How-to
How to tune an instrument to 432 Hz
Tuning to 432 Hz is simpler than it sounds: you move one reference number and everything else follows. Here are the exact frequencies, how to set any tuner to A=432, and the practical steps for strings, keys and digital instruments.
Tuning an instrument to 432 Hz means anchoring it to A4 = 432 Hz instead of the standard A4 = 440 Hz. That one change cascades to every other note, all of which scale down by the same ratio. You do not retune each string by a different amount or learn new finger positions. The instrument plays exactly as it always did, just centered about 1.8% lower.
Set your tuner's reference to A=432 instead of A=440, then tune normally to the named notes. The tuner does the math. Every string, key or note shifts down together and the instrument stays in tune with itself.
The frequencies you need
To get every note at 432 Hz, multiply its standard 440 Hz frequency by 432 divided by 440, which is about 0.98182. You almost never have to do this by hand, because the tuner handles it once you change the reference, but it helps to know the targets. For a guitar in standard tuning, the six open strings land at roughly:
- Low E (E2): about 80.4 Hz (from 82.4 Hz)
- A (A2): about 108.0 Hz (from 110.0 Hz)
- D (D3): about 144.2 Hz (from 146.8 Hz)
- G (G3): about 192.4 Hz (from 196.0 Hz)
- B (B3): about 242.5 Hz (from 246.9 Hz)
- High E (E4): about 321.6 Hz (from 329.6 Hz)
The reference A itself, A4, sits at 432 Hz by definition. Notice that none of these are round numbers, which is exactly why you let the tuner do it rather than chasing exact Hz by ear.
Step one: set your tuner to A=432
Almost every chromatic tuner, clip-on tuner and tuning app has a calibration setting. It is usually shown as A4, ref, or just Hz, and it defaults to 440. Find that setting and change the value to 432.
- Open the calibration menuOn a hardware tuner this is often a dedicated button or a long-press; in an app it is in settings. Look for the number 440.
- Change 440 to 432Step the value down until it reads 432 Hz. The whole tuner now references the lower A.
- Tune to the named notes as usualPlay each string or note and bring it to centre, exactly like standard tuning. The tuner is already targeting the 432 Hz versions.
- Confirm with a check noteSound your A and verify the tuner reads A in tune. If it does, every other note is correctly referenced too.
If your tuner has no calibration option, it is locked to 440 and cannot do this. A simple chromatic tuner app with an adjustable reference solves it for free.
Guitar and other string instruments
Strings are the easiest case. Set the tuner to A=432, then tune each open string to its note as normal. Because you are lowering pitch slightly, string tension drops a hair, which is well within the normal range and harmless. Bass, violin, viola, cello, ukulele and mandolin all work the same way: change the reference, tune to the usual note names.
If you are tuning your instrument so it matches recordings you play at 432 Hz, make sure those recordings are genuinely retuned, not just slowed down. A real-time player that resamples properly keeps the tempo correct so you can play along in time.
Play along with your music in 432 Hz
Once your instrument is at 432 Hz, Attune retunes your own backing tracks and songs to match, in real time and at the correct tempo. Free, ad-free, works offline.
Digital pianos, keyboards and synths
Most digital instruments have a master tuning or transpose setting in their menu, often expressed in Hz or in cents. Enter 432 Hz directly, or shift down by about 32 cents if the control uses cents. The whole keyboard moves to the new reference instantly, with no string work at all. Many software instruments and DAWs offer the same global tuning control.
Acoustic pianos
This is the one hard case. An acoustic piano has hundreds of strings under high tension, and shifting its entire reference to 432 Hz is a real tuning job that needs a professional. It also will not hold if done casually. If you only occasionally want 432 Hz, a digital keyboard with adjustable tuning is far more practical than retuning an acoustic grand back and forth.
Wind and brass
Wind and brass players adjust pitch with embouchure and slide or tuning length rather than a fixed reference. To play at 432 Hz, tune to a 432 Hz reference tone, then keep your pitch centered against an ensemble or a drone at that reference. There is no calibration dial, the reference lives in your ear and your instrument's tuning slide.
If your tuner has no calibration setting
Plenty of basic clip-on tuners are locked to 440 Hz with no way to change the reference. You have a few options that all work:
- Use a tuning app with an adjustable reference. Many free chromatic tuner apps let you set A anywhere from the low 400s to the high 400s. This is the simplest fix.
- Tune by cents. If your tuner shows cents of deviation, tune each note about 32 cents flat of standard. It is fiddlier but it gets you there.
- Tune to a 432 Hz reference tone. Play a known-good A=432 reference and match your A to it by ear, then tune the rest of the instrument from that A using your usual relative method.
The cleanest of these is almost always an app with an adjustable reference, because it removes the mental math and lets you tune to the named notes exactly as you would at 440.
Checking your instrument stays in tune
Lowering the reference slightly reduces string tension by a small amount, which is well within the normal working range and harmless to the instrument. Because the change is small, a freshly strung or recently adjusted instrument may settle a touch over the first few minutes, exactly as it would at standard tuning. Play firmly for a moment, then re-check your A and the other strings. Once it settles, 432 Hz holds just as well as 440. There is nothing about the lower reference that makes an instrument drift more; it is the same physics, just centred a little lower.
Tuning to 432 Hz sets where your open strings or reference notes sit. It does not fix intonation problems further up the neck or across the keyboard. If notes go sharp or flat as you move up an instrument at 440 Hz, they will do the same at 432 Hz, because intonation is about the instrument's setup, not the reference pitch. Sort intonation the usual way; the 432 Hz reference is a separate adjustment that sits on top of it.
Recording at 432 Hz
If you are recording and want the final result at 432 Hz, you have two clean routes. Either tune the instrument itself to A=432 before you record, so the performance is captured at the lower reference natively, or record at standard tuning and apply a proper pitch shift afterward in your software. The first keeps everything consistent if other musicians are also at 432 Hz. The second is convenient if you want to keep your normal tuning during tracking and decide on the reference later. Both work, as long as any post-recording shift is a real pitch shift that preserves tempo, not a speed change.
A note on why this works at all
The reason one number controls everything is that equal temperament defines every pitch as a fixed ratio from the reference A. Move A and the ratios carry the rest. That is the same principle that lets a player retune entire recordings by shifting the reference, which we explain in what is 432 Hz. Whether you prefer the result is a matter of taste, covered in 432 Hz vs 440 Hz. Either way, the mechanics are this simple: one reference, and the instrument follows.