Paiste Planetary Gong — Mars

Paiste tunes its Mars gong to 144.72 Hz. The tuning comes from Hans Cousto's tables. Cousto took the time Mars takes to orbit the Sun, about 687 days, and doubled its frequency 33 times, until it became a tone people can hear. Paiste names the gong by its lowest tone, D2 at 72.36 Hz. That is the same note one octave lower, which means half the frequency.

1. Step 1. Start with the length of the cycle

   Mars orbit around the Sun: 686.98 days.

2. Step 2. Turn it into a frequency

   One divided by that many seconds is 1.68 × 10⁻⁸ Hz. That is far too slow to hear.

3. Step 3. Double it 33 times

   Doubling a frequency raises it by one octave: the same note, higher. After 33 doublings it is 144.72 Hz.

4. Step 4. Name the note

   144.72 Hz is a D, 25 cents below standard tuning. A cent is one hundredth of the step between two neighboring piano keys. To play in tune with this tone, an instrument sets its A to 433.67 Hz instead of 440.

5. Step 5. Keep doubling and the number lands in the range of light

   42 more doublings give the frequency of light with a wavelength of 471 nm, which is blue. This is arithmetic. It pairs a tone with a color; it does not show that the two are connected.

The method is Hans Cousto’s. Planet gongs explained walks through it and says what it does and does not show.

What is said, not what was measured

In planetary gong practice this gong is associated with will, courage and breaking through stagnation, and its tone is described as dynamic and energizing.

Frequency

144.72 Hz

Wavelength in air (20 °C)

2.37 m

Nearest note

D3, 25 cents below standard tuning

Kind of statement

Instrument

Filed under

Instruments & gongs

• Paiste — Planet Gongs

  The maker’s own figures for each gong’s fundamental note.

  Paiste AG, Planet Gongs: product specifications.

  View source: Paiste — Planet Gongs

• Mars Orbit (Cosmic Octave)Derived144.72 Hz