4 ms·

Is A440Hz or 432Hz? This to me is a larger question than composition styles.

feoren 3y ago
Literally pick one and then forget about it. Or split the difference and make it 436Hz if you want. It literally does not matter.
- cushpush 3y ago
  It's bold to claim something does not matter without exhaustive evidence to back that up. That is not a scientific view nor a scientific statement.
  - vonjuice 3y ago
    It would be silly to assume otherwise, actually.
  - ink_13 3y ago
    Calling a certain frequency "A4" is also in no way scientific. It's completely arbitrary! Just agree with the other people you're playing with. That's what really matters. Musicality is in ratios, not absolute values.
  - feoren 3y ago
    You said a <2% difference in tuning is a larger question than composition styles. Like, the difference between 440 and 432 is more important than the difference between Baroque, Romantic, Atonal, Beebop Jazz, and Death Metal. "What kind of music do you like?" "Oh literally any genre, as long as it's tuned to A4=440. If it's anything else I hate it." It's difficult for me to respond to such a statement and stay within the HN commenting guidelines. It's strange and surprising that this would be something anyone would ever argue with a straight face. It does not matter. Here's some reasons why: - You can change it at any point. Re-tune your orchestra. Pitch bend your mp3 file in Audacity. It's free to change your mind. Decisions which are free to change do not matter. - Most humans basically don't notice it. The very few that do have a good enough ear to notice it will forget about it within seconds unless your song is extremely boring. If your listeners are focusing on a 2% difference in tuning instead of the content of your song, your song sucks. - Written scores literally do not specify it; that's how little it matters. People do not have this in mind when they write music because it doesn't matter. They write the tempo, the key signature, the exact notes, but they don't write the exact tuning of A4. They don't care.
    - cushpush 3y ago
      Repitching a file and tuning a whole orchestra to 432Hz are qualitatively different, claiming they are equivalent blurs a lot about sample rate and technological limitations in signal processing and signal recreation. Instruments tuned together resonate together, and the Schumann resonance is a fundamental resonance of earth, if you are multiples of that, you are going to resonate better. I think the convention that 440=432 is wrong, dangerous, and unscientific, and the claim that I can't say it with a straight face is weird because there is a paucity of research on how the different tunings affect us and the study of cymatics would suggest harmonious frequencies that live parallel to and not-on the 440Hz interval.
badloginagain 3y ago
Let your ears decide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghUs-84NAAU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghUs-84NAAU
jeffreysmith 3y ago
415!
hellotheretoday 3y ago
440 is the international standard as of around the 18th century iirc. Before that it varies a bit from 430-450hz depending on region and time period. 432 is mostly about preference although its origins go back to setting c as perfect integers. With this tuning c4 is 256hz, c5 512hz, etc whereas at a4=440 c4 is 261.63hz. https://roelsworld.eu/432-tuning/the-scale-of-fifths/ https://roelsworld.eu/432-tuning/the-scale-of-fifths/ this goes far more in depth It’s ultimately just preference though. To that end some symphonies use other options, ny philharmonic uses 442, Boston symphony 441, etc. When I marched and teched drum corp we did 442 because that’s what the marimbas were tuned to plus we performed outside in the cold so going up a touch helped as the cold would generally pull everything flat.
farmeroy 3y ago
Some artists will tune A to be resonant to the room they are in rather than a specific number within 432-444.

Literally pick one and then forget about it. Or split the difference and make it 436Hz if you want. It literally does not matter.

cushpush 3y ago
It's bold to claim something does not matter without exhaustive evidence to back that up. That is not a scientific view nor a scientific statement.
- vonjuice 3y ago
  It would be silly to assume otherwise, actually.
- ink_13 3y ago
  Calling a certain frequency "A4" is also in no way scientific. It's completely arbitrary! Just agree with the other people you're playing with. That's what really matters. Musicality is in ratios, not absolute values.
- feoren 3y ago
  You said a <2% difference in tuning is a larger question than composition styles. Like, the difference between 440 and 432 is more important than the difference between Baroque, Romantic, Atonal, Beebop Jazz, and Death Metal. "What kind of music do you like?" "Oh literally any genre, as long as it's tuned to A4=440. If it's anything else I hate it." It's difficult for me to respond to such a statement and stay within the HN commenting guidelines. It's strange and surprising that this would be something anyone would ever argue with a straight face. It does not matter. Here's some reasons why: - You can change it at any point. Re-tune your orchestra. Pitch bend your mp3 file in Audacity. It's free to change your mind. Decisions which are free to change do not matter. - Most humans basically don't notice it. The very few that do have a good enough ear to notice it will forget about it within seconds unless your song is extremely boring. If your listeners are focusing on a 2% difference in tuning instead of the content of your song, your song sucks. - Written scores literally do not specify it; that's how little it matters. People do not have this in mind when they write music because it doesn't matter. They write the tempo, the key signature, the exact notes, but they don't write the exact tuning of A4. They don't care.
  - cushpush 3y ago
    Repitching a file and tuning a whole orchestra to 432Hz are qualitatively different, claiming they are equivalent blurs a lot about sample rate and technological limitations in signal processing and signal recreation. Instruments tuned together resonate together, and the Schumann resonance is a fundamental resonance of earth, if you are multiples of that, you are going to resonate better. I think the convention that 440=432 is wrong, dangerous, and unscientific, and the claim that I can't say it with a straight face is weird because there is a paucity of research on how the different tunings affect us and the study of cymatics would suggest harmonious frequencies that live parallel to and not-on the 440Hz interval.

badloginagain 3y ago

Let your ears decide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghUs-84NAAU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghUs-84NAAU

jeffreysmith 3y ago

415!

hellotheretoday 3y ago

440 is the international standard as of around the 18th century iirc. Before that it varies a bit from 430-450hz depending on region and time period. 432 is mostly about preference although its origins go back to setting c as perfect integers. With this tuning c4 is 256hz, c5 512hz, etc whereas at a4=440 c4 is 261.63hz. https://roelsworld.eu/432-tuning/the-scale-of-fifths/ https://roelsworld.eu/432-tuning/the-scale-of-fifths/ this goes far more in depth It’s ultimately just preference though. To that end some symphonies use other options, ny philharmonic uses 442, Boston symphony 441, etc. When I marched and teched drum corp we did 442 because that’s what the marimbas were tuned to plus we performed outside in the cold so going up a touch helped as the cold would generally pull everything flat.

farmeroy 3y ago

Some artists will tune A to be resonant to the room they are in rather than a specific number within 432-444.