Tuning forks and music: why a tuning fork?

The tuning fork has a fascinating relationship with music that goes back centuries and reveals the evolution of our understanding of sound and musical harmonization. However, it is important to consider all world cultures and all sound and musical scales and modes to maintain a broad vision, not just a Western perspective, of the use of tuning forks and frequencies in music.

Primary Origins

The idea of using metal objects to produce reference sounds dates back several centuries. Blacksmiths noticed that their hammers produced different sounds depending on their size and weight, an observation that inspired the first reflections on the mathematical relationships between sounds.
Interesting therefore because according to legend, we are told that it was a certain "Pythagoras" who had this reflection with the anvils and he defined the mathematical lengths that we know.
Furthermore, we are told that the mathematical concept of Pythagoras is based on intervals of pure fifths and that his concept allows us to hear numbers and not music. Here too, take into account with hindsight that the Pythagorean scale is based on human mathematical calculations which are not really linked to the laws of nature like the song of birds for example which does not use a specific tuning fork. Like humans, when we communicate with words, we do not need to tune ourselves, the harmony and the choice of our words must be consistent with the path of the heart.

The invention of the modern tuning fork

The tuning fork as we know it was invented in 1711 by John Shore, an English lutenist and trumpeter to the royal court. This innovation revolutionized musical practice by providing, for the first time, a portable and reliable standard of sound.

The challenge of tuning before the tuning fork

Before its invention, musicians tuned relatively to each other, which posed enormous problems:

• Each region, each orchestra had its own reference pitch
• It was impossible to get musicians from different cities to play together
• Keyboard instruments could not easily accompany other instruments

The evolution of reference frequencies

The history of the tuning fork reveals a fierce battle to standardize musical pitch:

• In the 18th century, the "A" varied between 380 and 450 Hz depending on the region.
• Paris used an "A" at 404 Hz, London at 423 Hz, Vienna at 435 Hz
• This anarchy created considerable problems for traveling musicians.

The standardization revolution

In 1859, a French commission officially set the "A" at 435 Hz (normal pitch). Then in 1939, an international conference adopted the "A" at 440 Hz, which has become the current world standard with an ISO (commercial and industrial standard), although some orchestras sometimes use 442 or 443 Hz for more brilliance. Here too, we see that in music, there is no good pitch or reference pitch.

As in painting, it is complicated in art to freeze a point of conceptualization of art as it is the case in music with the tuning fork. It is a bit as if painters had been subjected to using only one type of brush or a single shade of color when there are an infinite number of possible nuances. It is incoherent and arbitrary, hence the notion of industrial and commercial standard with an ISO which gives a material value to a universal tool of expression.

Impact on instrument making

The tuning fork had a profound influence on the construction of instruments:

• Organ builders were finally able to standardize their pipes
• The luthiers adapted the tension of the strings to fixed pitches
• The music industry was able to develop universally compatible instruments

Practical uses

Beyond tuning, the tuning fork became an essential educational tool:

• Training the musical ear
• Verification of accuracy in teaching
• Calibration of modern electronic instruments

The tuning fork thus represents much more than a simple tool: it symbolizes the quest for universality in music and the victory of standardization over the sonic anarchy that once reigned.

Thus, being able to play together at the same pitch has become simple for all musicians today.

However, for several years now, many musicians, whether curious or therapists, have been digging into the subject to understand, at the biological or emotional level, the real contributions of frequencies and their capacity to be compatible with the living.

And here are some historical references to tuning fork frequencies:

Baroque period (17th-18th centuries)

Low Baroque pitch : approximately 392-415 Hz

• Period instruments such as harpsichords and Baroque organs were tuned lower than today.
• This pitch allowed for a softer sound and matched the gut strings used at the time.

