What is Sound Healing?

Sound healing is the ability of sound to heal elements of ourselves that are in imbalance. Sound healing dates back to prehistoric times. In ancient mystery schools of Egypt, Greece and India, the use of sound and music for healing was a highly developed sacred science (Goldman and Sims 2015). Many instruments or tools can be used in sound healing, including the voice, through toning or chanting, to balance the physical body, chakras and subtle bodies (Andrews 1992). In a therapeutic setting, a practitioner works with a client to address physical and emotional issues and helps to facilitate healing.

How does Sound Healing work?
The Big Bang Theory suggests that 13.8 billion years ago, the universe started from a singularity, then expanded to become the cosmos we know today. Despite its name, scientists suggest that the “Big Bang” was in fact silent as the early universe was too energetically dense and there was no recognisable matter as we know it to allow sound to be propagated. Over the next 380,000 years, as the universe continued to expand and cool forming galaxies, and primordial sound waves were formed. Primordial sound would likely have been a very powerful but low frequency. Around 4.6 billion years ago when the Earth is thought to have been formed, there was an abundance of sound. The earth surface cooled, the rains fell forming oceans and creatures evolved.

Many of the religious creation stories and the history of various cultures include sound, music or speech as an important factor. In the New Testament Gospel, according to John “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the word was God”. Similarly, in the Hindu tradition of the Vedas, it is written, “In the beginning was Brahman with whom was the Word. And the Word was Brahman”. In Ancient Kemet, tradition dictates that the deity Thoth created the world through his voice. In the Indigenous Australian culture, the didgeridoo is said to have been played as the gods danced, sang and named all things on earth. Further, chanting and singing are used in many prayer rituals alongside physical movements, possibly to receive different frequencies and attune the mind. (Stephenson 2008).

In 1995 archaeologists in Slovenia found, what is considered to be, the oldest musical instrument in the world. The Divje Babe flute is carved from a young cave bear femur and is thought to be a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal instrument made specifically for playing music Atema (2014). Rock gongs, large slabs of stone that produce rhythmic sounds when hit at certain points, have been found in West Africa, and are linked to early Homo sapiens. Blades (1992). Scientists also believe that early humans possibly sang before speech evolved. However, enjoying music, singing or producing sound has no obvious evolutionary purpose. So why might have early man sung? Charles Darwin attempted to answer this question. In 1871 he suggested that singing in early humans was similar to bird song in that it could be used to attract a mate and warn off rival males. Schulkin and Raglan (2014).

The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is credited with highlighting the relationship between sound and numbers. In his observations and experiments, he discovered that when certain lengths of string were plucked on a lyre, they would, not only produce pleasant or harmonious sounds, but that a proportional relationship could be established between each sound – an interval. Pythagoras found that a pleasant sound – consonance, or unpleasant sound – dissonance, was dependent on a particular ratio of pitches. The ratio of the intervals is determined by the first string or frequency, known as the Fundamental Interval. The corresponding intervals or frequencies above this are known as overtones or harmonics. For example:

1:1: Unison
2:1: Octave
3:2: Perfect fifth

For Pythagoras, musical ratios could also express the nature of universal harmony and could be found in nature and the cosmos. Musical intervals are used to elicit different feelings or moods in the listener. For example, a unison interval is often used in chanting or mantras, and the perfect fifth, which conveys comfort and is often used in nursery rhymes as an interval that babies most easily learn and recognise. Bencivelli (2011). Harmonics is demonstrated in Khöömei or throat-singing, a tradition originating in Mongolia. Khöömei is believed to be a form of singing that imitates the sounds found in nature. To achieve this, one vocalist produces a low fundamental tone and simultaneously produces a higher pitch or overtone.

The advancements of modern science have enabled us to better understand how sound works and apply this knowledge into the capture and dissemination of information, art, health and warfare. Sound waves are measured in cycles per second. These cyclical wave measurements are referred to as hertz (Hz). Frequency is the term used to measure sound. When a wave completes one cycle in a second, it is denoted as 1 Hz. Slower sound waves produce deep bass tones, while quicker sound waves generate high-pitched treble sounds. The human auditory range typically spans from 16 Hz to 16,000 Hz. In contrast, young children may perceive sounds up to 20,000 Hz, but as we age and encounter louder noises, our hearing range diminishes Goldman (2017). Speech includes a mix of low and high frequency sounds. Vowel sounds, have lower frequencies ranging from 250 to 1,000 Hz, and they are generally more audible. Conversely, consonant sounds such as "s," "h," and "f" operate at higher frequencies within the range of 1,500 to 6,000 Hz, rendering them less easily discernible (Chambers 2019).

All languages contain a combination of vowels, consonants, and semi-vowels. The ancient Sanskrit language is founded in the science of sound. In Sanskrit, vowels are referred to as svara ‘that which resonates’. Consonants are referred to as vyanjana ‘that which colours or articulates’ and are used to project the energy of the vowels in different directions. Finally, semi-vowels or sibilants are referred to as antahstha ‘what stands in between’ and ushma ‘what creates heat’, due to their association with the breath (Frawley, 2010). Traditionally Sanskrit is used in mantras for chanting in religions such as Hinduism, Buddishm and Jainism, as well as in Yogic practices and Sound Healing.

