First, I tuned the guitar away from standard pitch until it really started to sing. Then I recorded this melody. Can you hear the way the instrument resonates and “sings” behind the main melody notes? I think it’s a good metaphor for what happens to us in those times when we feel in harmony with our experience.
Here are some notes on the recording:
- This guitar tuning can be achieved by setting a tuner to a reference pitch of 448Hz or 423Hz. If using 448Hz, tune the guitar down a whole step, and for 423Hz, tune down a half step.
- This melody was adapted from the song “Tired”
Last week my family visited one of the premier science museums in the country: the Exploratorium in San Francisco. While there, I noticed a device that helps visualize harmonics by playing an adjustable tone into a tube full of water. After finishing the recent blog series on alternate tunings, I couldn’t help but go straight for 440Hz and 432Hz. Here are the visuals for each:
In my rush I failed to get a photo of some really different patterns, but these two were almost identical to me. This didn’t add any evidence for me to change my conclusion that music released in 432Hz isn’t magically better that 440Hz. But the slight difference in the visual waves does support that the harmonics do subtly change, and therefore so does the overall sound of the instrument.
May your week be in-tune,
–Alex