Music and
Your Health - The Relevance of Concert PitchPatrick
Thilmany
At this time in world evolution one can safely say that music has a
significant impact on us as human beings. Research in the growing field
of Music Therapy is demonstrating that we have the ability to utilize
music in affecting our cognitive, emotional, physical, and
psycho/spiritual health. All of us experience an innate connection to
music in varying degrees. Current scientific studies have documented
the "Mozart Effect", which demonstrates we experience enhanced spatial
comprehension when listening to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D
Major. We can be energized, focused, relaxed, or unfocused through the
art of music. Many of us have been aware of the clarifying potentials
of music when used in a conscious manner, but concerns are becoming
more prevalent regarding whether there are aspects of music in our time
which actually increase stress, and thereby impact negatively on our
health. In our increasingly faster paced world we look to all realms of
our lives for the causes of our tensions as well as for methods to
relieve this stress.
When we experience unrelieved tensions that experience becomes stress,
and if this condition continues over time that experience becomes
chronic stress. The connection between stress and health is well
documented. There are two questions circulating in the music world
around the question of tension and music's possible negative
contributions to the health of humankind. The first is, "Has concert
pitch been moving up over time and if so, can this have an impact on
the health of performers and their audiences?". The second question is,
"Does the concert pitch of 440 Hz, the current industry standard, have
a potentially negative impact on our health?". To answer these
questions we must first have a basic understanding of the term "Concert
Pitch" and what it is that can lead one to such questions.
The word "pitch" in a musical context, refers to our perception of the
highness or lowness of a note. As part of the human condition we
experience increasingly higher pitches as increasing tension and
decreasing pitch as tension release or relaxation. These perceptions
correspond to the fact that pitch is determined by the frequency of
vibrations being generated. The faster the vibration, the higher the
pitch and the slower the vibration, the lower the pitch. The basic
measurement of vibration is cycles per second which is labeled as
Hertz, generally abbreviated as Hz.
Concert pitch refers to the standard of pitch used in orchestras,
instrument makers, and those creating devices utilized to calibrate
musical instruments such tuning forks and electronic tuners. This
standard is based on the correct frequency to be utilized when tuning
the note a' , known as "Concert A". Concert A, or a', refers to the
first A note above middle C, which then provides the basis for the
proper frequency for the rest of the notes of the scale. Concert A then
provides the basis for overall concert pitch. Since 1939 the standard
for the concert A in the United States, and thereby concert pitch, has
been 440 Hz, or 440 vibrations per second, and 440 Hz is the most
widely accepted industry standard throughout the world when one looks
to musical instrument designs.
The establishing of the correct frequency for concert A is in fact a
rather arbitrary determination, which has provided a basis for ongoing
arguments amongst intellectuals, musicians, instrument builders, and
philosophers throughout history. This leads us to our question of
whether concert pitch has been rising over time. In the past the
determination of concert pitch tended to be established by instrument
makers, in particular organ makers, and the requests of their
clientele, usually the Church during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth
centuries. Records show that concert pitch has varied widely from
location to location as well as over time. The following chart shows
samples of concert pitch from the sixteenth century to now. At first
glance if we follow the progression of this chart one would have to say
the trend has been downward, although there have been instances when
concert A has been substantially lower than 440 Hz, in particular the
period from the mid-1600's to early 1800's. A closer look shows that
the very high numbers tend to reflect "Church tunings" (the idea being
that the higher the frequency the closer to God and to the Heavens the
music would be). If one were to consider all these factors one could
make a case that concert pitch has tended to rise over the last few
centuries, although this argument's outcome will depend on which
informational basis one utilizes to support their point of view. One
could also note that not much has changed over the last 100 years.
Editor's Note: In the years that are represented twice, the higher
pitch is the Church tuning and the lower pitch is the secular
tuning.
Why all this fuss? The setting of the standard for concert pitch can
and does have an immediate and direct effect on one group of musicians
- the singers. Consider for a moment that you are a singer that can
transport yourself through time. You are currently living in the year
1648 and are singing an a' note, (concert A). You will have to tense
your vocal chords to produce 403 vibrations per second, which, if you
are a trained singer, is a very relaxed gesture to sing a concert A.
Now put yourself into the year1619 and try to sing the same note. You
will have to tense your vocal chords substantially more to produce 567
vibrations per second to sing the same note, concert A. As another
example, many of us have had the experience of singing comfortably in
one church and then finding the same piece of music in another church
more difficult to sing. This is often due to the "grand old church
organs" in various churches being tuned to a different standards for
concert pitch. This varying concert pitch is the very phenomena that
led the Italian government to try to establish concert A at 432 Hz in
1880, so as to protect the voices of the opera singers. Italy still
leads a fight to lower the current standard of 440 Hz to their national
standard of 432 Hz. These same varying tensions produced by differing
concert pitches applies to musical instruments and in turn, the
experience of the listener. As the standard for concert pitch rises in
frequency, voices, instruments, and listeners experience more strain.
