Many origin myths from around the world begin with sound. The cosmic AUM sounding from Shiva’s damaru, his two-headed drum, brings the world into existence in Hindu cosmology. The Gospel of John states that, “In the beginning was the Word.” The predominant mythology of our time, Western Science, posits the beginning of the universe as a Big Bang. Whatever the initial event was, we are still vibrating from it. All matter has a rate of vibration. Matter and energy are interchangeable, as Einstein explained. Matter exists on the same vibrational continuum as light and sound, which is why light and sound therapies can affect physical change in the body. The Earth itself, as all heavenly bodies, has a rate of vibration. The ionosphere has a positive charge and the Earth’s surface has a negative charge. When lightning discharges in the atmosphere it creates an electromagnetic wave that travels all around the planet in the resonance chamber created between the earth’s surface and the ionosphere. The German physicist Winfried Otto Schumann predicted the existence mathematically of resonances resulting from the interactions of these waves in the atmosphere. When they were verified in the 1960s they were given the name Schumann Resonances.

The Schumann Resonances can be thought of as the electromagnetic musical chord the earth is playing. The lowest note of this chord has the longest wavelength and manifests as a standing wave equal to the circumference of the earth. The fundamental pitch of the earth is 7.83 Hz. Following the natural harmonic series we then have resonances at one half the fundamental wavelength (14.1 Hz), one third the fundamental wavelength (20.3 Hz), one quarter the fundamental wavelength (27.3 Hz) and so on (the ratios are not exact because the Earth is not a perfect sphere and variations in ionospheric pressure, seasonal changes, and surface features point to a range of frequencies, rather than a perfect mathematical double). Some of these overtones are within the range of human ears (20 Hz - 20,000 Hz), but the fundamental (tonic) pitch is below the threshold of our hearing.

Every atom of the cosmos is vibrating. Nothing is at rest. Some of these vibrations are within the range of our senses, some are not. Modern science has extended our senses greatly into the very large and the very small, the very internal and the very external. Or so it seems from our vantage point. The danger of having such powerful tools is that we may lean on them too heavily, falling for the illusion of omniscience. Every vantage point is limited; there is no escape from the subjective. No matter how many double-blind, randomized controlled trials are carried out, we will still have to interpret the data from a subjective vantage point.

Tuning and Intentionality

We are bombarded by wavelengths of different frequencies and amplitudes every moment of every day. Cell towers, Wi-Fi, radio signals – the air is full of information riding on waves of different sizes and shapes. The Sun is blasting us with radiation, light in the visible spectrum up through ultraviolet. Some light frequencies such as X-rays, gamma rays, and microwaves are extremely harmful to life. Humans have, of course, found a way to weaponize radiation, and sound as well, creating sonic cannons that can blast a target with an incapacitating sound wave. Vibration is a powerful force and tuning the vibration properly makes the difference between weaponization and healing.

Tuning is a process by which two or more distinct pitches are brought into resonance with each other. This can be across the same instrument, such as the strings of a guitar, or between multiple instruments, like the individual members of an orchestra. Tuning to an agreed-upon pitch (usually A440 Hz, or A above middle C on the piano) allows the different members of a group to find their place relative to the tuning of the rest of the group. Any instrumentalist with a decent ear is able to hear when they are out of tune and compensate by adjusting their pitch either up or down.

Two pitches can be said to be “in tune” when they are resonating together. That is, their wavelengths are close enough to the same frequency that they line up and amplify each other. An experience familiar to any musician is that of the tuning pitch seeming to jump in volume as the players lock in their tuning. As two tones approach being in tune, as wavelengths are almost, but not quite, the same frequency, there is a phenomenon that occurs where the difference between the frequencies of the two wavelengths is heard as a pulsing of the sound, or “beating.” As you get closer to being in tune, the beating becomes slower; as you get farther away, it gets faster.

Chinese View of Music

A single pitch alone in the void cannot be tuned, because it is not relative to anything but itself. One note cannot make a chord. It’s the relation between things that gives them meaning. This is true on a societal and global level as well as an individual health level. The Jing luo (经络) of Chinese medicine are usually translated as “channels” or “meridians.” These are the energetic pathways through which Qí (气) flows between and through all the organs and tissues of the body. Each channel is an extension of an organ system, which in turn is related to a whole system of correspondences through the Wu xing (五行), or Five Elements/Phases. Different aspects of the channels can become more or less in harmony with the entire system, creating a feeling of consonance or discord as the case may be. Acupuncture has been a method of “tuning” the energetic pathways of the body for at least 2,000 years, and likely thousands of years more before documented evidence.

In the division of the ten thousand things into yin and yang and the Five Phases, there is an acknowledgement that all is in flux and everything is in the process of changing into something else. Each Element on the wheel feeds the next one, creating the movement that we see mirrored in the changing of the seasons. This is another, longer rhythm to which we can become attuned. The only way to improve your balance is to become more intimate with the center.

Each of the Phases has its own characteristics, dating back to the Huang Di Nei Jing (⻩帝内经), or the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, a text compiled 2,200 years ago and widely considered the oldest extant Chinese medical text. These correspondences are likely much, much older, dating back to the ancient shamanic medical traditions of the Shang dynasty or earlier.

The characteristics of each Elemental association are enumerated in the Nei Jing. One of the categories of division is sound, with a particular vocalization associated with each Element. Wood (木) is shouting, Fire (火) is laughing, Earth (土) is singing, Metal (金) is weeping, and Water (水) is groaning. The ancient shamans of Asia were aware of resonance and the vibratory nature of existence.

Sound healing sessions can involve any number of instruments and can be combined safely with other healing modalities. Tuning forks tuned to specific frequencies can be held on acu-points to affect channel Qi. Other common instruments are crystal bowls, Tibetan singing bowls, gongs, bell trees, tingshas (finger cymbals), hammered dulcimers, etc. Sessions can be conducted privately or with a group and can be combined with acupuncture or yin yoga to enhance the treatment.

Please email mark@heronandcranewellness.com if you are interested in booking a Sound Healing session or event.