What is it about electronic music that makes it impossible for some to stand still?
What is it about country music that makes others want to throw wherever the sound is coming from out the nearest window? What is it about 432 Hz that makes us feel so relaxed?
Music is a force to be reckoned with. Certain songs bring you to tears while others get you exhilarated and inspired for a once dreaded workout. People create playlists for when they’re downhearted, happy and almost every emotion in-between.
Music affects more than your psyche, as well. It is also known to affect internal functions like blood pressure, speed or slow down your heart rate, reduce anxiety and even help with digestion, amongst many other things.
Well in short, it’s all about frequencies and, the way we feel, the way the brain responds when we listen, depends on the combination of frequencies in the track. This is known as the frequency response
This simple theory will help you understand the fuss surrounding the slightly more complicated theory of the power of 432 Hz.
Understanding the Earth’s Heartbeat – The Schumann Resonance
To understand this whole 432 Hz thing, we need to first learn about the Schumann Resonance, which will ultimately explain this number’s importance.
German physicist Winfried Otto Schumann documented the Schumann Resonance in 1952. He understood that global electromagnetic resonances exist within the cavity between the Earth’s surface and the inner edge of the ionosphere and are excited and activated by lightning.
He determined that the frequency of these electromagnetic waves are very low, ranging anywhere from 7.86 Hz to 8 Hz.
This frequency is essentially the Earth’s heartbeat; the frequency the Earth beats at.
Now, 432 Hz resonates with the frequency of 8 Hz. And here’s how…
On the musical scale where A has a frequency of 440 Hz, the note C is at about 261.656 Hz.
On the other hand, if we take 8 Hz as our starting point and work upwards by five octaves (i.e. by the seven notes in the scale five times), we reach a frequency of 256 Hz in whose scale the note A has a frequency of 432 Hz (Source: Attuned Vibrations).
This frequency, which is at the top end of the Theta range and at the start of the Alpha range, makes us feel very relaxed but conscious and open to intuitive learning.
Listening to a concentrated recording of music at this frequency, like a binaural beats track, will synchronize (entrain) the brain to this state and induce the aforementioned effects.
Think for a moment about all the frequencies that travel through your brain in a given day: cell phones, Wi-Fi, radio and microwaves. All these exist at different frequencies and pull our brain from one frequency to the next.
The brain is on a constant yo-yo, being pinged at by different frequencies: it’s no wonder these devices emitting artificial electromagnetic radiation have been linked to cancer, depression and insomnia.
So it makes sense that if we spent more time being attuned to the natural electromagnetic pulses of the earth (the heartbeat of Mother Nature) – at 432 Hz – we would, in turn, feel more centered, balanced, conscious and peaceful.
The Feel-Good 432 Hz versus the Adopted Commercial Standard 440 Hz
Okay, so now we understand that, why the hell isn’t all music tuned to 432 Hz!
Well, it has been during some periods, and many greats have lobbied for it, but it didn’t work out that way. And here’s why…
According to music theory, A=432 Hz is mathematically consistent with the universe. This is known as Verdi’s ‘A’ – named after Giuseppe Verdi, a famous Italian composer.
Verdi and many other musicians, like Mozart, tuned their music to this frequency because of its healing energy and the natural ‘feel good’ properties it evoked in the audience.
In fact, Verdi wrote to the Congress of Italian Musicians to have 432 Hz approved as the standard tuning. Subsequently, this was unanimously in 1881 and recommended further by physicists Joseph Sauveur and Felix Savart, as well as by the Italian scientist Bartolomeo Grassi Landi.
However, it wasn’t enough. Even though this was approved in Italy at the time, music is not tuned at 432 Hz as standard today.
This is because The American Federation of Musicians accepted the 440 Hz as the standard pitch in 1917.
Then, in 1940, the United States introduced 440 Hz worldwide. London followed suit, and in 1953 440 Hz was approved as the general tuning standard for musical pitch there.
What? I know. Weird.
Since then, 440 Hz has since stood the test of time, despite geniuses like Verdi and many great producers and composers agreeing that this frequency is disharmonic because it has no scientific relationship to the physical laws that govern our universe.
