A growing number of people are tuning their instruments to A=432Hz instead of the standard A=440Hz. Not a coincidence. A quieter signal, a softer landing.
The world of music and harmony is increasingly stirred by the vibrations of the 432Hz frequency. Many people experience an instrument tuned to 432Hz as more pleasant and calming to their senses and hearing.
The music enters more softly and guides the listener toward a deep sense of inner peace and self-discovery.
Every idea that deviates slightly from the established norm invites a countermovement. Piano tuners are trained on 440Hz. Suggest tuning to 432Hz and they look at you strangely. But that is precisely what creates an opportunity for dialogue, exploration, and perhaps a little magic.
When a situation does not allow for 432Hz, I prefer 442Hz or 444Hz over returning to 440Hz. At a tuning of 444Hz, the C lands exactly on 528Hz — a frequency known in sound healing circles as the 'miracle tone'. A small adjustment with a deep background.
The journey toward a standardized tuning has a rich history. The first significant step was taken in 1859. But that was not immediately 440 Hz.
Stradivarius, Verdi and Mozart all worked with tunings closer to 432 Hz. Verdi's preference for this tuning even led to the label “Verdi tuning”. He was also concerned that increasing pitch inflation placed a burden on singers' voices.
The eventual standardization to 440 Hz in 1939 was the result of a search for a clearer, more projecting sound suited to larger concert halls and new technology.
Swiss mathematician Hans Cousto started from the orbital period of the Earth around the sun: one year, 365.25 days. He transposed that upward through successive octaves until it became an audible frequency. After 32 steps you arrive at 136.10 Hz.
That does not make it a sound the Earth literally produces. But it is the same tone, 32 octaves higher. When we visualize that orbital period, a sine wave emerges: a vibration that forms the basis of the calculation.
In sound healing and certain yoga traditions, 136.10 Hz is called the Ohm frequency, a reference to the primordial sound Om from Vedic philosophy. When a piano is tuned so that C# falls exactly on 136.10 Hz, the fourth A lands precisely on 432 Hz. Two systems arrive at the same point.
136.10 Hz sits comfortably in the human hearing range. It works exceptionally well as a drone. It has a calm relationship within a tuned system. The intention with which you listen also counts: the attention, the breath, the space you allow. That is no less real than the physics.
In Indian classical music, C# is one of the most commonly used base tones for the tanpura, the drone instrument that sounds beneath the entire music. Tuned by ear, passed down through generations. That C# sits remarkably close to 136.10 Hz.
On the other side of the world you encounter the same tone in didgeridoos. A large portion of the didgeridoos made and played worldwide are tuned to C# or Db — often very close to 136.10 Hz. Whether that emerged purely acoustically or was chosen deliberately by makers, I leave open. What remains is this: it is the tone people keep returning to.
During one of my listening evenings we sat with a group of people in a circle. I gave one instruction: find the tone of the Earth and sing it. No explanation beforehand, no example. Everyone sang the tone they heard from within.
The group converged around C#. Not exactly measured, but unmistakably close. You could call it coincidence. I no longer do.
Almost all my music is recorded in 432 Hz. All my pianos have been tuned this way for over twenty years, at concerts, sessions and recordings alike. No post-processing. The frequency lives in the instruments themselves.
All my pianos have been tuned to 432 Hz for over twenty years. Acoustic and digital, at home and on location, for concerts and sessions alike. Not an experiment. Not a trend. Simply the choice I made then and have never revisited.
Do you want to truly feel the 432 Hz frequency in your body? Listen to my music, or come for a personal session. I tune into your essence and play music that reflects it.
Want your own piano tuned to 432 Hz? Give your tuner an A=432Hz tuning fork. A skilled tuner with a good ear can work with this. Tuning forks and other 432 Hz products are available in the 432 Hz shop.
The tones 432Hz and 136.10Hz are more than just numbers in the musical spectrum. They form an echo of the deeper resonances and rhythms inherent to our Earth and our own energetic system.
Reading gets you this far. The rest you only feel when you are there.
For further exploration or discussions about this subject I am available. Also for personal sessions or retreats.