There are YouTube videos with millions of views all claiming the same thing: that 440 Hz is an "unnatural" tuning, supposedly introduced by the Nazis or a secret elite to make people aggressive and sick, while 432 Hz is the "frequency of the universe" that heals and resonates with our DNA.
It sounds great. It's also almost entirely false. And as a music school that teaches based on science, we'll tell you honestly why.
There is no "natural" pitch
Concert-pitch A is an agreement, not a law of nature. Over the centuries it was all over the place: Baroque orchestras often tuned to 415 Hz, some church organs to 466 Hz, and 19th-century France fixed it at 435 Hz.
440 Hz was agreed at an international conference in London in 1939 and set by the ISO as a recommendation in 1955 (today ISO 16). A practical standard so instruments match worldwide — nothing more.
Anyone who says "440 is unnatural" has to explain: unnatural compared to what? There is no natural zero point.
Where the 432 Hz myths come from
- "Verdi's tuning" — Verdi did prefer lower pitches, true. But the clean "432 movement" is a much later invention.
- "Schumann resonance 7.83 Hz" — a real physical phenomenon of the Earth that has nothing to do with 432. The link is numerology, not physics.
- "Heals / resonates with DNA" — there are no solid studies for this. The few tiny experiments are methodologically weak, very small, and never properly replicated.
What's actually true
432 Hz sounds a touch lower than 440 Hz. Some people perceive that as "warmer" or "more relaxed." That's taste and perception — perfectly fine, but not proof of healing power. If 432 Hz feels better to you: great, do it. Just don't sell it as science.
Why it doesn't matter for you as a student
For your learning, the reference pitch is irrelevant. What matters is playing in tune relative to yourself, to the people you play with, and to the backing track. And practically every backing track, band and app in the world runs on 440 Hz. If you privately tune to 432, you'll be slightly off against every video and every session.
At Fretster you learn music based on what demonstrably works — ear, rhythm, motor skills, theory. No esotericism, but real curiosity about sound.