Paiste Planetary Gong — Sun

Paiste tunes its Sun gong to 126.22 Hz. The tuning comes from Hans Cousto's tables. It does not come from a measured orbit or from the Sun's rotation. Cousto calculates it as a limit value of 32,312.52 Hz, then halves that 8 times. Paiste names the gong by its lowest tone, B1 at 63.11 Hz. That is the same note one octave lower, which means half the frequency.

1. Step 1. Start with Cousto’s figure

   Cousto presents the Sun tone as a limit value derived from an imagined orbit at the Sun’s gravitational length, not as the Sun’s equatorial rotation period. Original tone at octave 0: 32,312.52 Hz.

2. Step 2. Halve it 8 times

   Halving a frequency lowers it by one octave. After 8 halvings it is 126.22 Hz.

3. Step 3. Name the note

   126.22 Hz is a B, 38 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 449.80 Hz instead of 440.

4. Step 4. Keep doubling and the number lands in the range of light

   42 more doublings give the frequency of light with a wavelength of 540 nm, which is yellow-green. 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 vitality and solar plexus work, and its tone is described as powerful and radiant.

Frequency

126.22 Hz

Wavelength in air (20 °C)

2.72 m

Nearest note

B2, 38 cents above 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

• Sun Tone (Cousto’s construction)Derived126.22 Hz