The Historical Use of 432 Hz in Ancient Greece, Egypt & Tibet
Further evidence of a 432 Hz preference is found in ancient Greece, where instruments associated with Orpheus – the God of Music – were tuned at 432 Hz.
And get this, according to international researcher and musician Ananda Bosman, the majority of instruments unearthed from ancient Egyptian sites are tuned to, yes, you guessed it, A=432 Hz!
The evidence doesn’t stop there, either. Using a Korg Tuner, sound researcher Jamie Buturff discovered that many CD recordings of Tibetan monks’ singing bowls were tuned at 432 Hz.
This is undoubtedly because of the frequency’s direct link to Mother Nature and natural ability to make people relax for meditative purposes.
The 432 Hz Conspiracy Theories
The mathematical theory behind 432 Hz and its endorsement by famous musicians cannot be doubted, neither can the fact that the Earth is tuned at this frequency.
However, the Internet, like it does with so many things, has injected this science with mystery, sparking a number of conspiracy theories.
It’s not surprising though. Considering that musical greats and ancient societies preferred 432 Hz, but the US and UK ignored this and chose 440 Hz, it was bound to make people suspicious.
Most theories centre around the belief that the 440 Hz frequency was deliberately adopted by governments/ regimes as a way to manipulate and control the masses, making then lethargic, often borderline depressed and therefore easily influenced,
Perhaps the most popular conspiracy theory is that of Nazi Germany. It is suggested that the regime decided to adopt 440 Hz as standard, avoiding 432 Hz at all costs and developing other influential frequencies alongside it designed to assist in the control of people’s minds.
Joseph Goebbels, who served as a prime minister of propaganda for the German Third Reich, and whose job was to spread the Nazi message, supposedly directed this mission.
He apparently used music containing concentrated 440 Hz frequencies and others to induce fear and hostility in the masses.
People listening to this music were essentially prisoners of their own aggressive consciousness. While this certainly is an interesting theory, there is no proof to back up this claim.
Why You Need More 432 Hz Music in Your Life
It is no surprise that when listening to the same music tuned at the two different frequencies (432 Hz and 440 Hz), most people say they feel a sense of relaxation after having listening to the 432 Hz version.
However, the average person, distinguishing between the two by ear would be difficult, and on a first listen the effects might not be that pronounced.
Over time though, you will naturally feel more pleasant listening to 432 Hz music instead of 440 Hz – because your brain will become attuned to the frequency of the Earth.
440 Hz, despite being forced upon us as a music tuning pitch standard, is not in harmony with the frequency of the Earth. It is alien to us as a species.
We are part of Mother Nature, and therefore playing the brain music that isn’t tuned at this frequency over a prolonged period of time will of course make you feel out of sync.
Could this be the reason that certain types of music cause behavioural issues and intense negative emotional reactions in some people? Possibly.
Of course, a person might not realise that they are being affected by the frequency. Every day you hear music tuned at 440 Hz, so it is unlikely that you would stop and think, I feel quite agitated and out of sorts lately; must be all that 440 Hz music.
But the reality is that it could well be the reason for days when you can’t quite place why you feel imbalanced and misaligned with life.
Humans are a part of nature like every other animal and plant species, so it makes absolute sense that aligning your energy with the Earth will naturally make you feel more peaceful and happier.
We all know music has healing properties: Music therapists use music to help restore memory in Alzheimer’s patients, improve basic motor skills in stroke victims and help many more suffering from a range of different things.
We also know that listening to specific frequencies in concentrated amounts, like our binaural beats music here at BBM, entrains the brain to specific states of well-being.
And all the evidence, scientifically from nature, mathematically from music theory and endorsed by the likes of Verdi and Mozart, points towards the fact that 432 Hz is an extremely powerful tuning frequency, from which instruments should be tuned.
For this reason, we have produced our own 432 Hz binaural beats meditation, which you can use to attune your brain to the Earth’s frequency for increased well-being.
Not only will you feel a calming effect after listening, regular listening will decrease feelings of stress and anxiety and in turn promote natural healing and a deeper connection with all sentient beings and the world at large.
It’s time to tune yourself to the heartbeat of the planet.