As a trombone player, here are some thoughts from the world of acoustic instruments.
In the beginning of the 20th century, brass instrument builders switched from what was called “low tuning” to “high tuning”. This meant that older instruments could not be used anymore in combination with newer instruments.
I mention this because a musical instrument is built to a certain tuning. You cannot tune it down (or up) too much without running into issues.
For instance, on a trombone the distances between positions (on the slide) change. But also the tone of the instrument changes.
Another example would be the guitar. If you tune down the strings (to Eb, like Hendrix did), you will change the tone of the instrument, because there’s less tension on the strings than in standard tuning. So they will vibrate more freely, and that’s a great sound.
But what if the instrument were built for Eb tuning, and the strings too? That would give a different sound.
The whole point I am making is, that you cannot simply tune down an instrument, or change the speed of a tape, or re-sample the whole track to a slower speed (artifacts will show up) and claim that the results you are seeing are because of the new tuning.
Since this looks like a linear relationship (and people in general like linear relationships even in nonlinear circumstances). it would be cool if the conclusion also pointed out that if the tuning goes down to 0 Hz the blood pressure goes down to 0 too.
Yes, I was thinking the same. I think the proponents believe that once you (mistakenly think) the A is in harmony with the Schumann resonance at 432, then all the other notes are as well by virtue of being harmonically in sync with the A. That is why I brought up equal temperament - it just simply can’t work with modern Western music.
I’m not going to discount the possibility that there may be an ideal tuning for human physiology, but the poorly thought out “scientific” explanations as to why 432 tuning is supposedly ideal are garbage.
It doesn’t strike me as something likely, but then I recall how a lot of cars used to have resonant frequencies that came apparent whenever they hit certain speeds. My mum’s old mk i Escort would shudder like mad between about 45 and 50 mph, but be fine outside of those speeds.
They don’t say what keys the tunes were in.
What if they selected tunes written in different (eg, lower) keys, but still with the A 440 reference? Or minor keys vs major keys? I would think that that has a greater effect on the listeners’ mood.
And why not down-tune by two whole semitones, like many metal guitarist do?
Down-tuning a guitar or using lighter gauge strings also makes it easier to bend notes. (Not actually a feature I always like, and it can mess up the intonation)
As it happens, my favourite guitar (that I own) is a Squier Jaguar. The shorter scale lets me use heavier gauge strings with more normal tension.
