How I Hack My Brain With Music…Exploring the Science Behind Frequency, Sound Waves, Binaural Sounds, and Immersive Music for Therapy

I love music. Everyone around me knows it. And sometimes there’s nothing more therapeutic to me than a long car ride, with the music blasting, and feeling that bass drop hit right in my chest.

If I’m honest, “feeling” music is probably what I like most. Not only physically, but psychologically. The hit of a bass drop, or the shred of an amazing guitar solo literally sends chills through my body, and endorphins rushing to my “happy receptors” like tiny bolts of lightning.

But just as euphoric as music can make me feel, it can also send me to some really dark places of anger, sadness, or increasing anxiety and depression. So I had to start being very careful of the music I listen to over extended periods of time.

For example, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats James Hetfield screaming “MAAASSTTEEEERRR” while Kirk Hammett shreds the guitar and Lars smashes drums. Listen to Master of Puppets by Metallica

Tool would be a very close second with 46 and 2, which has a much deeper meaning to me….maybe I’ll expand in a later post.

Listen to my favorite cover version of 46 & 2 by the O’Keefe Music Foundation

I need a bit of immersion myself right now…brb

Okay, so I found that if I listen to bands like Metallica for an extended period of time, I’m ready to start smashing guitars. Kind of funny…I guess. But not so great for my normal happy and outgoing self, nor the people around me.

The point I’m trying to make is I became aware of the feelings, moods, or emotions I’d go through when listening to different types of music. And with this newfound knowledge I was able to start hacking my moods, and leveraging music to my advantage.

Before I was aware of this, I’d do what probably most other people would do. If I was feeling sad I’d throw on a sad playlist and drown in my sadness. Frustrated? Throw on Metallica – And Justice For All, Breaking Ben – Feed the Wolf, or Of Mice and Men – Bones Exposed and bathe in their screams of rage.

But doing this I found could be very dangerous, and at times keep me stuck in whatever mood, emotion, or challenge I may be struggling with.

Can music help you “move through”,
rather than keeping you stuck?

Things changed as I became more emotionally mature and self-aware of the state of my mind. I started to interact with music differently. It was almost like my new awareness was telling me when, more importantly, when not to listen to certain types of music. For a music lover like myself, I was very intrigued by this new enlightenment. At the same time I was scared shitless that the work I was doing on the mental health front might actually ruin music for me.

I decided to dive into the science behind music, and specifically how it can affect chemicals in the brain. At the same time, I was doing a ton of mental health work, and was recommended to explore binaural sound therapy. Wait, so music can actually help you “move through”? Well, shit let’s figure out how it works…

Diving into the science behind music and sound…
for the closet nerds like me

What I learned is that the music we listen to every day is typically measured in beats per minute (bpm). Binaural sounds, however, are sound wave frequencies measured in Hertz (hz). This is a term I was familiar with from my educational background in engineering – where we basically studied all different types of waves and frequencies…light waves, sound waves, and my favorite, heat waves.

Here’s where the creative and analytical sides of my brain come together for a play date…to run around in the woods together, climb trees, and explore. I don’t know why I do it or how I do it. But this is how I’m built.

I was very creative and artistic in my younger years and then very analytical in my college years. It’s why in my professional like I really enjoy not only designing websites but also coding and building them. Maybe I trained my brain to do both over the years…I digress.

Anyway, here’s what I learned about music and different frequencies. It’s important to note that the frequency of music, combined with the lyrics of the song, can have an increased effect on mood/emotions.

While traditional music will go through progressions, tones, changes in pitch, and an artist singing, binaural sounds are monotone – meaning an unchanged pitch and tone.

So while traditional music will take your mind on a journey through words, melodies, and crescendos (which is essentially changing the release of endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine in your brain) binaural sounds lock your brain into one state of chemical release (as I understand it). So each frequency can be utilized for a different purpose in your brain. Couple these binaural frequencies with a purposeful meditation and you’ve got some pretty amazing changes happening in your brain.

Here’s the list of each binaural frequency and its purpose:

I use each of these binaural frequencies for growth, change, and healing in my life. For example, I’ve used 528hz and 852hz quite frequently for DNA repair and to restore balance. I was a workaholic for 10+ years, and took horrible care of my body and mind. So DNA repair was necessary as I started my wellness journey and found more balance in my life. And in my experience I believe it helped me to expedite the process of restoring my health, in addition to transitioning new habits and routines into a new way of life.

And some days I’ll listen through the entire range just as a “full reset”.

I highly recommend listening to these binaural sounds with some sort of noise canceling headphones. This gives you a fully immersive experience and amplifies their health benefits. You’ll have to experiment to determine the right volume levels for your listening pleasure. But I typically listen at lower volume during meditation, reading, or writing and higher volume when I’m doing some sort of other activity (like cooking or cleaning).

Still uncertain or think this is all a bunch of bullshit?

What if I told you binaural beats were used to treat cancer? Got your interest now?

Here’s the article: Music Therapy as an Alternative Cancer Treatment

Learning about the different types of music, and more importantly how they affect my moods/emotions, was a whole new level of self-awareness for me and opened up a world of possibilities. I can immerse myself in my love for music, while utilizing music in a whole new healthy and more beneficial way.

I think about it from a brain functioning perspective. Our brains operate and function on different frequencies, or brain waves. And brain waves drive our feelings, thoughts, actions and emotions. So by immersing myself in different sound frequencies, essentially filling my brain with different sound waves, I can actually alter my brain waves to operate in the frequency I choose (happy, sad, productive, calm, etc). Ah fucking ha moment!

There’s so much more science behind music and sound waves, and how they can affect your mood/emotions. I’ve merely scratched the surface and rather than bore you with more science, I’d encourage you to explore on your own. Seek knowledge…as taught in many practices and religions.

I’ll drop some links below for extra credit. 😉

I hope this info helps you in some way. I think the most important takeaway from this is to be mindful of the music you listen to. Well, be mindful of all information you consume…which is inline for me with living a more stoic life (article coming soon).

And if you’re feeling stuck in some aspect of your life, simply changing the type of music you listen to can help you get unstuck. Speaking of stuck, I notice my guitar pick is stuck in between strings and desperately calling me to set it free. So I’m out…for now.

Extra Credit Reading

The Benefits of Music: How the Science of Music Can Help You

What are binaural beats, and how do they work?

How Many Emotions Can Music Make You Feel?

Binaural Beats: Sleep, Therapy, and Meditation – Healthline

Music Therapy as an Alternative Cancer Treatment