Tone True: 440 • 432 • 444 - Part I

Attunement To Inner Source Part I
An Informal Study on the Classical, Verdi & Solfeggio Tunings
​2016 - 2024

To Tone True has been a mission in my life, especially due to the fact that I’ve been a singer most all of my life. Upon entering the wellness field as a Health and Reiki Practitioner in 2009, Healing Sound became a natural tool and expression for me as I pursued bright health for myself and others.  


Along the way, I realized how very sensitive I was (am still) to energy, which is vibration on many levels. The deeper I went into the ancient art, the more convinced I was of its significance. My studies with Tom Kenyon (Psychotherapist and Master Sound Healer) proved that to be true beyond any doubts.


My perception grew, not only as a practitioner but as an artist, and I have had the honor and great joy to have helped many find their healing-voice knowing that when it is found and raised, it could be one of the most powerful tools — if not the most powerful tool — we have for self-healing.


A sound-experience is direct and alters us inside and out. Think about how music transforms us in a split second and even takes us back in time. In my humble opinion, I more than believe the inner-ear and the inner-voice are one mechanism breathing in and breathing out - listening, transmuting and transmitting. But when we sing out, I began to question, to what frequency do we best tune? 


As a writer of Astrological Moon essays (Tune to the Moon, now Tune to the Light), I took on a passion to try and match the sound, (the vibration) of constellations and planets with their corresponding moon cycles listed in Hermetic Teachings with the human voice. 


The more I learned about the various tunings however, the more I questioned my own direction and what I was doing. My work has to always feel right within me, and it reached a point where it just didn't. As a result, I tossed-out all my vocal explorations over the past few months, and there was a lot, but that allowed me a “clean slate” to further explore. I was ready.


In regards to healing frequency, there is a race going on around the world to understand the mystery of sound and how it works. It is a major factor in science, in space, and medical technology today.  We would all do well to be in tune, but in tune to what is the question. What follows is my personal journey.


Classical Tuning
For those that do not know, the first of the three most popular ways to tune an instrument is the Classical 440. After 1885, it became the standard tuning. One tunes the note A on a piano, (called A4 above middle C and it can be any instrument) to 440 cycles per second (CPI), or what is also known as "hertz" (HZ). Any mechanical tuning device should work. 


Because all instruments playing in an orchestra have to be in harmony with one another, back in the 1800s, they had to agree on a common frequency, but how and why they chose 440 hertz is quite a story (if one believes it), and one not without controversy and even a little conspiracy. I’m sure you can find the 440 story online. The links I researched are no longer active. 


Glad I wrote and researched these topics in 2016 because it appears that much of the information is classified now as conspiracy theories on google’s internet. To summarize for you, the history of 440 tuning goes back to Europe and the 19th century. In 1939, standarization was achieved and has been associated with Nazi Germany, the Illuminati and dark agenda to deliberately lessen the positive affects music has on humanity. There are others that deny this. Many perspectives can be found online today. I encourage personal research and perhaps even more - personal experience.


Giuseppe Verdi 
The second tuning is 432 hz, or what is known as "Verdi's" tuning, and it also has quite a story. It has been said that when tuned into Verdi's frequency, one tunes to nature, and for this reason, its tuning is said to be much more harmonious to our bodies and to our world than the Classical 440. Of course, this triggered my interest, but what was even more interesting was finding out how the new tuning helped the voices of the Opera Singers. Their experience changed. 


Evidently, it was discovered that with the classical tuning, singers were forced into their higher register which caused strain and tension on their vocal chords. In comparison, Verdi's tuning caused voices to relax allowing singers to vocalize more freely and with more power. One of the 432 story links I researched is still active. I have included it in the credits along with examples for your discernment and enjoyment.


Solfeggio
The third and final of the three tunings is the Solfeggio 444 hz (also seen as 528 hz). If you've read about 440 and 432, you'll know that disharmony was experienced with the Classical tuning, and Verdi's completely altered the experience in positive ways. 


A positive experience is what occurred with the Solfeggio as well, at least that is what has been reported. However, for me there is much more going on with the Solfeggio....


"Solfeggi" (solfège, or sol-fe) is a French and Italian term used to describe a method of music education that teaches pitch and sight-reading, or sight-singing. Upon reflection, the Solfeggio is about singing and searching for that sound inside, the tone, the pitch - the VOICE WITHIN - in order to tune from the inside-out. 


Developed in the 11th century by the music theorist Guido of Arezzo, the method centers around a six-note ancient ascending scale that we know as, DO RE MI FA SO LA.  Originally, it was written as: UT, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA with a seventh note SI added at a later time, but how these words, or syllables came to be is a story unto itself. 


They were "recognized" at the beginning of a Latin hymn entitled, Ut queant laxis, which was written in honor of John the Baptist by Paulus Diaconus in the 8th century. The hymn with its esoteric message follows. Ut Queant Laxis translation: So that your servants may, with loosened voices, resound the wonders of your deeds, clean the dirt from our stained lips, O Saint John. 


There is much symbology here, and I realize now why I was drawn, from the very beginnings, to the Solfeggio. It's more than the tuning, especially if one sings and is aware of the science of vibration and the associated planetary connections and influences. An inner experience occurs that I cannot quite define. 


What has also come to me is the "shaping of the sound," or what is called a "sound envelope" by Tom Kenyon, may perhaps be more important - or at least just as important - as the actual tone, pitch, or tuning.


This has been my experience, but I will stay on track with the original question, What about the tuning? and how did the Solfeggio teaching method get applied to frequencies? 


First, the six sounds UT, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA (SI/TI) were assigned to the musical notes C D E F G A (and B); however, these notes can be tuned in many ways. My question persisted, So what created the Solfeggio Frequencies with their sacred music found in the beautiful and well-known Gregorian chants? Answer: First came the vibration: the tones.


Where Do These Tones Come From? 
With a little back-tracking, according to Professor Willi Apel, the origin of the ancient Solfeggio scale is traced back to a Medieval hymn to John the Baptist. The hymn has this peculiarity that the first six lines of the music commenced respectively on the first six successive notes of the scale, and thus the first syllable of each line was sung to a note one degree higher that the first syllable of the line that preceded it. Because the music held codes of mathematic resonance, the original frequencies were said to be capable of spiritually inspiring mankind to be more god-like. 

Continued in Part II.


Author
Kristen Farquhar 
First published © January 2016, Updates July 5, 2023 & April 10, 2024

Listen for yourself the Ut Queant Laxis: https://youtu.be/SugtS3tqsoo
Verdi Tuning "Beethoven Symphony No. 9 - (part 1)" https://youtu.be/_YDVog236Bc
Classical Tuning "Beethoven Symphony No. 9": https://youtu.be/KoFRxRWmxS8
 432 Tuning 2016: https://ask.audio/articles/music-theory-432-hz-tuning-separating-fact-from-fiction
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​Photograph
Cymaglyph of my voice toning OM/AUM



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