Could one extrapolate this information to mean a higher standard
frequency for concert pitch can have adverse effects on humankind?
Before we attempt to answer this question let us look at the question
of whether the standard of 440 Hz can adversely affect us as
individuals, and why this question is even a topic of conversation.
The earliest conventions of Western music held that "Music on earth was
a reflection of the greater 'music of the spheres', a harmony created
by relative distances and rates of motions of the planets - a harmony
that was constantly present, if only people were sufficiently sensitive
to hear it" (Yudkin, Jeremy, Music in Medieval Europe, 1989). If we as
individuals can identify with the concepts presented in this statement,
and we accept that we as human beings are multifaceted creatures who
must live in harmony with our environment in order to maintain our
health and reach our full potential, we can begin to see into the
secrets of music and its impact on our health. Such a philosophy would
indicate that music should be based in nature and the cosmic rhythms of
the universe, if it is to be beneficial to humanity. From this
standpoint one can extrapolate that the standard used to determine
concert pitch should have an organic foundation as well. One theory of
setting the standard for a concert A at 432 Hz attempts to utilize the
argument that 432 Hz is based in nature. This theory would indicate by
deduction that 440 Hz would then lend itself to generating an unhealthy
effect in the environment. To be sure, this debate becomes a very heady
and esoteric conversation. Some of the more radical proponents of 432
Hz as the true basis for concert pitch would indicate that everything
in nature has a basis in 432 vibrations per second, most of which has
not been verified and/or is not verifiable. There is one realm of
nature that does support the idea that 432 Hz has an organic basis -
that is the movement of the sun. Without going into a lengthy technical
monologue we can ascertain that the note C of a scale based on 432 Hz
can be reduced to a vibration rate of one vibration per second. We can
further establish that the true origination for the measure of one
second is based on the movement of the sun. The are further, more in
depth, studies based on planetary motion and the harmonic overtones and
undertones which do lend further support to the "organic" basis of 432
Hz as a solid foundation for musical structure. The tuning of a scale
based on 440 Hz does not lend itself to a reduction on any basis which
corresponds to a cosmic movement or rhythm. The difference between 440
Hz and 432 Hz is only 8 vibrations per second, but it is a perceptible
difference in the human experience.
Does the material presented in this article tell us what is correct,
what should be, and what should not be? No it does not. Each of us must
answer these questions for ourselves. My goal is not to advocate for
any one point of view but to provide information so each of us can make
intelligent decisions for ourselves. I will tell you that my experience
as a musician and instrument builder is that as overall pitch moves
upward, the experience of music becomes more of a head experience,
while as overall pitch becomes lower the experience of music becomes
more of a heart experience. As pitch moves up, music and rhythmic
elements tend to become more frenetic, and as pitch moves down the
musical experience and the sensation in the environment tends to slow
down. Regarding the use of 432 Hz as a standard for tuning, at the Rose
Lyre Workshop our instruments are designed to perform well at either
432 Hz or 440 Hz and we tune them according to the wishes of our
customers, although our instruments tend "feel better" at 432 Hz. At
this time if one wants to play music "out in the world" with other
musicians, one must be able to play at 440 Hz. We recommend that
musicians use a new design of electronic tuners that allow calibration
to any concert pitch standard, including 432 Hz, so they can play with
anyone they choose to and still play in tune.
If one truly wants to take hold of one's music environment there are
many less subtle endeavors one can undertake. As a listener of music we
should consciously choose what it is we listen to and then consciously
listen. We can attempt to listen as active participants in the musical
experience by attending live performances as much as possible. We can
guide our children toward these awarenesses. For those of us who are
not musicians, we can improve our lives by learning to play music.
There is a growing body of documentation showing improved learning
skills for those that study music over those that do not study music.
For those of us who are musicians, we can de-emphasize speed and
facility as the most desirable traits to develop. We can emphasize the
quality of tone and silence. We can be attentive to the space within
and between the notes we produce as musicians. The most difficult
pieces for me as a classical guitarist and lyre player have always been
the pieces which require a slow tempo and long notes. The temptation is
to speed up the tempo, improvise in the open spaces, or cut the note
short in anticipation of the next note. As musicians rather than dazzle
the listener with our brilliance and baffle them with our BS, we can
bring the listener into the open spaces of music and the beauty of
tone, this is where one finds the healing, healthy gestures.
I would like to thank my
musicologically oriented friends for their insights and input, for
without their assistance an article such as this could not be
undertaken.
Patrick
Thilmony is the artist/craftsman behind Nature's
Song and The Rose Lyre Workshop, the designer of the only
American Lyre to be endorsed by LANA (Lyre
Association of North America),
and a musician of sufficient depth and clarity that he can convey
concepts about the soul of music in a way that non-musicians can grasp
and seasoned performers can appreciate.
