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Master tuning to a specific middle octave note is very important, as are different scales. Modern master tuning by the middle note is actually mathematical equal-temper tuning assigned to instruments. There are some alternate scales, like the scale which uses C values of 256 and 512 Hz (64, 128, etc.) and 432 Hz for the middle A. That scale is not actually mathematical equal-temper, it is tuned by natural fifths from reference notes and it produces values slightly different from the mathematical octave division.


Psychotronics Ltd. - "Magichanical" - tuned to 432 Hz harmonic equal temper.

That tuning is very harmonic and a joy to listen to, however for most synthesisers that aren't capable of tuning to scale values (those that don't get a scale format like Scala), a single master-note tuning is all there is. These synthesisers are usually locked to a mathematical equal-temper scale. For these, a tuning of 430.53 Hz is ideal (or as close as possible).

The effect of a master tuning and tuning scale is simple: the higher the master tuning, the sharper and therefore more stressful and short notes become. The lower the tuning, the mellower and relaxing music becomes, down to the effect of a "slowed-down turntable" where it becomes dull. This does not happen until much lower tuning values though; as an example, a medieval English organ had as its master tuning value an A=380 Hz. Also, the higher the master tuning, the louder an acoustic instrument will play (more resonance at high and low frequencies, at an expense of midrange and duration). The effect is a "smilie EQ". Theatre orchestras used to tune higher when there were no electronic amplification systems.

The problem with higher tuning is that it's harsh. It tends to beat over the listener's perception rather than harmonise with the mind. As an example, military orchestras in the UK used a tuning of 452.5 Hz. The reason is simple: the higher the tuning, the more it runs ahead of the listener's perception and the more it drags his perception along. Put simply: higher tuning in a military band beats the listeners' wills out of their minds. Which is the intended effect, obviously.

440-Hz tuning has a similar effect. Someone out there called it "ahrimanic". It is. Notes being so sharp and having a shorter duration, they do not register properly, but rather tend to impose themselves, leading to a slightly frenzied state. Exposure over a longer time can cause inner disharmony, stress, the listeners leaving their own thoughts/feelings and exchanging them for whatever's being played. The chief effect is the victims getting used to switching to prejudices or fixed, prefabricated states of mind rather than evolving their own as would be the case with a harmonic listener of music.

This, exactly, is "ahrimanic" - running ahead on prejudices rather than relating with the world, perhaps slower, but having a relationship and feelings naturally evolved, of one's own, rather than those preset, prejudiced, or imposed/pulled out of others' opinions/society.

After all, the chief aim of music is to provide harmony with the world and provide this harmony to the listener's conscience.

Composing in a tuning of mathematical equal-temper 430.53 Hz or non-mathematical equal-temper 432 Hz is also a lot easier than 440 Hz. 440 Hz tends towards stress, suppressed feelings, and hard-hitting. 430.53 is natural and leads to expressiveness.


An arpeggio improvisation at 430.53 Hz

Practical Tuning

The technical problem with 440-Hz tuning, also, is that it shortens note duration, and it's too sharp, it's basically dissonant. Notes at 430.53 Hz tuning have a warmer, engulfing, plush body. 440 Hz gives more of a neurotic quick hit/punch at a certain tone. Tuning to 430.53 Hz (or close) will simply give a bigger, more palpable body in the case of synthesisers (even samplers). There can be issues with re-pitching algorithms for voice parts, but modern pitch algorithms like Elastique can avoid formant damage (REAPER is a shareware DAW that includes multiple pitch-shift algorithms, by the way).

Scala is a scale creation programme whose format is supported by a few synthesisers (Pianoteq and Zynaddsub-FX to name a couple). It may still require tuning by frequency, e. g. shifting A4 to 432 Hz when using a 432/256 Hz harmonic scale. Scala can define notes as fractions of a regular tuning, therefore a master note is still needed.

Tuning can also be done by semitones and cents. A switch from 440 Hz to 430.53 is roughly 36-38 cents. In a regular mathematical equal-temper scale, a semitone is 100 cents. A semitone is simply the difference between a whole note and a half-note (bemoll, e. g. C and C#). Thus to go from C to D, two semitones are required.

When all there is is a "tune" control specified in percentages or a fraction of 1, the deviation is usually 0.8 or 0.82 or so.

