This reminds me of that scene in Eco's
"Focault's Pendulum" where one of the protagonists goes on to show
how the dimensional relationships of a lottery sales booths
perfectly relate to physical constants, the measurements of the
pyramids and whatnot.
It might make sense to stick with some facts for a change:
* tunings were lower in the past (e.g. the old Paris norm of 409
Hz)
* the 432Hz for concert a comes from the idea to have a c at 1
Hz, which results in a c 8 octaves above at 256 Hz, which results
in a at 432Hz. In other words, it's the result of c frequencies
being powers of 2 - which is not at all something worthwile,
considering that "c" and "second" are merely invented things, not
given by nature.
* "the Germans", which were so nicely depicted in that article,
typically tune to 442Hz (as do the Austrians).
* many singers liked the 432Hz better, because they're lazy
asses. Great composers preferred the higher tunings (e.g. Mahler,
Wagner, with different relationships to the proverbial "Germans")
because they sound nicer and offer better clarity. The former has
mainly to do with the physical properties of string instruments.
* that lower tunings offer better clarity is, of course, crap.
The opposite is true, which you can find out using a simple test:
play a low note, then detune in a blind test by a certain amount
(e.g. 1 cent) and see if you can hear that. Then repeat with a
considerably higher note.
Just my two cents in a non-Euro currency ;)
Am 06.11.2012 05:55, schrieb Jack Cattedra:
Stumbled upon this topic recently
and I find it very interesting. From my personal experience
and experimentation, I've found that I naturally tune my
instruments to this frequency or a harmonic of it. Not to
mention, songwriting just seems to flow so much easier this
way, who knows. I don't like to intellectualize these types of
things too much, but I figured I'd share these links anyway.
:)