Scientists Listen to the Human Brain…and Hear Aum.
What is the proper musical frequency when singing Aum at the beginning of class? Listen to the brain.
A few months ago, I was blessed to chant along with Girish who led a kirtan at my yoga shala. According to him, “AUM” is traditionally played using a low E-chord.
He played his low E chord on his harmonium – and we chanted aaauuuummmum – again and again and again! I wished it could have gone on all night!
He also said (just paraphrasing his informal comments), that this E-chord is not a random choice, but that it’s also the sound that comes from within our minds when we meditate. Hmm, I wondered – cool thought indeed – but is he just making this up? I mean, what could he (or ancient yogis for that matter) know about what is really, actually happening in the brain?
It turns out that modern science can actually “listen” to the brain when it is meditating – by placing small electrodes on the scalp and measuring oscillations of neuro-electrical activity (electroencephalography or EEG). When EEG is used to “listen” to the brains of experienced meditators, they show an increase in the strength of a particular “note” or frequency – a so-called gamma wave, or gamma frequency of about 40Hz when they reach deep meditative states. According to wikipedia:
A gamma wave is a pattern of brain waves in humans with a frequency between 25 to 100 Hz, though 40 Hz is prototypical. … Experiments on Tibetan Buddhist monks have shown a correlation between transcendental mental states and gamma waves. A suggested explanation is based on the fact that the gamma is intrinsically localized. Neuroscientist Sean O’Nuallain suggests that this very existence of synchronized gamma indicates that something akin to a singularity – or, to be more prosaic, a conscious experience – is occurring.
OK, so modern science measures brain activity in deep meditators and finds that 40Hz is the vibration associated with deep meditative states. Girish says AUM is also the vibration of deep meditative states and is traditionally a low E-chord. Is he right? What’s the frequency of low E? Is it close to 40Hz?
41.2Hz! Pretty darn amazing!
photoart courtesy of g2b2m2m
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John Fossella, PhD, is a stay-at-home dad raising his two sons in the ways of yoga, meditation and other eastern practices. This mainly entails shuttling them to and fro kids yoga classes at Alluem Yoga in Cranford, NJ and a panoply of other activities – while working on his own yoga practice in the evenings. Before taking time off to stay home with the kids, he was an Assistant Professor at Mount Sinai and Cornell Medical Schools in New York City where he studied the role of the human genome in the development of mental focus and attentional skills in children. His blog Genes 2 Brains 2 Mind 2 Me is an effort to share the latest scientific (re)discoveries of the connections between mind and body and the role of the human genome as a mediator of these interactions. He hopes to perform handstand away from the wall someday soon and help people to use their genetic information to look inwardly and explore their thought processes, historical roots and shared humanity.
Hi, John. Fascinating stuff. I love the unique perspective you bring to Elephant.
Bob W.
Elephant Journal
loving your posts, John.
yeah, great, they're *sometimes* close to the same frequency. how does that connect them? what does this imply? what conclusions, or theories can be drawn from this information?
these are the questions i would want answered by an article such as this.
Liked this new "insight" VERY much! It brought something to my mind. For about the past two years, I've been bothered by almost constant tinninitus, or "ringing in the ears." As a former musician, and one who possesses so-called "natural pitch," I have told friends that I believe the ringing is at a pitch of a high E. So now I'm wondering of this is the exact opposite of meditation?
Quite intriguing! Looking forward to more posts!