Binaural beats used in the world of mond body health and well-being are nothing new. They have been used in psychology and psychotherapy for brainwave entrainment for many decades now. I first came across binaural beats in the 1990’s through a psychologist in Perth, Western Australia. This traditional use of binaural beats is by recording two different tones played in stereo and listened with stereo headphones so the two tones are heard separately, one in each ear.
Worldwide interest in use of binaural beats in sound bath meditation is increasing around the world. So too is the misunderstanding of what a binaural beat really is and why it’s not possible to reproduce binaural beats in a typical sound bath. This confusion is arising because some are mistakenly confusing a binaural beat with a monaural beat. To understand the difference between binaural beat and a monaural beat, it’s essential to first understand the difference between mono and stereo sound recording, along with how and why the binaural beat is created in the first place.
An audible beat occurs when two similar but not identical tones are played and heard by the human ears at the same time. When the two sound waves collide, a 3rd sound wave and audible tone is created. Which if the frequencies of the two originating tones are close enough together the 3rd sound wave created by the harmonic resonance of the two tones, will have a noticeable beat.
This noticeable beat in the 3rd tone is the side effect of the harmonic resonance between the two originating tones. What makes this noticeable beat a binaural beat or a monaural beat, depends on two things:
- Where the two originating tones are created and
- Where those two tones collide to create the 3rd sound wave which has the beat.
If the two originating tones and their sound waves are heard separately in true stereo, one tone heard in each ear, the 3rd tone and sound wave is created within the brain. There is no evidence which proves this 3rd beat to be an auditory illusion, as often claimed by some. This 3rd tone is known as a binaural beat because the two originating tones are heard separately, one tone in each ear.
If the two originating tones and their sound waves can be heard by both ears, the 3rd sound wave is created outside the ears and by the time that 3rd tone reaches both ears, the ears are hearing that 3rd tone in mono rather than in stereo. This is known as a monaural beat because the two tones are combined into one sound before they reach the ears, unlike binaural beats heard in true stereo, which are combined into one sound inside the brain as a result of hearing each of the two tones separately, one tone heard in each ear.
The only way binaural beats can be listened to correctly during a sound bath, is if the entire sound bath is pre-recorded in stereo and listened back with stereo headphones, rather than being played live. There are many disadvantages in doing this. Firstly and most importantly that any microphones used to make the recording will by design, exclude the beneficial lower frequencies ocurring below the physical range of the microphones. For this reason, a sound bath live performance will always be superior for the participants than any digital recording.
If the sound bath is expertly choreographed and played to induce and maintain trance states, as taught here at International Academy of Sound Therapy, the relaxation effect induced by any monaural beats created during the sound bath will be effective to induce the desired deep rest & relaxation, which is always the goal of a professional iSR© sound bath, while allowing all the lower beneficial frequencies to remain and reach the body intact.
Discover the science and correct use of binaural beats in our expert iSR© Certified Sound Bath Profiessional training or our iSRT© Holistic Sound Massage Therapist training.
Back to Home PageAbout the Author:
Sharon Quigley is our Founder and Head Tutor,
a Professional musician, Data Scientist and avid researcher from Australia
who is now based in Ireland, the land of her ancestors and has been
working with sound & frequency medicine in a range of clinical,
education and research settings in Australia, Ireland
and around the world since the 1990s.
