Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Can tuning guqin to A=432 Hertz improve your mood?

According to an article, if you tune a musical instrument to A=432Hz (instead of the ISO standard A=440Hz), your mood may improve. haha.. it sounds very interesting!
[Special thanks to Mr. Kenny Leong for sharing this interesting article on Fb!]

So, being a curious cat, I recorded these 2 audio samples.

Please listen to the 2 audio samples below and try to observe if you can hear a difference? *smile*


Audio sample with A=432Hz
Please listen to audio recording of my guqin tuned to A=432Hz (relative to thickest 1st string tuned to A-sharp, also known as B-flat).





Audio sample with A=440Hz
Next, please listen to audio recording of my guqin tuned to A=440Hz (relative to thickest 1st string tuned to A-sharp, also known as B-flat). Can you tell which audio sample sounds lower? Which sounds slightly higher? *smile*




B-flat is a common tuning for silk strings. It is also displayed on the electronic chromatic tuner as A-sharp.

Method: First, I plucked the thickest 1st silk string on my guqin. The chromatic tuner displayed A-sharp at 432Hz. Subsequently, I adjusted the measuring frequency on the electronic tuner to 440Hz and I plucked the same thickest 1st string on the guqin again (without touching or turning the tuning peg at all) and I observed what was displayed on the electronic tuner.

Observation: At 432Hz, A-sharp is equal to a very slightly flatted A-sharp at 440Hz. In other words, the difference is only very small. *smile*


Photo of equipment I used to record the audio samples at 432Hz and 440Hz respectively. *smile* They include a guqin with Tobaya silk strings, a lavalier microphone inserted into the larger sound hole under the guqin, a Sony audio recorder, and an Ibanez brand chromatic electronic tuner with a Seiko brand vibration-senstive clip.


Well, hahaha.... whatever it may be.... from now on, I'd try to always tune my guqin to A=432 Hertz and see if my mood improves when I play it. *smile*


1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this experiment
    ... Even though it was aong time ago I am happy to find any info about the guqin.
    I find the difference between 440 and 432 subtle, more a subconscious effect.... Before i knew about 440 and 432 I always found that my stringed instruments 'feel' better and resonance much nicer when slightly 'detuned'
    Now i have learnt about 432 and on a practical note.... I just started to learn the guqin (nylon / steel string low note tuned to C). Being a fretless instrument and exploring my way around the position of notes. I find that tuning to 432 makes the notes sit more perfectly on the dots. I think 432 is more natural vibration for the human spirit and for mathematics.
    Gratitude

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