A440 and the Tritone — the Devil's tuning and also His interval too!
Definitely don’t say A440 three times in a row... A440! A440! A…
One of these days I'm for sure gonna do an in-depth post myself about this very subject. Fascinating! I have actually been in live performance situations where followers of the A432 Cult have refused to play with anyone tuned to A440. When asked — why? personally, I've never been given a rational methodical answer or argument that I can follow. Honestly, I am really open to having this explained to me, it's just that no one has ever been able to do that yet. I'm still waiting. Meanwhile, the music history I learned in university (yeah yeah, I know how that sounds, like I know it all) is different to what you point to in your article…
Bach, wrote a compendium of pieces in all keys called (translated into English) The Well-Tempered Clavier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Well-Tempered_Clavier). It was composed in two parts before 1722, and published as a complete work in that year. It was a big deal back then because a/ the idea of a unified system of 24 musical keys was a new, emerging contemporary idea, and Bach was a composer at the forefront of this technique. The Well-Tempered Clavier basically demonstrated how to do this — write in these 24 keys. And b/ because Bach (and other travelling composers of the time) noticed that their works sounded differently in different cities around Europe because there was no agreed system of tuning… there was “Well-temperament” tuning, “Meantone temperament” tuning, and several other competing tuning systems. Not to mention that, let’s say, that the tuning fork used to tune the organ in the cathedral in Heidelberg, would be tuned to a completely different note than the tuning fork used to tune the organ in the cathedral in Saltzburg (for instance).
So… and this is the point… nobody, not even the most experty of experts knows for sure what the A4 note of this piece was intended to be tuned to in 1722!!!!! People have theorised. But no one knows for sure. At very best, and this is still a stretch, experts can say that A4 was somewhere between 420Hz and 460Hz. That's more or less the range of geographical tuning variance for A4 in central Europe at the time (I'm just coming to that now).
And, for sure, almost all music around Europe at that time was tuned differently depending on what city or country you were in… tuning was more linked to what other musicians in your location did, than any unified system. Bach (and other well-travelled composers) recognised this. And The Well-Tempered Clavier was an attempt to establish the 12-note well-tempered tuning system as standard. It worked. It’s what all modern diatonic harmony is based upon (so all the songs by The Beatles, The Beach Boys etc etc).
Add to this that Hertz (Hz), as a unit of measuring frequency cycles was established in 1935, and named after a German who lived in the second half of the 19th century…
I mention this because one of the most popular modern-day New Agey explanations as to why A432 should be the angelic-harmonious standard and not the demonic A440 — is that (and you’re gonna have to google this and delve into it yourselves ‘coz right at this moment the name evades me) someone quite recently (second half of last century) discovered a hidden cypher in the bible that reveals (in Hertz) the exact frequencies (again I emphasise in Hz) of the Solfeggio frequency sequence, which are apparently the notes and pitches that are exactly in tune with the healing energies of the universe. And to align with this A4 needs to be 432Hz. NOT 440Hz — which is out of alignment with this healing frequency sequence. Really? In the Bible, there is a hidden reference to Hertz cycles, a system introduced in 1935????
Let’s be clear, I’m certain about the healing capabilities of electromagnet waves (sound), I don’t dispute that at all. But enough with the fairy tales, the conspiracy theories and the history re-writes. When someone can show me some data and field studies that back up that data, I’ll change from A440 to A432 (or whatever). Until then, I keep an open mind and stay away from the A432 Cult.
One of the reasons I still like REM so much is I consider Michael Stipe's voice as a lead "instrument" on their tracks and not just a unique vocal. It's hard for me to put that into words (pun not intended), but i'm always drawn to the way he uses it.
Second, RIP Dickey Betts. His melodic answers to Duane's fierce stylings on the AB early tracks and liver performances are fantastic. And "Jessica" is still a mainstay on my playlists. Another part of my youth has passed away.
I thought for sure it was going to end up being about a conspiracy that Chordify tries to get money out of artists by adding yellow warning labels..."get your tuning properly standardized or we'll kill this puppy!"
It's amazing that Modern English are still around and doing well. I guess doing well. They are touring, but they all could have major health issues. I don't want to assume the wellness of others.
Anyway, fun piece and I read more guitar tech stuff than I usually do!
A440 and the Tritone — the Devil's tuning and also His interval too!
