Have you ever put on a pair of headphones and felt an instant shift in your mood? This feeling is a natural human response to both music and sound. One fascinating auditory phenomenon is called binaural beats. This is one of the sonic topics hosted on the Noise Ambient YouTube channel–sometimes as pure sine wave binaural beats and others as soundscapes combined with noise and nature sounds.
What Exactly Are Binaural Beats?
Binaural beats are not a sound you hear in the world; they’re an auditory illusion created inside the brain. When you listen to two slightly different frequencies—one in each ear—your brain perceives a third, pulsating beat. The frequency of this new “beat” is the difference between the two tones.
For example, on our popular 6 Hz Theta Brainwave track, a 100 Hz tone is played in your left ear and a 94 Hz tone in your right ear. Your brain perceives the difference: a 6 Hz beat. This beat falls within the theta brainwave range (4-8 Hz), which is associated with deep relaxation and a meditative state.
As an audio engineer, sound recordist and music producer, I am fascinated with how sounds are put together, their existence in the natural world, and human listening perception. And so I have used my experience to create a binaural beats series hosted on the Noise Ambient Channel.
We can be transformed by a musical piece, the ocean surf, or electronic sounds such as binaural beats. As with music, one’s own transformative song or genre is dependent on mood, listening history, and memory. Some people are soothed by classical music and others by heavy metal. It is an individual experience, and so should be the expectation of binaural beats listening.
Those who do listen to binaural beats often associate the frequency of the pulses with particular moods, or potential benefits. And while science has not proven this phenomenon, there is a concept of aligning the mind’s wavelength with the binaural beats frequency known as brainwave entrainment.
How Do They Work? Brainwave Entrainment
The concept behind binaural beats is “brainwave entrainment.” The idea is that your brain’s electrical activity will begin to sync up with the frequency of the binaural beat, gently guiding you toward a desired mental state.
- Delta Waves (1-4 Hz): Linked to deep, restorative sleep and healing. Our 3 Hz Delta Binaural Beats track is designed to help you experience this state of profound relaxation.
- Theta Waves (4-8 Hz): Associated with meditation, creativity, and deep relaxation. The 6 Hz Theta Brainwave track is a prime example of this.
- Gamma Waves (30-100 Hz): Linked to concentration, cognitive function, and problem-solving. Our 40 Hz Gamma Wave track is crafted to help you with mental clarity.
From Our Listeners: Real-World Experiences
While the science is compelling, the true power of these sounds comes from the people who use them every day. We’re consistently inspired by the stories our community shares.
- “My husband slept in 15 seconds! He was so worked up right before listening and said he wouldn’t be able to sleep.” — @kalilaaguilos
- “It’s easy to sleep with it.” — @MissSyntha
- “I use theta brainwave entrainment to reprogram my clients subconscious programming that is the result of trauma either in childhood or ptsd as an adult.” — @xipepdx999
- “This is one of the best, if not THE BEST! 10 hours and tone only… Thank you very much @DaleSnale !” — @TheDarkDutchman
- “Thank you! I finally can sleep with no anxiety.” — @husazen
As a maker and recorder of sounds, my view is that the usefulness of a sound is up to the listener—whether it is enjoyed or off-putting. Have a listen and see.
Explore the Science, Then the Sound
- Binaural beats | Psychology Today
- Binaural Beats to entrain the brain?
- Binaural beats can worsen cognitive performance, study finds
Ready to Experience Binaural Beats?
You can listen to all of the binaural beat playlist of tracks
and more sonic topics on the Noise Ambient YouTube channel. If you find a sound you love, you can also download them directly from this website.