Tuning: 440 Hz to 432 Hz

[Silence Dogood]

Ok, I've been using the 432 pitch/tuning/thing for a while.  I can't tell if it's helped me (e.g. healed me, made me more sane, etc), but I can say it's not harmed me.  I enjoy the lush and more mellow tone, and a bit less tension is always a plus for me.  I think I like it. 

[ducktrapper]

Ok, I've been using the 432 pitch/tuning/thing for a while.  I can't tell if it's helped me (e.g. healed me, made me more sane, etc), but I can say it's not harmed me.  I enjoy the lush and more mellow tone, and a bit less tension is always a plus for me.  I think I like it.

Cool. Any tuning works fine if you're not playing with others.

[CelticDave]

I've been watching some YT videos on this and have listened to some of the music tuned to this lower pitch.  I'm not interested in the conspiracies that go along with the topic, but the sound is very intriguing.  I'm thinking of trying it out soon.  Have any of you messed around with this 432 tuning?

I've performed mostly 1/2 step down since my teens, which isn't far off from 432Hz. 432Hz sounds and feels natural to me and works great with my voice. Where it becomes challenging is learning new songs from records, vids, etc. and playing along with others.

I'm looking to put together a group soon and hope they'll be up for exploring 432Hz.

[ducktrapper]

My telecaster and amp sit unused, and it gives me guilt. I find that although I love the idea of electric guitar, it's a bit boring playing it alone. I'm also very lazy, and I can't be bothered with foot switches and tone knobs. 

Put an album on and turn it up. Play along. Band in a box?

[Silence Dogood]

I've performed mostly 1/2 step down since my teens, which isn't far off from 432Hz. 432Hz sounds and feels natural to me and works great with my voice. Where it becomes challenging is learning new songs from records, vids, etc. and playing along with others.

I'm looking to put together a group soon and hope they'll be up for exploring 432Hz.

Cool.

I started this thread back in Dec and have been using 432 Hz since then pretty much exclusively.  I love it and think my guitar sounds better than ever.  I begin by tuning down a full step while in 440, and then going down to 432.  I'd actually like to tune down another half step but can tell I'll need a trip to the luthier for some setup work if that is to happen.  Lower tunings are just wonderful and open up so many more tonal varieties in a good acoustic guitar.  I'm to the point now that when I hear guitars in standard tuning, they sound stifled and restricted.  Everything is just too tight and sounds like it needs to settle down and breathe a bit. 

As you pointed out, learning songs on recordings and YT, etc, is a pain in this tuning, and it takes a bit more work. 

Another thing you pointed out was singing.  432 has taken my singing to another level.  It's just so much easier and more enjoyable in the slightly lower pitch. 

Putting together a group that was playing in that tuning would be really cool. 

[ducktrapper]

Thias

Cool.

I started this thread back in Dec and have been using 432 Hz since then pretty much exclusively.  I love it and think my guitar sounds better than ever.  I begin by tuning down a full step while in 440, and then going down to 432.  I'd actually like to tune down another half step but can tell I'll need a trip to the luthier for some setup work if that is to happen.  Lower tunings are just wonderful and open up so many more tonal varieties in a good acoustic guitar.  I'm to the point now that when I hear guitars in standard tuning, they sound stifled and restricted.  Everything is just too tight and sounds like it needs to settle down and breathe a bit. 

As you pointed out, learning songs on recordings and YT, etc, is a pain in this tuning, and it takes a bit more work. 

Another thing you pointed out was singing.  432 has taken my singing to another level.  It's just so much easier and more enjoyable in the slightly lower pitch. 

Putting together a group that was playing in that tuning would be really cool. 

This is why I own so many guitars. You can do different things with them and still have one that plays well with others without a fuss. They are tools, after all.

[Paraclete]

It's weird because I actually had my LSV tuned in 432 and a half step down.  I prefer it that way, (but playing in church requires the usual standard 440 when I'm playing with others, especially the piano and flute!) But it drives me absolutely crazy on my classical guitar because it sounds unbearably flat to my near-perfect pitch ear!

[Silence Dogood]

It's weird because I actually had my LSV tuned in 432 and a half step down.  I prefer it that way, (but playing in church requires the usual standard 440 when I'm playing with others, especially the piano and flute!) But it drives me absolutely crazy on my classical guitar because it sounds unbearably flat to my near-perfect pitch ear!

Which drives you nuts on the classical: 440 or 432?  Your post is a bit confusing.  I'd love to hear more about your experiences. 

[Paraclete]

Which drives you nuts on the classical: 440 or 432?  Your post is a bit confusing.  I'd love to hear more about your experiences. 

432.  My sense of pitch is really good, probably perfect pitch territory.  So I am trained to 440 as a classical violinist.  432 is painfully flat!

