The German researcher Heinrich Wilhelm Dove is credited with discovering binaural beats in 1839. Binaural beats are actually produced by the brain when signals consisting of two separate frequencies are experienced discretely through each ear. The beat produced by the brain is the difference between the two beats. For example, one ear hearing a tone of 285.75 hertz and the other hearing a tone of 290.75 hertz yields a binaural beat of 4.5 hertz. Listening to these tones over a period of minutes helps entrain the brain to that frequency. Studies have shown various frequencies to relate to certain states of being.
Some frequencies have been shown to likely relate to even physical states of being. Although this may seem counterintuitive, it must be remembered that sensation is experienced in the brain rather than in other parts of the body that seem to be experiencing sensation. And that is not simply a one-way street of sensation. Motor pathways also exist. Consider the feeling of your heart racing during a suspenseful film. Your heart is reacting to input received by the senses and interpreted by the brain. Such an example is the most obvious, but more subtle instances also occur. It is the brain that commands chemical releases that affect the body. Just as the input of the story of a film can influence the body through the brain, so can brainwave entrainment.
Do I know that each of the binaural recordings I have created have the desired effect? No. My sources for frequency selection was Brainwave/Cymatic Frequency Listing (lunarsight.com) which contains a bibliography listing its various sources and studies.
When I first started creating these beats, I picked the carrier waves (the two source tones used) randomly. Well into the process, I realized that this was not a logical method and am, as of this writing, in the process of re-recording all of the binaural beats (this should be accomplished by early November 2021). What follows is an explanation of the new process.
In music, what we perceive to be the same note, but an octave higher is really frequency double that of the lower note. Picture frequency impulses to be a series of peaks and valleys. If the frequencies are dissonant, they will tend toward canceling each other out. Resonance occurs when the peaks and valleys are close. Therefore, I have used a repeating first harmonic (jumps in octave) of the target binaural beat to reach a mid-range audible tone and split the carrier waves around this harmonic tone. To me, it follows that this should be less of a dissonant experience and, therefore, more pleasant and efficient.
After I feel that I’ve covered the most useful array of raw binaural beat recordings, I plan to combine this with soft music to make the experiences more pleasant. Perhaps there will even be some guided meditation beyond that point, but I’m not certain about that.
There is a link to the page containing the binaural beats I have created below. This page is and will remain a place where people can go and just listen to 30 minutes of a chosen beat free of charge. However, I recognize that some may wish to use these in a location in which they have no connectivity. Therefore, each recording will have a download option as well. There will be a small charge for each download to help support the website.
The most important thing for me to say at this time is simply, have fun. Play around with these. Make it part of an exploration of life. Find out what you find out. If you have feedback, please let me know!