18th century - geographical variations

France (Versailles) : approximately 404 Hz Northern Germany : approximately 415-420 Hz
Venice : around 440 Hz (already close to modern) London : around 420-425 Hz

19th century - gradual rise

Early 19th century : 422-430 Hz

• The trend was towards a gradual increase in height
• Orchestras were looking for more brilliance and projection

Mid-19th century (around 1850) : 435-445 Hz

• Great variability between European cities
• Paris often used 435 Hz (normal French tuning fork)

Modern standards

1885 - Vienna Conference : 435 Hz

• First attempt at international standardization

1939 - London Conference : 440 Hz

• Adoption of the A 440 as an international reference
• Confirmed by ISO in 1955

1975 - ISO 16 standard : 440 Hz at 20°C

• Final standardization with temperature precision

Contemporary variations

Authentic Baroque music : 415 Hz or 392 Hz Romantic orchestras : 435-445 Hz
Modern orchestras : generally 440-444 Hz Some prestigious orchestras : up to 445-446 Hz for more brilliance

This evolution reflects changes in musical aesthetics, technical progress in instrument making, and the expressive needs of each era.

440 or 432 Hz?

In music, we were therefore imposed a standard with A4 at a pitch of 440 Hz.

For the past 15 years, we have seen more and more people, especially in the health and wellness sectors, using the A4 tuning fork at 432 Hz more than the 440 Hz tuning fork.

For what reasons?

It has been found that music in 432 Hz has a more beneficial effect on physical and mental health than 440 Hz.

There is also the fact that musicians who use 432 Hz do so consciously and with a precise intention, which further optimizes the information and its emission because with an intention of the heart, the musician or practitioner sends a part of his own light which he will encode in a sound vibration.

And since this 432 Hz is closer than 440 Hz to the resonant frequency of the H2O water molecule, which vibrates at 429.62 Hz in the 77th octave, it is consistent to understand that 432 Hz is more connected to our natural vibrations than a tuning fork with industrial and commercial standards. 432 Hz is therefore a more "natural" tuning fork than 440 Hz, and its use is becoming more and more widespread.

Being the first in the world to use this H2O water frequency for more than 5 years now, I can share with you important testimonies from musicians or scientists to better understand how to use a frequency for music and how to use resonance frequencies of molecules like H2O for sound therapy and sound care because it is not at all relevant to tune a physical instrument to this frequency of 429.62 Hz.

Only computers allow this kind of exercise and if musicians were honest in using this frequency, you would know that it is not at all coherent to want to tune a physical instrument to the resonance frequency of water H2O.

In 2021, I was able to have a handpan made at the resonance frequency of H2O water and I can assure you that it is not easy to build an instrument on this mathematical ratio. We cannot play with everyone either, but above all, it is ridiculous to want to pretend that this tuning frequency would be better than another because in music, classical music masters have shown us in the past that tuning is a question of pure feeling and not mathematics!

For my part, the majority of sound herbalism is in 429.62 Hz because it is an integral part of my work and research on frequencies and I am the first to promote this frequency.

We have excellent results in therapy with these frequencies in therapeutic tuning forks because we send precise biocompatible information to the body and it will manage it to stimulate certain areas by bioresonance and administer the right dosage because thanks to the properties of the sound, there are no side effects, it is not intrusive and there is no overdose either.

So, I recommend playing at 432 Hz for music and using tuning forks for therapy as a way to regulate or stimulate the body using precise biocompatible information.

We have excellent results on the two frequencies of water H2O and H3O2 - but also on the resonance frequencies of neurotransmitters, vitamins etc... because these frequencies are truly biocompatible and allow us to understand that we are an organic radio and can simply emit and receive life information.

The joy of the heart shows us how much we have the capacity to emit good and positive things around us. It is therefore important to radiate with our heart so that the harmonies of life form a beautiful symphony because we already know all the frequencies of life because they have always lived and vibrated within us.

In a future article, I will explain the importance of the resonance frequencies of water H2O and the fourth phase of water H3O2- in order to better understand how to use them for good harmonization of our cells at the molecular level.

Nature speaks to us, let's listen to it.