Sound healing: from gongs to Taylor Swift and Tibetan singing bowls, ‘frequency music’ is said to detoxify, relieve stress and take away fear

The belief that listening to music whose root frequency has been lowered from 440 to 432 hertz has healing powers has gained wide currency. Scientists doubt it

A rapper with blood cancer likens its effect to a serotonin rush, and a wellness practitioner who uses singing bowls tuned to 432 hertz says they help you relax

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Wellness practitioner Ana Netanel leads sound baths using Tibetan singing bowls tuned to 432 hertz - a frequency said to be more aligned with nature’s patterns than pop music’s root frequency of 440 hertz. Listening to music at this lower pitch reduces stress, “detoxifies” and wipes out negativity, say proponents. Photo: Instagram/@ananetanel

Published: 4:15pm, 21 Mar 2022

In 2015, music producer, songwriter and rapper Maejor, 33, was living every artist’s dream.

The musician, born Brandon Green in the US city of Detroit, had started making beats as a teenager. By his mid-20s, he’d appeared on or produced tracks by singers Drake, Iggy Azalea and Justin Bieber and broke the top 20 in 2013 as Maejor Ali with his single Lolly.

The following year, he started experiencing “excruciating pain” in his arms and legs at night. As it got worse, a doctor gave him a blood test and sent him to an oncologist, who told Maejor that he had leukaemia.

Battling fear, grief and depression while undergoing chemotherapy, he self-medicated with drugs, sought professional therapists and went on an ayahuasca (a plant-based psychedelic) retreat. None proved effective in fighting his feeling of hopelessness.

After profound experiences during yoga and meditation sessions, Maejor began researching the mechanics of music. Photo: Instagram/@maejor

Then Maejor “started getting introduced to different spiritual communities”, he says. “I started hearing about how people used sound.”

After profound experiences during yoga and meditation sessions, he began researching the mechanics of music and the underlying theories connecting the frequencies of specific notes and wellness.