Visible Sound/Inaudible Sound
As an artist working with Cymatics, I make sound waves become visible to the eye…today I want to talk about how YOU can hear sound waves that are actually inaudible to the human ear.
A few years ago I spent a week at the Monroe Institute in Virginia. The Monroe Institute uses these “inaudible sounds” to help participants learn to meditate, lucid dream, and other extraordinary experiences.
At the Institute, we spent 6 hours out of each day in isolation chambers with no light, listening to what are called binaural beats.
Binaural beats are actually sound that does not exist outside of ones head, but you can hear it.
How is that possible?
Binaural beats work by broadcasting two separate frequencies in each ear. For example, if you play 200 Hz in your right ear, and 207 Hz in your left ear. The brain will compensate for the difference between the two and produce a third tone that will be exactly 7 Hz.
What this means is that your brain actually hears a 7 Hz tone that only exists within your brain, and not outside of it.
Thus, you are “hearing” - but not with your ears, since this sound is not being processed or registered by your ears but is being created inside of your head.
What does it sound like?
If you want to hear what this “inaudible sound” sounds like (and you will be able to prove to yourself that you are actually hearing it!) here’s what you can do:
1. Put some headphones or earbuds on and go to this site.
2. Go to their “samples” page, then click on one of the tracks that has “binaural beat” in the title.
3. Listen to the track with the headphones on…then remove one earbud (or phone) and listen, to just one side, then the other side. Then put them both back on. That third, strange wavering tone you hear is being created for you alone, by your brain, inside your head.
This isn’t just very cool – it’s also useful. If you read a bit more on their site you will see why (yes it looks pretty new-agey but their info is solid).
Personally I use binaural beats when I meditate almost every time, whether listening to a CD or live didgeridoo. (But I have to say I’ve never seen a track called “Caffeine Alternative” before! Hey, I’m getting that one for myself!)
Enjoy…