Paiste Planetary Gong — Moon
210.42 Hz
Nearest note: G♯3, 23 cents above standard tuning
A planet gong pitch. Paiste tunes its Synodic Moon gong to 210.42 Hz.
How well is this supported?
Calculated from a measured value by a stated method. You can check the arithmetic. What the result means is a matter of interpretation.
This entry gives a typical pitch for an instrument. Real instruments vary.
The button plays a plain tone. Start with the volume low. Phone and laptop speakers play low notes quietly; headphones or a speaker help.
Where this number comes from
Paiste tunes its Synodic Moon gong to 210.42 Hz. The tuning comes from Hans Cousto's tables. Cousto took the synodic month, the time from one new moon to the next, about 29.5 days. He doubled its frequency 29 times, until it became a tone people can hear. Paiste names the gong by its lowest tone, G#2 at 105.21 Hz. That is the same note one octave lower, which means half the frequency. Paiste also makes a Sidereal Moon gong, tuned to 227.43 Hz.
- Step 1. Start with the length of the cycle
Moon orbit from new moon to new moon: 29.530588 days.
- Step 2. Turn it into a frequency
One divided by that many seconds is 3.92 × 10⁻⁷ Hz. That is far too slow to hear.
- Step 3. Double it 29 times
Doubling a frequency raises it by one octave: the same note, higher. After 29 doublings it is 210.42 Hz.
- Step 4. Name the note
210.42 Hz is a G♯, 23 cents above 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 445.86 Hz instead of 440.
- Step 5. Keep doubling and the number lands in the range of light
41 more doublings give the frequency of light with a wavelength of 648 nm, which is orange. 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 about it
What is said, not what was measured
In planetary gong practice this gong is associated with emotional healing and work with the subconscious, and its tone is described as gentle and flowing.
Facts
- Frequency
- 210.42 Hz
- Wavelength in air (20 °C)
- 1.63 m
- Nearest note
- G♯3, 23 cents above standard tuning
- Kind of statement
- Instrument
- Filed under
- Instruments & gongs
Tuning Data
The row for this tone in Hans Cousto’s tables, with the tempo and pendulum length that follow from it.
- Cycle
- Moon orbit from new moon to new moon
- Length of the cycle
- 29.530588 days
- Octaves up
- 29
- Concert pitch (A)
- 445.86 Hz
- Difference from A = 440 Hz
- +22.91 cents
- Tempo
- 98.63 beats per minute
- Pendulum length
- 9.2 cm / 3.62 in
- Color by octave
- Orange (648 nm)
Tempo and pendulum length, octave by octave
| Octave | Frequency | One cycle | Tempo | Pendulum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22tempo | 1.64 Hz | 608.31 ms | 98.63 BPM | 9.2 cm |
| 23 | 3.29 Hz | 304.15 ms | 197.27 BPM | 2.3 cm |
| 24 | 6.58 Hz | 152.08 ms | Too fast to count | Too short to build |
| 25 | 13.15 Hz | 76.04 ms | Too fast to count | Too short to build |
| 26 | 26.30 Hz | 38.02 ms | Too fast to count | Too short to build |
| 27 | 52.61 Hz | 19.01 ms | Too fast to count | Too short to build |
| 28 | 105.21 Hz | 9.50 ms | Too fast to count | Too short to build |
| 29tone | 210.42 Hz | 4.75 ms | Too fast to count | Too short to build |
Intervals built on this tone
| Ratio | Interval | Frequency | Note | Concert A | Cents from 440 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1 | Perfect unison | 210.42 Hz | G#3 | 445.86 Hz | +22.92 |
| 81/80 | Syntonic comma | 213.05 Hz | G#3 | 451.44 Hz | +44.43 |
| 531441/524288 | Pythagorean comma | 213.29 Hz | G#3 | 451.95 Hz | +46.38 |
| 128/125 | Diesis | 215.47 Hz | A3 | 430.94 Hz | -36.02 |
| 648/625 | Greater diesis | 218.16 Hz | A3 | 436.33 Hz | -14.51 |
| 25/24 | Chroma | 219.19 Hz | A3 | 438.38 Hz | -6.41 |
| 16/15 | Diatonic semitone | 224.45 Hz | A3 | 448.90 Hz | +34.65 |
| 10/9 | Minor whole tone | 233.80 Hz | A#3 | 441.36 Hz | +5.33 |
| 9/8 | Major whole tone | 236.72 Hz | A#3 | 446.87 Hz | +26.83 |
| 8/7 | Septimal whole tone | 240.48 Hz | B3 | 428.49 Hz | -45.90 |
| 6/5 | Minor third | 252.50 Hz | B3 | 449.91 Hz | +38.56 |
| 5/4 | Major third | 263.03 Hz | C4 | 442.35 Hz | +9.24 |
| 4/3 | Perfect fourth | 280.56 Hz | C#4 | 445.36 Hz | +20.97 |
| 3/2 | Perfect fifth | 315.63 Hz | D#4 | 446.37 Hz | +24.88 |
| 8/5 | Minor sixth | 336.67 Hz | E4 | 449.40 Hz | +36.61 |
| 5/3 | Major sixth | 350.70 Hz | F4 | 441.85 Hz | +7.28 |
| 7/4 | Natural seventh | 368.23 Hz | F#4 | 437.91 Hz | -8.25 |
| 16/9 | Pythagorean minor seventh | 374.08 Hz | F#4 | 444.86 Hz | +19.01 |
| 9/5 | Just minor seventh | 378.76 Hz | F#4 | 450.42 Hz | +40.52 |
| 15/8 | Major seventh | 394.54 Hz | G4 | 442.85 Hz | +11.19 |
| 2/1 | Octave | 420.84 Hz | G#4 | 445.86 Hz | +22.92 |
Source notes
The synodic month measures the lunar cycle by the changing relationship between Moon and Sun.
Source: Hans Cousto — Tuning Data / Sun Earth Moon Planets. View the source PDF.
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as stated in Stimmdaten.pdf (German edition), page 2.
Values are reproduced from Cousto’s tables. Tempo, pendulum length and interval tables are calculated by this site from those values.
See every tone in the tables: Open the tuning data reference.
Sources
- 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
More about the pitch
The same note in every octave
Each step doubles or halves the frequency. Tap one to hear it.
Entries close in pitch
Within 35 cents of this tone, in any octave. A cent is one hundredth of the step between two neighboring piano keys. Being close in pitch does not mean two things are connected.