television series, well worth avoiding

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, SimonK said:

 

If you are referring to the Adam Neely video posted at the bottom of the last page, the fact that pitch is essentially arbitrary and A=440Hz was just chosen for consistency/pragmatic reasons is actually his conclusion - he calls the whole 8Hz thing bollocks fairly soon into the video - I did watch the whole thing and found it quite educational.

 

Quite an old video of his... he can't keep a straight face after a short way in and calls 432Hz out for the nonsense it is. As he says later, pitch standards are essentially arbitrary and A=440Hz was sort of settled on in mid-C20th. As I said in my other post, when I play my viol with other period instruments, we tune to A=415 which is a lot less strain on gut strings. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/12/2024 at 20:05, fretmeister said:


I don’t think an oboe could do it either.

That might be the only valid argument for 432 I’ve ever seen. 
 

Horrible sounding things! 


IMS, technically, they can have different reeds with them so they can tune to a piano or an organ or somesuch, but indeed:
When doing a gig with an orchestra (me on the organ), the oboe player was well grumpy initially, and explained what a hard time she had with this.

Me, I don't really know what the problem is, but at a guess: they're not bringing 60 reeds to cater for a whole range of to-be-expected tuning standards.


Edit: had used the word "fleece" for "reed".
 

Edited by BassTractor
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, BassTractor said:


IMS, technically, they can have different fleeces with them so they can tune to a piano or an organ or somesuch, but indeed:
When doing a gig with an orchestra (me on the organ), the oboe player was well grumpy initially, and explained what a hard time she had with this.

Me, I don't really know what the problem is, but at a guess: they're not bringing 60 fleeces to cater for a whole range of to-be-expected tuning standards.
 

 What are fleeces?


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/12/2024 at 17:10, Woodwind said:

 

I wouldn't be able to get my instrument down to 432 without physical modification.

 

I was regularly commissioned to make crooks for bassoonists returning from positions in European orchestras so they could tune to 440 better (for example 442/443 is the norm in Germany).

 

 

Until not that long ago the UK used two pitches 440 and 452(or something close). high Pitch stayed on in brass bands after it had died out in orchestras.

 

If you're enjoying the lower tuning why not go baroque and tune to 415? (Which is basically half a step/semitone down)

 

 

You have to be careful buying older saxophones and check to see if they are stamped LP or HP. Not an issue if you play on your own, but a big problem if you want to play with other people. 

Edited by zbd1960
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 07/12/2024 at 21:39, MichaelDean said:

The only time I've had to deal with alternate tunings like that was for a band I was planning on auditioning for. They wanted me to record a bassline to a song. I couldn't get in tune with it though. I eventually emailed and he said it was something like 432Hz. I decided then and there that I couldn't be arsed 😅

That's the spirit!😅

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MichaelDean said:

Well, if they're doing something unusual with the tuning and asking me to record something without telling me about it? It didn't leave a good first impression. 

I agreed with you. Just the pointless fannying around would be enough to turn me off.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...