If you scroll through social media for long enough, you'll probably find videos claiming that listening to songs tuned to "A 432Hz" can provide an amazing sense of calmness or healing.
It's even claimed that listening to music tuned to this frequency can align your internal frequencies to those of the universe. It's an alluring idea - that simply listening to music tuned in a specific way could improve your health.
But does it have any scientific basis?
An ancient idea
Firstly, what does it even mean if songs are tuned to A 432Hz?
Hertz (or Hz) is a measurement of frequency , or the number of times sound waves vibrate per second. Sounds are transmitted as waves through the air which hit our eardrums to create the sensation of hearing. The more quickly those sound waves are vibrating, the higher the pitch of the note.
In standard concert tuning, the note A above middle C is tuned to 440Hz. A 432Hz tuning simply means the pitch of that A and all the other notes in the music are tuned a little lower than normal.
Some argue 432Hz is closer to natural harmonic frequencies than 440Hz and that using this tuning is therefore better for wellbeing.
The idea that sounds or music can heal or even align us with the cosmos is not new. Long before social media, the ancient Greeks linked sound to the frequencies of the universe. Pythagoras proposed musical notes were governed by simple numerical ratios, the same ratios he believed underpinned the cosmos itself.
Later, medieval and Renaissance thinkers built on these ideas with the concept of "music of the spheres" - the idea that sound could be used to align us with the vibrations of the planets in a kind of cosmic harmony that influenced human emotions and wellbeing.
No magical effect
Although the concept of cosmic alignment is intriguing, there's little scientific support for the idea that specific frequencies have any magical effect on wellbeing.
In one study from 2019, researchers played movie soundtracks tuned to 440 Hz to participants on one day and to 432 Hz on another day, finding that after listening to the 432 Hz tunings participants had slightly decreased heart rate and blood pressure. However, the study was limited by a very small sample and non-randomisation of participants, making it difficult to separate true frequency effects from expectancy or general relaxation responses.
Modern research suggests the effects of sound or music on wellbeing are less about any single special frequency, and more about how we perceive and interpret sound.
Some have theorised the use of frequencies that correspond to specific brainwave patterns such as delta waves (0.5-4Hz, associated with deep sleep), or alpha waves (8-12Hz, associated with relaxed wakefulness), can make the brain synchronise to those frequencies and achieve a relaxed state.
However, research in support of this theory is inconclusive. One study from 2017 found no changes in electrical activity in the brain after hearing such frequencies presented as binaural beats.
Binaural beats themselves are another form of sound that many claim can have miraculous effects on wellbeing. When two slightly different frequencies are played separately into each ear, the brain perceives a rhythmic pulse at a rate equal to the difference between the two frequencies. This is called a binaural beat.
There is some evidence that our physiological systems (such as breathing and heart rate) synchronise to any beat that we hear. This can help lower our levels of arousal or alertness.
That's why most of us tend to be attracted to slower, calmer sounding music when we want to relax, for example, since the slower beat helps slow our breathing and heart rate and make us feel sleepier or calmer.
Focusing on your own response
Does that mean binaural beats have any special therapeutic effect? Not really.
A recent study found binaural beats can increase relaxation and alter brain activity. But crucially, similar effects were also observed with other types of moving or spatialised sounds. The authors concluded the benefits were likely driven by general auditory features rather than the binaural beats themselves.
It all comes down to individual preferences and perceptions. For example, binaural beats are frequently associated with meditation or mantras. And it could be this association which enhances the supposed wellbeing effects of binaural beats for some people.
Similarly with music tuned to A 432Hz.
Our brains tend to interpret sounds as expressions of emotional states. When humans are relaxed, our voices are usually lower in pitch than when we are excited or agitated .
Thus, notes of a lower pitch are sometimes perceived as more relaxing than notes that are higher pitched. Again, this doesn't mean there is anything special or magical about 432Hz tunings - just that for many people, lower pitched notes seem calmer. The same effect could be achieved by listening to other music or frequencies with a lower pitch.
So while 432Hz might sound soothing to some ears, it's not a shortcut to cosmic alignment. Rather than thinking about the numbers, focus on really becoming aware of your own response. Notice how different sounds make you feel, what slows your breathing, eases your body, or lifts your mood.
When it comes to wellbeing, what works is what works for you.
Sandra Garrido is the CEO of MoodyTunes, a music-based smartphone app for youth mental health.
