Below are the reasons people choose 432 according to chat gpt and also what I've read. Steiner is credited with saying the A=440 Hz standard is"Luciferian" and claimed it was responsible for creating discord and separating human consciousness from the body but there is no historical record for this. He did say that C= 128hz is part of the 'scientific' or 'philosopher's pitch standard as they were all divisible by 8 (the number of planets orbiting the sun as believed in Steiner's time). But he did not advocate it for use as a musical application. This view was held by others for 100's of years including Chladni and even Verdi.
I did it once for someone. Lowering the pitch over 30 cents is not a fun or easy task, if you don't overshoot the target it will creep back up unless you do several passes. Then again, you might ask when the piano was tuned last. There are plenty of pianos that are at that pitch or lower due to neglect, her piano might already be closer to 432 than 440.
Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2025 16:50
From: David Pinnegar
Subject: A432
The reason why 432 is a fad at the moment is that people are thinking that the music is harsh and the assumption is that it derives from higher pitch.
As we know this is a fallacy. Rudolph Steiner was writing about it and it has taken hold among those who considered him the authority on things that the modern world doesn't see
Unfortunately he didn't know better: it's not the pitch of 440 which puts people on edge but the tuning based on the irrational 12th root of 2. The vibrations are constantly moving and grating and add to this another aspect of ET tuning methodology all the sound is at sea
When one tunes unequally and harmonically with coincident relationships between notes, calm is found in the home keys
I tune at a Steiner Christian Community church and once I explained this, they and I haven't looked back
If you can tune Kellner for her she'll find delight at 440
Currently I have a problem with an instrument which dropped to 435 and sounded horrible, woody in tte treble. It was made for high pitch and I'm experimenting taking it up first to 438, still sounding horrible and will take it up to 442 or 444 if necessary
Some instruments don't find happiness at low pitch
The only exception to my opinion if the 432 syndrome was a pro violinist who found that coming down from 440, engaging a different harmonic series, her tinnitus wasn't excited
Best wishes
David P
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David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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+44 7868385643
Original Message:
Sent: 12/7/2025 4:34:00 PM
From: Mark Schecter
Subject: RE: A432
I once had a client request 432. She was primarily a violin teacher. As such, she was training her students' ears to non-standard pitch. I refused the job, even though I'd driven an hour to get there. I felt it was indefensible that she was imposing her (to me) hare-brained ideas on her students, under the guise of being a "teacher". In this world, there is no rational reason to impose such poppy-cock on future musicians.
If your client only wants it for herself, you should inform her that tuning it flat of the designed tension will negatively affect the tone of not only her piano, but all her other string instruments as well. If she wants it anyway, tell her it will cost extra to lower it, and if she decides she doesn't like it, extra to return it to standard pitch. If that doesn't dissuade her, then it's up to you to decide whether you want to go down that rabbit hole.
Just my opinion, of course.
Mark Schecter, RPT
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Original Message:
Sent: 12/7/2025 4:07:00 PM
From: Patrick Greene
Subject: A432
A client called me and said she would like for me to tune her piano to A432 and she wants some other instruments (dulcimer, hammer dulcimer, guitar) tuned to A432..I am thinking she wants a really "old fashioned sounding" Christmas. I have never tuned a piano to A432 and since I tune aurally, could I just find an app that would transmit that tone and I would tune the piano down to it? In 38 years, no one has ever asked me to do this and I tried to discourage her a bit on it, but she seems determined.
What do you all suggest? I may decline to do this as I do not want to mess up her piano.
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Patrick Greene
OWNER
Knoxville TN
(865) 384-6582
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