Binaural Beat Frequency question

[OmegaLaz]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am trying to integrate Binaurals into some of my recordings and I would like to know what the best combination of frequencies are for induction and over the course of a session. In general, what is the best way to utilize them throughout a full recording to include the wake up. It would be really nice to operate with some real data. I usually use Adobe Audition if anyone has any advice that is program-specific.

Thanks for your time,

Pete

[Calimore]

Well, Pete, when I started out, I used a steady 5.5 Hz beat throughout the files I used, but I soon adopted some entrainment techniques to better allow the listener to be 'taken down' and 'brought back up'.

What I would suggest is that you start the entrainment process, at the beginning of the file, between 12-18 Hz, gradually taking the listener down to the theta range over the course of 10-20 minutes, then bring the listener back up to 10-12 Hz over the last few minutes, at the end. Set your effect percentages low for the higher frequencies (no more than 20% for 15 Hz and up) and higher for the lower frequencies (like, 60% for 4 Hz).

My best advice: take your time and have fun with it - experiment and see what sounds best to you. Remember, no matter how well an added effect seems to work in a file, if it doesn't sound good, no one is going to want to listen to it. ;)

[RandomZero]

I'm rather new to binaurals myself, but hopefully this will help. As a rule, I've found the best results come from very low-end base tones, just above the bottom of the hearing range. A 30Hz tone, for example, seems more like I feel it in my skull than hear it; too low. 50Hz is audible on its own, but disappears under any other sound. 60Hz seems to be my magic bullet.

Also, as mentioned above, the effect is greatly enhanced if you vary the beat frequency gradually over time. I only have a very general picture of what frequencies to use, and I understand there's some variance from person to person, but I've had good luck starting at 80 over 60 (20Hz beat), then stepping down to 73/60, 69/60, 67/60, and finally 65/60 as we reach the last few minutes of the induction. I keep this beat throughout the payload, and it keeps my way-too-analytical mind out of the way.

Hope this helps.

[Calimore]

Since OL mentioned Audition, I didn't address the issues RandomZero brought up, but he's right in that if you do decided to use 'tones', you generally want them to be scaled so that lower beat frequencies are delivered by lower tones. As you will be using headphones, the lower range of tones can't be truly effective in that most headphone sets aren't responsive to frequencies of 50 Hz or lower (many poop out at 70Hz). Since most of my binaurals have more than one 'voice', I generally base my choice of tones on a musical chord.

If you do decide to use tones, I suggest trying BrainWave Generator. It's full-featured shareware, not very expensive should you decide to keep it and not crippled in case you just can't afford it right away. While I've read a great deal about binaurals and their effects, I have found that I have learned a great deal of practical information from just using this software. Though the tones it generates are a bit high for my liking, it's suggested that you use the software 'as is' until you become conditioned to the effects of binaurals. If you are already accustomed to the effects of binaural beats, let me suggest reducing all frequencies in BWGen by half, which sounds a lot better to me and seems to work just as well.

[MN_FriendlyGuy]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am trying to integrate Binaurals into some of my recordings and I would like to know what the best combination of frequencies are for induction and over the course of a session. In general, what is the best way to utilize them throughout a full recording to include the wake up. It would be really nice to operate with some real data. I usually use Adobe Audition if anyone has any advice that is program-specific.

Thanks for your time,

Pete

Pete -

Thanks for asking a fun question. It's a topic I enjoy very much.

I compose/create a new binaural beat 'track' for each recording I make.

It's my belief that binaural beats 'invite' the listener's mind to relax (without words). And because I believe this, I customize the frequencies so that they correlate with the spoken message.

Example for a 30-Minute Recording:
- Intro (minutes 0-2) Beats gradually decrease from 14Hz to 6Hz
- Induction (minutes 2-8 ) Beats remain steady at 6Hz
- Deepener (minutes 9-15) Beats decrease from 6Hz to 4Hz
- Payload (minutes 16-25) Beats remain steady at 4Hz
- Wakener (minutes 26-30) Beats gradually increase from 4Hz to 12Hz

I sometimes add more than one binaural beat 'track' to a recording. When a recording makes use of trance trigger, I might create a 30-second binaural beat recording (decrease from 6Hz to 3 Hz) and then insert this clip into the recording several times - correlating with the spoken trigger phrase.

RandomZero's response about pitch is a little off-topic... you didn't ask about it. But I agree with the approach of keeping the pitch low and unobtrusive.

I'll also second the advice posted by Calimore. Try the Brainwave Generator application. It allows you to use more than one 'voice'. And, you can intentionally harmonize those voices.

[LAhypnoboy]

Thank You All for the informative posts! I too was wondering about bin beat range...beta, theta. Awesome sharings!

[OmegaLaz]

I have learned a great deal from what you all have written...thank you.

Pete