Production aids · Axis: PITCH

Note frequencies

Every note from C0 to B8 in hertz, with the concert-A reference movable from 440 to 432 or anywhere between. Equal temperament throughout.

Concert A reference

A4 = Hz

          Offset from 440
          +0.0
          cents
        

          Tuning name
          ISO 16 standard
        

Note table · C0 — B8 Click any frequency to hear the note

Note 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 C C♯ D D♯ E F F♯ G G♯ A A♯ B

A4 is marked in pink. Values in hertz, two decimal places below 100 Hz and one above.

How to read this

Equal temperament divides the octave into twelve equal ratios, so every semitone is the twelfth root of two — about 1.0595 — times the one below it. From one fixed reference every other note follows: f = A4 × 2^(n/12), where n is the number of semitones from A4. Change the reference and the whole grid slides with it, which is exactly what the control above does.

Octaves use scientific pitch notation, where the number changes at C: A4 sits above C4, and A4 to A5 is a doubling. Middle C is C4 — worth stating because MIDI numbering and some DAWs put middle C at C3, which shifts every octave label by one without changing a single frequency.

On 440 and 432

A4 = 440 Hz is the standard, fixed by ISO 16 and the reference nearly every instrument, tuner and sample library assumes. It is a convention, not a physical constant — pitch standards drifted for centuries before it, and orchestras today still vary, with several European ensembles tuning to 442 or 443.

A4 = 432 Hz is 31.8 cents lower — roughly a third of a semitone. It has a devoted following, and claims are commonly made for it about natural resonance and mathematical harmony with the universe.

Where we stand. Those claims have no support in acoustics or in controlled listening tests. What is true is more modest and more useful: a slightly lower reference makes a mix marginally darker, and if you find that you prefer it, that preference is reason enough.

The practical cost is real. Every sample, synth preset, guest stem and tuner in the chain must agree, or the record is out of tune with itself. Decide before you track, not after.

Where this is useful in a mix

Tuning by ear Play the reference note and match the instrument to it. The table gives you the target; the tone button gives you the pitch.

Bass and kick Knowing the fundamental of the lowest note in a part tells you where the energy actually is — and how much of your low end is below it and doing nothing.

Filter and EQ moves A high-pass at 80 Hz removes the fundamental of E2 at 82 Hz. Setting filters against note frequencies rather than round numbers avoids losing a note you wanted.

Hunting resonances A ringing frequency usually lands near a note in the key. Find it in the table, then decide whether it is a problem or the record.

One caution on the last of those: a resonance sitting on a note is not automatically a problem. Notch what you hear as a problem, not what a table predicts — the table tells you where to look.

A table tells you where a note sits. The VU Meter tells you how loud it actually is — sustained average against 0 VU, free. ZEROPINK | VU Meter →