[Silence Dogood]

Here is an update on all this 432 stuff.  Each year I take my guitar to a weekend-long Xmas party some friends put on.  My wife and sis-in-law always sing carols while I accompany them on guitar. We recently got together to go through the Xmas songs and my guitar was in 432.  It threw off their usual performance of the songs and they kept wondering what was going on. They knew something was off but they couldn't put a finger on it. I told them I was in a different tuning/pitch.  I then went back to 440 and it fixed everything.  Very strange!

[StringPicker6]

That's fascinating! I feel like I have a bad ear since I have never even paid attention to slight tuning variations

[ducktrapper]

I am a bit of a tuning fanatic but I believe relative pitch is more important than perfect pitch. As long as the guitar is in tune with itself and those who you are playing with, in most cases, it will sound just fine. Of course, there are those who say that because of the intrinsic nature of the guitar, it is never truly in tune. I'm not that picky. 

[B0WIE]

Here is an update on all this 432 stuff.  Each year I take my guitar to a weekend-long Xmas party some friends put on.  My wife and sis-in-law always sing carols while I accompany them on guitar. We recently got together to go through the Xmas songs and my guitar was in 432.  It threw off their usual performance of the songs and they kept wondering what was going on. They knew something was off but they couldn't put a finger on it. I told them I was in a different tuning/pitch.  I then went back to 440 and it fixed everything.  Very strange!

Not sure what you meant by "strange". When a guitar is that flat it's usually pretty obvious something is off.

Like Duck said, it's all about relative pitch. Probably sounds normal on your own but will be terrible when blended with 440.

[Silence Dogood]

Not sure what you meant by "strange". When a guitar is that flat it's usually pretty obvious something is off.

Like Duck said, it's all about relative pitch. Probably sounds normal on your own but will be terrible when blended with 440.

I thought it was strange that it threw off their vocals so much.  They are both great singers and I figured they'd just naturally latch onto the pitch of the guitar, but it changed the way they sing together.  The best way I can describe it is that it took some of the "shimmer" off their harmonies.  I really like the lower pitch but I guess it doesn't work for everything. 

The Xmas party is in a couple weeks and I'll use 440 for it.  It was a nice change putting it back in 440 for me as well.  It seems to bring back a slight sparkle that's missing in 432.  All very interesting stuff (to me). 

[ducktrapper]

I thought it was strange that it threw off their vocals so much.  They are both great singers and I figured they'd just naturally latch onto the pitch of the guitar, but it changed the way they sing together.  The best way I can describe it is that it took some of the "shimmer" off their harmonies.  I really like the lower pitch but I guess it doesn't work for everything. 

The Xmas party is in a couple weeks and I'll use 440 for it.  It was a nice change putting it back in 440 for me as well.  It seems to bring back a slight sparkle that's missing in 432.  All very interesting stuff (to me). 

Well, of course, you get used to singing in a certain key and, if not tuned to concert pitch, the key has changed. That can throw you off, especially harmonies. 

[B0WIE]

Muscle memory. It's linked to everything we do with our bodies. Singing particularly relies on it. This is why I dislike venturing away from 440.

[ducktrapper]

I think I'm finding that if I tune down a half step to sing certain songs, when I tune back up to concert pitch, it has helped me in that I can hit notes more easily now a half step higher. Or is that all in my head?

[Silence Dogood]

I think I'm finding that if I tune down a half step to sing certain songs, when I tune back up to concert pitch, it has helped me in that I can hit notes more easily now a half step higher. Or is that all in my head?

That absolutely happens.  It helps to stretch and exercise your vox. 

[ducktrapper]

That absolutely happens.  It helps to stretch and exercise your vox. 

True but I wonder if it's also an ear thing. You can't hear the notes, or especially the intervals, correctly if you can't sing it correctly. Intervals being as important as the notes, that is. Once you're singing the intervals correctly, it becomes easier to raise the pitch and still do it?

[B0WIE]

I think I'm finding that if I tune down a half step to sing certain songs, when I tune back up to concert pitch, it has helped me in that I can hit notes more easily now a half step higher. Or is that all in my head?

Range is such a weird, psychological thing. If I hear a singer straining and I try to sing that song, I can't stop myself from straining while that song is playing.

I do similar tricks like you do. I'll even go down an octave so my throat gets big and relaxed, then go back up and try to maintain that relaxed state, and it helps a lot.

My vocal coaches used to have me replace the vowels with ones that are easier to sing, like "Ah". Then, go back and sing it correctly after I've hit all the notes with the easy vowels. Or, they would run a scale and say, "You just went higher than that note you are having trouble with" and leaping that psychological hurdle was all I needed.