Sound Therapy Capstone: 1

It has been a while since my last binaural beat crafting episode. I managed to finally set up my modular synthesizer, start twisting the knobs and plug the patch cables into the wrong holes. Having been away from the binaural beat, or sound therapy realm for a while, I felt a bit tense getting back into it all. However, once I started patching the sound machine together, the process started to come together more smoothly. I decided to start with my standard process of using two oscillators, hard panned to either side. I then went on to tweak the frequency of each one with an overall goal of forming some sort of hypnotic, rhythmic beating between the two speakers, hoping to achieve the binaural effect through the different sonic qualities perceived between the sounds on either side.

 During the crafting of all the experimentation on my synthesizer I did not have any sort of equipment for measuring the frequency content of the audio. I did not want to get that specific and instead wanted the actual creation of the audio to be a personalized one. I therefore paid close attention to my body (which was rather difficult) throughout the process.

To achieve a substantial binaural effect, it is important that there isn't a big difference in frequency between the two tones.  The difference in frequency between the two tones, which creates the binaural beat, should produce the following shifts in consciousness:

Delta:  .5 to 4HZ (Deep levels of relaxation, such as sleep)
Theta:  4-8HZ (Tranquil states of awareness which provoke internal visual imagery)
Alpha: 8-12HZ(Relaxed nervous system, ideal for stress management)
Beta:  12-30HZ(Associated with waking/alert states of awareness)

---sourced from: http://tomkenyon.com/acoustic-brain-research

Between this and the next 9 posts I will be presenting the experiential reports of the five audio pieces I created.  The pieces were originally crafted for myself based on which proved to be therapeutic. I will also be posting the experiential reports of an outsider. I thought it would be fascinating to see how someone, with no prior knowledge of binaural beats, sound therapy, or psychoacoustics reacts to my personal sonic prescription.


Response to Session One audio

Out of the five binaural pieces I brewed up, this one without a doubt contains the lowest frequency content.  The headphones I am using for listening are a pair of Bose noise canceling over the ear and are able to handle the drones without distorting.  During the duration of the track my skull felt spiral vibrations running up and down it, and back and forth.  Upon listening in a proper setting (alone in a dimly lit room, sitting on a comfortable sofa, and covered with a blanket), I was able to become deeply immersed into the experience.  There was a certain anxiety when the sounds first began, because I was worried about what sort of reaction I would have being subjected to 10 minutes of sonic skull massage. After what seemed to be the half way point, I began to notice how several new layers of frequency content had bloomed.  It is important to mention that there was no tweaking of the knobs, automation, or sequencing of the synthesizer during the recordings. I simply created a patch with two droning oscillators and set up a modulation source at a slow rate to modulate the oscillators for frequency shifting.  The trance that I was put into makes me wonder how much of the frequency content that emerged in the latter half of the track was actually there, or if I perceived it to be, due to the binaural beat technique.  By the time the audio faded out, I felt way calmer.  I was sedated in a way that I would best describe as sunken, warm, and fuzzy.