The 432 Hz tuning history, from Verdi to ancient Greece, is the subject of part 3 of our series on 432 vs 440 Hz. Verdi and many other musicians, like Mozart, tuned their music to this frequency because of its healing energy and the natural ‘feel good’ properties it evoked in the audience.
In fact, Verdi wrote to the Congress of Italian Musicians to have 432 Hz approved as the standard tuning. Subsequently, this was unanimously in 1881 and recommended further by physicists Joseph Sauveur and Felix Savart, as well as by the Italian scientist Bartolomeo Grassi Landi.
However, it wasn’t enough.
This is the part of the 432 Hz tuning history most often quoted. Even though this was approved in Italy at the time, music is not tuned at 432 Hz as standard today.
This is because The American Federation of Musicians accepted the 440 Hz as the standard pitch in 1917.
Then, in 1940, the United States introduced 440 Hz worldwide. London followed suit, and in 1953 440 Hz was approved as the general tuning standard for musical pitch there.
What? I know. Weird.
440 Hz Wins Over 432 Hz as the Modern Standard
Since then, 440 Hz has since stood the test of time, despite geniuses like Verdi and many great producers and composers agreeing that this frequency is disharmonic because it has no scientific relationship to the physical laws that govern our universe.
432 Hz Tuning History: Ancient Greece, Egypt and Tibet
Further evidence of a 432 Hz preference is found in ancient Greece, where instruments associated with Orpheus – the God of Music – were tuned at 432 Hz.
And get this, according to international researcher and musician Ananda Bosman, the majority of instruments unearthed from ancient Egyptian sites are tuned to, yes, you guessed it, A=432 Hz!
The evidence doesn’t stop there, either.
Using a Korg Tuner, like this one, sound researcher Jamie Buturff discovered that many CD recordings of Tibetan monks’ singing bowls were tuned at 432 Hz.
This is undoubtedly because of the frequency’s direct link to Mother Nature and natural ability to make people relax for meditative purposes.
Whatever you make of the 432 Hz tuning history, the debate is a good reminder that pitch standards are a human choice. The Wikipedia article on A440 covers the modern standard in detail. And if you would like to experiment with alternative tunings on your own record, our Sydney studio is happy to oblige.
