RETUNING THE UNIVERSE: EXAMINING THE COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF SOUND FREQUENCIES, MUSIC AND HUMAN PERCEPTION

Abstract

The article discusses the relationship between sound frequencies, music, and human perception, focusing on the debate surrounding the tuning standard used in music. The paper begins by questioning the metaphysical and religious implications of sound as a creative force. It then delves into the physics of music and human hearing and continues emphasizing the role of frequencies in shaping tonality and timbre. The significance and effects of different tuning standards, particularly comparing 432Hz tuning to the more commonly used 440Hz standard, have also been reviewed. Additionally, the historical context and potential motives behind the adoption of the 440Hz tuning standard, suggesting military and commercial interests, have been investigated. By examining these aspects, the article aims to deepen our understanding of the effects of different musical tunings on human well-being and perception, calling for further research. Ultimately, the article serves as a call to action for further research in the field.

Keywords

• frequencies
• retuning
• music
• 432 Hz
• 440 Hz
• human perception.

References

1. American National Standards Institute. (2020). American national standard acoustical terminology. ANSI/ASA S1.1-2020. Acoustical Society of America.
2. Baker, E. (2015). The Florentine bankers who ruled the world. The Spectator. Retrieved from https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-florentine-bankers-who-ruled-the-world
3. Beaulieu, J. (2010). Music and sound in the healing arts. Station Hill Press.
4. Bedard, J., & Georges, T. M. (2000). Atmospheric infrasound. Physics Today, 53, 32-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.883019
5. Bijsterveld, K. (2008). Mechanical Sound: Technology, Culture, and Public Problems of Noise in theTwentieth Century. MIT Press.
6. Bowles, E. M. (2017). The history and significance of 432 hz tuning. The Open Journal of Social Sciences, 5(6), 96-100.
7. Calamassi, D. & Pomponi, G. P. (2019). Music Tuned to 440 Hz versus 432 Hz and the health effects: A double-blind cross-over pilot study, Explore, 15 (4), 283–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2019.04.001
8. Cochrane, T., Fantini, B. & Scherer, K. R. (Eds.). (2013). The emotional power of music: Multidisciplinary perspectives on musical arousal, expression, and social control. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654888.001.0001