Resonance
Resonance is the production of a sound as a result of vibration. Every object and every cell of the body has a resonating frequency.

As Goldman (2017) suggests, there are several categories of resonance:

Free resonance – when an object will begin to vibrate only when it comes in contact with a frequency that exactly matches its own. E.g. tuning forks.

Forced resonance – when one vibrating source produces vibrations in another object even though those two objects may not share the exact same frequency. The vibrations of one can entrain or change the other. Vibrating sources that are subject to the influence of forced resonance will resonate with many different frequencies. This may include more complex, elastic substances such as air, water, some woods, the human body, the Earth!

Sound has a fundamental role in our lives. Many of our inventions are dedicated to its creation, transmission, storage, modification, or reproduction (Goldsmith 2015). Research and inventions in the late mid to late 19th century contributed to the understanding and control of sound. The invention of the microphone, telephone and the phonograph all influenced the way in which we were able to share and store sound. In the 20th century, the First World War prompted the development of underwater acoustic research, making submarine warfare possible (Beranek and Mellow, 2012). In the 21st Century, the Digital Age and technology has made the access to sound even more accessible. Its use in healthcare is also invaluable, with inventions such as the ultrasound.

One of the most striking examples of resonance can be found in the field of physiology. Interpersonal physiology refers to the physiological changes that occur particularly in close relationships. Research has emerged in the last 20 years that has demonstrated a synchronisation of a couple’s heart rate and rhythms through touch, being in the same room as each other or by sleeping next to each other. Research has shown that the heart is not just a muscle that pumps blood around the body, it is also a sensory organ, capable of producing hormones and functioning as an information encoding and processing centre to mediate emotions independently of the brain. According to the HeartMath Institute:

The heart is the most powerful source of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body’s organs. The heart’s electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain. This field, measured in the form of an electrocardiogram (ECG), can be detected anywhere on the surface of the body. Furthermore, the magnetic field produced by the heart is more than 100 times greater in strength than the field generated by the brain and can be detected up to 3 feet away from the body, in all directions.

What makes Sound Healing such an effective therapy?
There is more to sound than just science and entertainment. There are important links between sound and our emotional, physical and spiritual self.

As mentioned, every cell of our body and therefore every organ and every structure of the body has a vibrational frequency. Disease is a result of a change in the overall frequency of vibration of a person’s system. Although the pathology may occur in a particular part of the body, the whole system may be affected. Sound healing aims to restore the person’s system to its optimum rate of vibration or level of health. Various tools or resources can be used for sound healing including:

• The voice

• Musical instruments (drums, guitars, piano)

• Tuning forks

• Singing bowls

• Gongs

• Clapping hands

• Stomping feet

• Nature

• Bioresonance devices

Cymatics (meaning wave) is the study of the effects of sound waves on physical matter. Much of our understanding of Cymatics comes from the work of the Swiss scientist Dr Hans Jenny (1904-1972). He demonstrated the visible organisation of sound and vibration using photographs and films, particularly when using sacred languages such as Hebrew and Sanskrit as stimuli. His work was developed further by the British Osteopath and Dr Peter Guy Manners who showed how Cymatics or Bioresonance therapy could be used to treat disease.

Sound plays an important role in our lives and with the advancement of science, we are now able to better understand how sound can be utilised for health and healing.

References

Andrews, T. (1992) Sacred Sounds: Transformation Through Music & Word. Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications

Atema, J. (2014) Musical Origins and the Stone Age Evolution of Flutes. Acoustics Today, Summer 2014

Barker, A. (2000). Scientific Method in Ptolemy's Harmonics. London: Cambridge University Press

Bencivell, S. (2011). Why We Like Music: Ear, Emotion, Evolution. New York: Music Word Media

Beranek, L L. and Mellow, T J. (2012) Acoustics: Sound Fields and Transducers. Oxford: Elsevier Science

Blades, J. (1992) Percussion Instruments and Their History. Connecticut: Bold Strummer

Chambers, J. (2019) Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders Sourcebook, 3rd Ed. Michigan: Infobase Publishing

Emoto, M. (2011). The Hidden Messages in Water. New York: Atria Books

Goldman, J. (2017) The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing Revised Edition. USA: Hay House

Goldman, J., and Sims, A. (2015) Sound Healing for Beginners: Using Vibration to Harmonize your Health and Wellness. Llewellyn Worldwide, Limited

Goldsmith, M. (2015) Sound: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press

HeartMath Institute. Energetic Communication Available at: https://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/energetic-communication/#:~:text=The%20heart%20is%20the%20most,activity%20generated%20by%20the%20brain. [Accessed 07 September 2023]

Koskoff, E. (2008). The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia. New York: Routledge

Lee, C. (2023) Elemental Healing: A 5-Element Path for Ancestor Connection, Balanced Energy, and an Aligned Life. Sterling Ethos

Schulkin, J. and Raglan, G. (2014) The evolution of music and human social capability. Front Neuroscience, (17)8 p. 292

Stephenson, M. (2008). The Sage Age: Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom. Wisconsin: Nightengale Press