White
0 dB / octave
Equal energy at every frequency. Because we hear in octaves, it sounds bright and hissy — the classic "TV static".
425 Hz.
Hear 425 Hz next to 432 Hz and the standard 440 Hz: as a steady tone and as a melody tuned to each. A short comparison follows.
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Listen and compare
Tap a pitch to hear it, and again to pause. 425 Hz sits about 0.6 semitone below the standard 440 Hz, with 432 Hz between the two.
425, 432 and 440 Hz compared
All three are the pitch of the note A above middle C. The international standard has been 440 Hz since 1955. Before that, pitch varied by city and century: a tuning fork linked to Handel (1740) gives 422.5 Hz, and the Paris Opéra fork of 1810 gives 423 Hz, both close to 425 Hz.
Today 425 Hz is not a musical standard, but you hear it every day in most of Europe: it is the frequency of telephone tones. No study shows that any of these pitches is healthier than another; the difference is one of colour, and a matter of taste.
Facts that often get mixed up
- 425 Hz is about 0.6 of a semitone below 440 Hz (60 cents), not almost a full semitone. 432 Hz is about a third of a semitone below (32 cents). A full semitone below 440 Hz is 415.3 Hz.
- “Baroque pitch” today usually means 415 Hz. 425 Hz sits closer to later tuning forks: Handel's of 1740 gives 422.5 Hz, and the Paris Opéra's of 1810 gives 423 Hz.
- Where you hear 425 Hz most today is on the phone: it is the dial and ringing tone in most of Europe.
- Middle C is exactly 256 Hz at A = 432 Hz only in Pythagorean tuning, which is built from pure fifths. In the equal temperament almost all instruments use, it is 256.9 Hz.
| 425 Hz | 432 Hz | 440 Hz | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A low older pitch; the tone of European phones | An alternative tuning, often called Verdi pitch | The international standard (ISO 16) |
| Below 440 Hz by | About 0.6 semitone (60 cents) | About a third of a semitone (32 cents) | — |
| Middle C | 252.7 Hz | 256.9 Hz | 261.6 Hz |
| How it sounds | Darker, a little heavier | A shade lower, warmer to many ears | Bright and familiar |
| Where you hear it | Phone dial and ringing tones; music of Handel's time was tuned close to it | Ambient and meditation music, some remasters | Almost all music today |
Is 425 Hz a real tuning?
Not a standard one. Concert pitch wandered a lot before 1955, and some 18th- and early 19th-century forks sit near 425 Hz, but early-music groups today mostly play at 415 or 430 Hz.
Why do phones play 425 Hz?
Most European networks use a 425 Hz tone for the dial tone and the ringing and busy signals: one clear, easy-to-hear frequency for all of them.
Which pitch should I listen to?
Whichever you like. The differences are small: compare them above in headphones and keep the one that feels calmest to you.
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Ear Age · 60 seconds
Test your ears.
Our ears lose the highest pitches first, and it starts early. Find the highest tone you can still hear and see the typical age for it.
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