Sound Healing Casey Downie-Campbell Sound Healing Casey Downie-Campbell

The Battle of Frequencies: Unveiling the Secrets of 432Hz vs 440Hz Tuning

What are the differences and benefits of the music tuning 432hz rather than the standard 440hz

Group of people clapping and singing happy birthday. Man holding cupcake with lit candle in

Have you every tried to sing Happy Birthday in a big group of people and noticed that there are multiple starting notes? I sure have, and it didn’t sound good! It could be that you’ve all started singing in different keys or in fact you are starting on the exact note but a slight variation of it.

To understand this better we must first realise that there are 12 notes on a piano with varying octaves of each note (higher and lower), but each of the 12 notes has 100 variations of the note. These are measured by cents.

Take the middle C note on a piano. This can be played in 100 different variations. If it is a standard tuned piano the middle C would be C0 then there are 50 variations above marked by + and 50 below marked by -. Sounds complicated? To the untrained ear, you very likely wouldn’t hear any difference if the cents are within around 15 of each other. If you added a second piano and played both at the same time but one was C0 and the other was C-20 then you would hear a difference between the notes. In fact, you would likely notice a third sound which we call a binaural beat. So even when you play the exact same song, same notes and same instruments there can be a slight difference and that discordance can be unpleasant. 

In the example of the two pianos playing together, if they notes are all slightly out within a song this is going to sound really weird. If you had 2 guitarists, an entire band or orchestra imagine the cacophony of noise if everyones instruments were tuned to their own thing. In order for instruments to sound pleasant when they are played together, in 1936 the American Standards Association recommended that all instruments be tuned to 440z. Which means that the middle A on a piano/keyboard below the middle C in the 4th octave is vibrating at 440 cycles per second. By 1955 the International Organisation for Standardisation also agreed to this tuning and it became the global standard tuning. This is how a piano in Tooting and a piano in Timbuktu can sound exactly the same.


440hz VS 432hz

There is some speculation that 440hz isn’t as pleasant on our system with studies on its effects on the body and mind vs 432hz. Stress levels, heart rate and blood pressure were measured on participants who listen to the same music twice, once at 440hz and also at 432hz.


The results showed that the high-frequency sound exposure immediately showed its detrimental effect on heartbeats after a short adaptation period in the 440 Hz group and the average values decreased to half of the normal values.

Journal of ecological engeneriging

All popular music is now tuned at 440hz so you would have certainly experienced it before. There are some theories that 440hz was deliberately chosen to oppress people and is a secret military weapon. Whatever you believe, many sound healers instruments will be detuned to 432hz.

Why 432hz?

432 Hz resonates with 8 Hz (the Schumann Resonance), the documented fundamental electromagnetic “heartbeat” of Earth.

Research says that music tuned from this frequency is easier to listen to, brighter, clearer, and contains more inherent dynamic range. As a result, music with this tuning need not be played at higher volumes and thus reduces the risk of hearing damage.

Global News CA

Summary

It would be difficult in todays modern world to avoid music tuned to 440hz altogether but perhaps be conscious of how you are feeling when listening to music, if you’re suddenly experiencing anxiety, negative thoughts, stressed feelings out of the blue then perhaps you are being effected by the frequencies. There are many songs that claim to be tuned to 432hz on platforms such as Spotify and YouTube.


If you would like to experience sound healing at 432hz and 528hz then book a sound healing with me.

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Sound Healing Casey Downie-Campbell Sound Healing Casey Downie-Campbell

What is an 8D music experience and 4 reasons why you should be listening to it.

Learn about an 8D music experience and why you should start listening to it now

White lady in neutral colours working from her bed on a laptop and notepad. She is wearing headphones

What is an 8D music experience and 4 reasons why you should be listening to it. 

This innovative relaxing sound experience is raved about by people with anxieties, stress, OCD & ADHD but what actually is an 8D music experience? And is it something you should add to your existing music for well-being playlist? 

When you listen to live music, especially when there are multiple instruments playing, your ears perceive the sounds coming from different directions. This is a great exercise for your brain. Your brain receives the layers of sounds and works to unpack them by analysing each sound.

When listening to recorded music on a speaker for instance, not only have the sounds been compressed together making them more difficult for your brain to separate but also, all sounds are often coming from one direction - unless of course, you have a fancy sound system with all the bells and whistles and speakers arranged around the room - therefore music from speakers and headphones etc can lack a sort of richness you get from listening to a live band.

What happens when you experience 8D music 

I should start by saying, it is always best when you listen to 8D that it is via headphones so that your ears can receive the sounds as intended irregardless of your position to the source. They don’t need to be special headphones although noise cancelling ones are best!

During the track you’ll notice you can hear sounds in one direction and then you can almost feel the sounds moving around your head. It is as if the sounds were dancing left to right, up and down, diagonally etc. You’ll be able to perceive the sounds in varying directions, sometimes just singular focused sounds and other times a whole range of pleasant sounds, music, nature sounds etc moving around your head. Some experiences can feel almost as if you are walking and can hear your surroundings pass you by without any actual physical movements. 

Where you can experience 8D music

There are a wide range of songs available to listen to on platforms like YouTube and Spotify and various genres to suit many tastes including some popular music which has been edited in this way. 

Generally I like to make listening to 8D music an experience, its not for when I am busy, or moving around and instead like a meditation wherein I am free from distractions, can lay down comfortably and listen. One or two tracks and I am usually good to carry on with the activities I was doing before but perhaps with a bit more gusto.

How does it compare to regular sound healing 

Although this is a very pleasant immersive sound experience and is a fantastic way to be fully present, in the moment and out of your head which, can help with things like anxiety and stress, unless the music is recorded with specifically tuned sound healing instruments then it won’t have quite the same vibrational effect as a sound bath. Some tracks have been designed specifically for calming the mind and they contain binaural beats which is a form of sound healing, so bare this in mind when looking for tracks to listen to.

Asian lady wearing orange headphones whilst working at a computer

Why you should start listening to 8D music

8d music is reportedly very beneficial for people with

  • ADHD

  • Difficultly focusing/concentrating

  • High stress levels

  • Anxiety

4 Top reasons to add 8D music to your wellbeing playlists are:

  1. It helps to lower stress levels

  2. Can be very calming and good background music to help you with working and studying

  3. There is a wide range of songs to suit different moods and genre preferences

  4. Helps bring you into your body & out of your mind, brilliant when you’re feeling anxious, stressed or worried

    What are your favourite 8D music tracks?

    Comment below and let me know :-)

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