Hello There

Hi! Welcome to this brand new blog. Sounds Like Health is a blog I'm creating for my growing interest in all things Sound Healing. It corresponds with a course I'm taking for Prescott College, and with it I hope to explore people, practices, and whatever else within the realm of Sound Healing and Alternative Therapies..

So. Lately I've been reading "Healing Sounds" by Jonathan Goldman. While I have my criticisms of his writing style, Goldman touches upon some cool concepts of sound and the healing aspects of it.


To Begin though, lets cover some basics of Sound.

Goldman begins his book by asserting that all things vibrate at a rate, called a frequency, which we measure in Hz.

Frequency- rate of vibration per second, referred to in Hz. A string that vibrates back and forth one hundred times a second would create a sound that can be measured at 100 Hz. That’s its frequency.

Resonance: frequency at which an object most naturally vibrates. Everything has resonant frequency, whether or not we can audibly perceive it. Every organ, bone and tissue in the body has its own separate resonant frequency. Together they make up a composite frequency, a harmonic that is your own personal vibratory rate. Through resonance it is possible for the vibrations of one vibrating body to reach out and set another body into motion.

Ex. Singer breaking glass with voice. Voice is matching the resonant frequency of glass.

Entrainment: the ability of the more powerful rhythmic vibrations of one object to change the less powerful rhythmic vibrations of another object and cause them to synchronize their rhythms with the first object. Through sound it is possible to change the rhythms of our brainwaves, as well as our heart beat and respiration.

Harmonics: also known as “overtones” are a phenomenon of sound that occurs whenever sound is created. Nearly all tones that are produced by musical instruments, our voices or other sources are in reality not pure tones, but mixtures of pure tone frequencies called “partials”. The lowest such frequency is called the fundamental. All partials higher in frequency than the fundamental are referred to as overtones.

Four Basic Brain wave rates and their corresponding states of consciousness. Based upon cycles per second (hertz or Hz).

1. Beta waves – from 14 to 20 hz, which are found in our normal waking state of consciousness;
2. Alpha waves, from 8 to 13 hz, which occur when we daydream or meditate;
3. theta waves- from 4 to 7 hz, which occur in states of deep meditation and sleep, as well as in shamanic activity;
4. delta waves- from .5 to 3 hz, which occur in deep sleep and have been found in very profound states of meditation and healing.

I'm looking forward to exploring how the science of sound has merged with the therapeutic. The next post will explore how different cultures have utilized sound for therapeutic or meditative purposes.