Definitely don’t say A440 three times in a row... A440! A440! A…
One of these days I'm for sure gonna do an in-depth post myself about this very subject. Fascinating! I have actually been in live performance situations where followers of the A432 Cult have refused to play with anyone tuned to A440. When asked — why? personally, I've never been given a rational methodical answer or argument that I can follow. Honestly, I am really open to having this explained to me, it's just that no one has ever been able to do that yet. I'm still waiting. Meanwhile, the music history I learned in university (yeah yeah, I know how that sounds, like I know it all) is different to what you point to in your article…
Bach, wrote a compendium of pieces in all keys called (translated into English) The Well-Tempered Clavier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Well-Tempered_Clavier). It was composed in two parts before 1722, and published as a complete work in that year. It was a big deal back then because a/ the idea of a unified system of 24 musical keys was a new, emerging contemporary idea, and Bach was a composer at the forefront of this technique. The Well-Tempered Clavier basically demonstrated how to do this — write in these 24 keys. And b/ because Bach (and other travelling composers of the time) noticed that their works sounded differently in different cities around Europe because there was no agreed system of tuning… there was “Well-temperament” tuning, “Meantone temperament” tuning, and several other competing tuning systems. Not to mention that, let’s say, that the tuning fork used to tune the organ in the cathedral in Heidelberg, would be tuned to a completely different note than the tuning fork used to tune the organ in the cathedral in Saltzburg (for instance).
So… and this is the point… nobody, not even the most experty of experts knows for sure what the A4 note of this piece was intended to be tuned to in 1722!!!!! People have theorised. But no one knows for sure. At very best, and this is still a stretch, experts can say that A4 was somewhere between 420Hz and 460Hz. That's more or less the range of geographical tuning variance for A4 in central Europe at the time (I'm just coming to that now).
And, for sure, almost all music around Europe at that time was tuned differently depending on what city or country you were in… tuning was more linked to what other musicians in your location did, than any unified system. Bach (and other well-travelled composers) recognised this. And The Well-Tempered Clavier was an attempt to establish the 12-note well-tempered tuning system as standard. It worked. It’s what all modern diatonic harmony is based upon (so all the songs by The Beatles, The Beach Boys etc etc).
Add to this that Hertz (Hz), as a unit of measuring frequency cycles was established in 1935, and named after a German who lived in the second half of the 19th century…
I mention this because one of the most popular modern-day New Agey explanations as to why A432 should be the angelic-harmonious standard and not the demonic A440 — is that (and you’re gonna have to google this and delve into it yourselves ‘coz right at this moment the name evades me) someone quite recently (second half of last century) discovered a hidden cypher in the bible that reveals (in Hertz) the exact frequencies (again I emphasise in Hz) of the Solfeggio frequency sequence, which are apparently the notes and pitches that are exactly in tune with the healing energies of the universe. And to align with this A4 needs to be 432Hz. NOT 440Hz — which is out of alignment with this healing frequency sequence. Really? In the Bible, there is a hidden reference to Hertz cycles, a system introduced in 1935????
Let’s be clear, I’m certain about the healing capabilities of electromagnet waves (sound), I don’t dispute that at all. But enough with the fairy tales, the conspiracy theories and the history re-writes. When someone can show me some data and field studies that back up that data, I’ll change from A440 to A432 (or whatever). Until then, I keep an open mind and stay away from the A432 Cult.
A couple of comments ...
One of the reasons I still like REM so much is I consider Michael Stipe's voice as a lead "instrument" on their tracks and not just a unique vocal. It's hard for me to put that into words (pun not intended), but i'm always drawn to the way he uses it.
Second, RIP Dickey Betts. His melodic answers to Duane's fierce stylings on the AB early tracks and liver performances are fantastic. And "Jessica" is still a mainstay on my playlists. Another part of my youth has passed away.
I thought for sure it was going to end up being about a conspiracy that Chordify tries to get money out of artists by adding yellow warning labels..."get your tuning properly standardized or we'll kill this puppy!"
It's amazing that Modern English are still around and doing well. I guess doing well. They are touring, but they all could have major health issues. I don't want to assume the wellness of others.
Anyway, fun piece and I read more guitar tech stuff than I usually do!
Haha - nice try! I won’t be baited into yet another copyright post!