ControversyMusic History

All of our music is WRONG! The great 440 Hz conspiracy

[This is my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca – AC]

Gather ’round, kids. Those of you with tinfoil hats may wish to ensure that they’re fitted snuggly. What I’m about to tell you will shake your faith in all the music you’ve heard in your life.

If you look down the right paths, it becomes clear that governments and various security apparatuses have used music to control us using music. All the music of the West that’s based on the standard 12-tone scale is used for the management of crowds as well as thought control.

Let’s begin with some music theory.

If musical performances were to sound the same the world over, some standardization was required. As early as 1885, the Music Commission of the Italian Government declared that all instruments and orchestras should use a tuning fork that vibrated at 440 Hz, which was different from the original standard of 435 Hz and the competing 432 Hz used in France.

In 1917, the American Federation of Musicians endorsed the Italians, followed by a further push for 440 Hz in the 1940s.

In 1953, a worldwide agreement was signed. Signatories declared that middle “A” on the piano be forevermore tuned to exactly 440 Hz. This frequency became the standard ISO-16 reference for tuning all musical instruments based on the chromatic scale, the one most often used for music in the West. All the other notes are tuned in standard mathematical ratios leading to and from 440 Hz.

This is where things begin to get very, very weird, Keep reading.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39159 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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