Of course you may have to experiment with a soft (or hardware) synth's tuning controls when they're not too clear, and match tuning frequency by analysing it.

Exact note frequency values can be measured with an analyser like the free VST plugin Freakoscope by MDSP@Smartelectronix. Simply press the A4 note key and zoom on the frequency range (a zoom of ~600 Hz is usually enough). This plugin also works for tuning analogue synths with a line input.

Different tuning for different tracks may coexist in a mix, but there are rules here. First of all, tuning deviations are best left minor (e. g. 428 Hz and 430 Hz, 432 Hz and 435, etc.). Instruments with well-defined bodies cannot harmonise (a guitar and a woodwind playing the same part with even a difference of 2 Hz master tuning will be noticeably out of tune). That said, multi-tuning can give a nice effect where, say, strings are tuned to 432 Hz math equal-temper and a pad or bass to 430.53 Hz.

There also are electronic guitar and chromatic tuners, hardware and software. Korg CA-40 is a cheap multi-frequency tuner (it only supports increments of 1 though) which can tune from 410 to an insanely high 480 Hz. It works not only with electric guitars, but also with acoustic instruments thanks to a built-in microphone, and it can play tones for manual tuning. Melda Productions M-Tuner is an efficient VST tuner.


Clean electrical guitar sampled at 440 Hz tuning and pitch-shifted to match 430.53 Hz

Specific Instrument Tuning

A lot of music from the 19th and previous centuries is simply not written for a stressful tuning. The highest "official" tuning up until about 1918 was 435 Hz. Handel wrote for a tuning of 426 and 418 Hz, though he was later presented with a C-512 tuning fork (translating to a middle A of 430.53 Hz). 430.53 Hz equal-temper tuning harmonises with most European tuning scales, though not all of them were actually equal-temper. More importantly, it harmonises with symphonies written by classical composers, although the difficulties of modern instruments built to an overly harsh tuning show themselves. Flutes, as an example, are a lot sweeter at 426 Hz and 430 Hz rather than 440. Stringed instruments (especially violas and violins) become overly stinging/screechy at 440 Hz tuning, but are plush and sweet at 430.53. The difficulty with wind instruments though is their fixed tuning scale. Strings can be readjusted (although fixed body resonance will still be an issue), but wind instruments are tuned by their internal volume and apertures.

Most classical music is really a lot sweeter and lovely, rather than what's there at modern performances tuned to 440 Hz. The reason why most people are (perhaps unconsciously) put off by classical music is all that screechiness and disharmonic, sharp tuning. This can also explain the tendency of most music of the past 40 years to become ever bassier (lower notes are less screechy/harsh in an exaggerated tuning) and punchy/aggressive. Since the effect of a higher tuning is an induced frenzy, the music simply goes along with it, authors ever trying to beat the listener with their own meanings. Ironically, downtuned metal/hard rock (with guitars tuned a step or two below regular tuning) is actually warmer and more accessible than the more trebley and harsh mainstream pop rock. And, aggression has become a staple of the genre, with, say, drums becoming tuned ever harder.

Drum Tuning

The issue with real drums is that they can be built with a "master tone" (primary resonance). This "master tone" is a certain note at which resonance is best ("the drum plays true"). Just as with wind instruments, this depends on the body/shell size and volume. Most of the time drums are not tuned to specific notes though. There are a couple different situations: one is tuning by note/frequency to avoid parasitic resonance (e. g. a tom tuned to resonate less when a snare is hit), another is melodic tuning when drums are actually tuned to notes for melodic playing. Melodic tuning makes sense, but tricks could still be arranged for a looser tuning. Or, one could find drums made in a part of the world where 440-Hz tuning is not a standard (say, some parts of Asia or Africa). Or simply make new drums. The other option is tuning drums to 440, then re-pitching digitally. In some cases this might provide a better sound, though of course the drummer (and other musicians) can be affected negatively.

With synthetic drums, things are easier. As an example, Reason provides a master tuning, which affects all modules, including Kong drum synthesisers. Otherwise repitching samples (or stems) helps.

Repitching drums/percussion may be necessary if the drums in question are tuned to a specific 440-Hz note. E. g. agogo and triangle tuned to 440-Hz notes of C and D, woodblocks, and other instruments which can be used melodically. Anything that is played to harmonise with the melody.

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