9. Cuadrado, F., Lopez-Cobo, I., Mateos-Blanco, T. & Tajadura-Jiménez, A. (2020). Arousing the sound: A field study on the emotional ımpact on children of arousing sound design and 3d audio spatialization in an audio story. Front Psychol. 6; 11: 737. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00737.
10. Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (2018). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. Sage Publications.
11. Dye, A. (1986). The United States Navy in the Pacific, 1909-1922. Naval Institute Press.
12. Eischen, J. W. (2016). The Science of Musical Sound: Part I. Oxford University Press.
13. Elson, S. S. (2004). Kabbalah of prayer: Sacred sounds and the soul’s journey. New York, NY: Steiner Books. (pp.13).
14. Estulin, D. (2015). Tavistock Institute: Social engineering the masses. Trine Day LLC.
15. Grauer, M. (2011). On track: Music and the work of listening in the age of mechanical reproduction. Oxford University Press.
16. Gribenski, F. (2020). Plenty of pitches. Nat. Phys.,16, 232. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0707-1
17. Halpern, S. (1995). Healing with sound: The scientific basis of sound therapy. Bear & Company.
18. Hamlaoui, K. (2020). The human body frequency. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340232697_The_human_body_frequency
19. Hennawi, J. (2018). Tuning the brain: Sound therapy and neuroscience. Trends in Neurosciences and Education, 12, 15-9.
20. Hounshell, D. A. (1984). From the American system to mass production, 1800-1932: The development of manufacturing technology in the United States. JHU Press.
21. Helliwell, R. A. (1965). Whistlers and related ionospheric phenomena. Stanford University Press.
22. Horowitz, L. G. (2010). Musical Cult Control: The Rockefeller Foundation's war on consciousness through the Imposition of A=440Hz standard tuning.
23. Horowitz, L. (2011). The book of 528: Prosperity key of love. Tetrahedron Publishing Group. International Organization for Standardization. (2004). ISO 16:1975, Acoustics – Standard tuning frequency (Standard musical pitch). ISO 16:1975. Acoustics-standard tuning frequency (standard musical pitch). International Organization for Standardization. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.iso.org/standard/3601.html. Accessed 29 June 2023.
24. Korteweg, A. (2017, 3 March). Vrijzinnige Partij: verlaag de grondtoon, deze wekt verdeeldheid en agressie op. de Volkskrant Retrieved from https://go.nature.com/2B5ATVm
25. Köktürk, Ö. (2013). Uyku kayıtlarının skorlanması. Solunum 2013; 15 (Supplement 2): 14-29.
26. König, H. L. (1979). Biologic effects of environmental electromagnetism. Springer Science & Business Media. Conference proceedings
27. Marghzar, S. (2022). How sound triggers human emotion. Stephen Arnold Music. Retrieved from https://stephenarnoldmusic.com/science-of-sound/
28. McCraty, R. & Deyhle, A. (2015). The global coherence initiative: Investigating the dynamic relationship between people and earth’s energetic systems. Bioelectromagn. Subtle Energy Med. 2015, 2, 411-25.
29. Muehsam, D. & Pilla, A. A. (2009). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In Handbook of Magnetic Materials (Vol. 19, pp. 1-82). Elsevier. NASA. Schumann Resonance. (2013, 28 May). Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/schumann-resonance.html. Accessed 29 June 2023
30. Oxford Reference. (2023, 29 June). Retrieved from https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095933457;jsessionid=4EF1FF125D8E9A226DC08D8947A8DF44
31. Paul, J. (2019). The power of sound: How to be healthy and productive using music and sound. Simon & Schuster.
32. Persinger, M. A. (1987). ELF electromagnetic fields, Schumann resonances, and cerebral circulation. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 65(12), 1488-97.
33. Pinch, T. & Bijsterveld, K. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Sound Studies. Oxford University Press.
34. Plomp, R. & Levelt, W. J. (1965). Tonal consonance and critical bandwidth. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 38(4), 548-60.
35. Pretorius, M. (2011). Sound: Conceivably the creative language of God, holding all of creation in concert. Verbum et Ecclesia, 32(1), Art.#485, 7 pages. 10.4102/ve.v32i1.485
36. Quigley, C. (1966). Tragedy and hope: A history of the world in our time. Macmillan. Rockefeller Foundation Archives (1939-1944). RG 1.1, Series 200, Accession 704, Box 56, Folder 647. Rockefeller Archive Center.
37. Quran. (Kuran-ı Kerim).
38. Ray, S., Niebur, E., Hsiao, S. S., Sinai, A. & Crone, N. E. (2008). High-frequency gamma activity (80–150 Hz) is increased in human cortex during selective attention. Clinical Neurophysiology, 119(1), 116-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2007.09.136.
39. Rose, B. J. (2021). The vibrational frequencies of the human body. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354326235_The_Vibrational_Frequencies_of_the_Human_Body
40. Schaeffner, A. (2013). A history of electroacoustic music in France: 1900-1950. Editions Mardaga.
41. Schumann, W. O. (1952). Über die strahlungslosen Eigenschwingungen einer leitenden Kugel, die von einer Luftschicht und einer Ionosphärenhülle umgeben ist. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung, 7(A), 149-54.
42. Sentman, D. D. & Fraser, B. J. (1991). ELF field line resonances excited by modulated HF heating of the lower ionosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 96(A2), 1691-8.
43. Sterne, J. (2012). The audible past: Cultural origins of sound reproduction. Duke University Press.
44. Summers, A. (2014). Real enemies: Conspiracy theories and American democracy, World War I to 9/11. Oxford University Press.
45. Sutton, A. C. (2002). Wall Street and the rise of Hitler. Claremont, CA: Claremont Research and Publications. Timofejeva, I., McCraty, R., Atkinson, M., Alabdulgader, A.A., Vainoras, A., Landauskas, M. Šiaucˇiunait¯ e, V., Ragulskis,
46. M. (2021). Global study of human heart rhythm synchronization with the earth’s time varying magnetic field. Appl Sci. 2021, 11, 2935. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11072935
47. Tobias J. (2009). Composing for the Media: Hanns Eisler and Rockefeller Foundation Projects in Film Music, Radio Listening, and Theatrical Sound Design. Rockefeller Archive Center Research Reports Online, 2009.
48. Tuis, T. R. (2010). 432 Hertz: la Rivoluzione Musicale. Nexus Edizioni. Walker, B. (2023, 30 June). Frequency and the human body. Retrieved from https://betsywalkerwellness.com/frequency-human-body/