174 Hz: the foundation, the lowest solfeggio tone

What is 174 Hz

174 Hz is a tone that vibrates 174 times a second. In air its wave is 1.97 metres long, the longest in the set. On a piano it lies just below F3, the F below middle C: 6 cents lower. A cent is a hundredth of a semitone, so to most ears 174 Hz simply is that F.

In the set of solfeggio frequencies it is the lowest of the nine tones. It was not among the six numbers that Joseph Puleo put forward in the 1970s: 174, 285 and 963 Hz were added later by other authors. That is why the tone has no syllable. The syllables Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La belong to the six original tones, from 396 to 852 Hz.

The number follows the pattern of the set. Its digits add up to 3: 1 + 7 + 4 = 12 and 1 + 2 = 3. The same three digits in a different order give two other solfeggio tones, 417 Hz and 741 Hz. The next tone, 285 Hz, is exactly 111 higher.

174 Hz frequency benefits: what it is used for

In sound therapy 174 Hz is the foundation, the tone the rest of the set stands on. Practitioners use it for easing pain and tension and for giving a sense of safety and grounding.

It has no chakra among the seven. The seven chakras are assigned to the seven tones from 396 to 963 Hz, and 174 Hz lies below them. It is sometimes described as a base below the root.

In practice people use it for three things.

• Tension in the body. A quiet tone while lying down, with a soft background.
• A sense of safety. A few minutes of the low tone with slow breathing when you feel unsettled.
• Sleep. The tone with a delta beat in the evening.

174 Hz and science: what research exists

No controlled studies in people have tested 174 Hz on its own. Three things are known that bear on how you use the tone.

• One solfeggio tone has been tested in people, 528 Hz. In a small Japanese study nine healthy adults listened for five minutes to soothing piano music tuned to 528 Hz. Cortisol in saliva fell and oxytocin rose; with the same kind of music tuned to 440 Hz none of these changes was significant.
• Music in general reduces stress. A review of 104 randomised trials with 9,617 participants found a medium effect on psychological outcomes and a smaller one on physiological outcomes, largest in the heart rate.
• Binaural beats have been studied for pain. A meta-analysis of 22 studies found a medium overall effect on memory, attention, anxiety and pain perception.

These results describe quiet music and beats, whatever the tone. The purpose of 174 Hz comes from the tradition. The pages about 528 Hz and about binaural beats describe the studies in detail.

How to listen to 174 Hz

174 Hz is the lowest of the nine tones, far from the piercing high ones, so it is a good tone to begin with. It is still a pure tone, with no melody and no rhythm, so keep the first sessions short.

• Turn the volume of your device down, choose 174 Hz and press Play.
• Raise the volume until the tone is barely audible.
• Lie down, or sit with your back supported, and close your eyes.
• Breathe slowly: in for a count of four, out for a count of six. Let the tone stay in the background.
• Set the timer to 5 minutes for the first sessions, then to 15. The sound fades out by itself.

A pure tone sounds the same through a speaker and through headphones. You need headphones only when you add a binaural beat.

174 Hz for pain relief: how people use it

174 Hz pain relief is the most common search about this tone, and it matches the tradition: easing pain and tension is what sound therapy uses 174 Hz for. The session is made for lying still.

• Choose 174 Hz and switch on the brown noise background. It softens the tone.
• Lie down in a position you can hold without effort.
• Set the volume so that the tone is barely audible and the timer to 15 minutes.
• Breathe slowly and bring your attention to the tense place. On each out-breath let it soften.
• If you want a beat, put on headphones and add theta, 6 Hz. The left ear then hears 174 Hz and the right ear 180 Hz.

The beat is the part with research behind it: pain perception was one of the outcomes in the meta-analysis of 22 studies on binaural beats.

Sound does not replace a diagnosis. Pain that is strong, that lasts or that keeps coming back is a reason to see a doctor.

174 Hz for sleep

174 Hz is one of the two solfeggio tones that sound therapy uses for sleep; the other is 528 Hz. Set the generator up before you lie down.

If headphones keep you awake, leave the beat out and play the tone through a speaker at arm's length from the pillow.

The page about binaural beats for sleep explains the delta beat and the studies on it.

174 Hz with binaural beats

A binaural beat needs two tones below 1000 Hz, one for each ear, with a difference of roughly 1 to 30 Hz. Here 174 Hz is the carrier: the left ear hears it unchanged, and the right ear hears a tone slightly higher. The brain hears the difference as a slow pulse.

Headphones are required, because each ear must hear its own tone. Do not listen to a beat while driving.

174 Hz pure tone or 174 Hz music

A pure tone is one frequency and nothing else. It is exact, and it suits short sessions and work with a tuning fork.

Music is easier to stay with for half an hour or more, because a pure tone tires the ear sooner than music at the same volume. Music in 174 Hz is music tuned so that one of its notes falls on 174 Hz. Since 174 Hz is only 6 cents below F3, such music sounds almost like music in standard tuning, a touch lower.

Choose by length. For 5 to 15 minutes take the pure tone, with brown noise if you like. For a whole evening take quiet music.

174 Hz tuning fork: how to use it

Solfeggio tuning forks are sold singly and in sets of nine. 174 Hz is the lowest fork of the set.

• Strike the fork on a rubber activator or on the knee, never on a hard surface: metal on metal damages the fork and adds overtones.
• Hold an unweighted fork a few centimetres from the ear and listen until the sound fades, 20 to 40 seconds.
• A weighted fork, with discs on the prongs, vibrates more strongly. Place its stem on the body.
• Repeat three to five times with slow breathing between the strikes.

Where to place a weighted fork: the tradition gives 174 Hz no chakra, so there is no fixed point. The tone is used for tension, so place the stem on a bony spot near the area that feels tense, for example on the shoulder or the hip.

A fork sounds for less than a minute. The generator holds the tone as long as you like and lets you add a beat or a background.

174 Hz benefits and risks: are there negative effects

No study has described a harm specific to 174 Hz or to any other solfeggio frequency. Hearing is harmed by loudness and duration, not by a particular frequency: the World Health Organization considers sound of up to 80 dB safe for 40 hours a week.

So the risks of 174 Hz are the risks of any sound that is too loud or lasts too long.

• A pure tone is more tiring than music at the same volume. Keep it barely audible.
• Headache, irritation or ringing in the ears are signs to lower the volume or stop.
• With a binaural beat use headphones and do not listen while driving. If you have epilepsy, talk to your doctor first.

People with tinnitus or sensitivity to sound should start with the low tones, 174 Hz or 285 Hz, at a very low volume.

One risk has nothing to do with hearing: using a tone instead of seeing a doctor. Listen to 174 Hz for rest, not in place of treatment.

174 Hz compared with 285 Hz and 396 Hz

174 Hz opens the set, and the two tones above it follow in equal steps of 111: 285 Hz and 396 Hz. The table shows how the three differ.

If you choose by purpose, the tradition points to 174 Hz when the body is tense, to 285 Hz when you are recovering, and to 396 Hz when the weight is fear or guilt. Each tone has its own page, and the page about solfeggio frequencies shows all nine in one chart.