Download free binaural beat MP3 files

Free Binaural Beats for Meditation Training

When I began to meditate, I read up on the neuroscience behind meditation. Meditation causes brainwave changes. "If meditation affects brainwave activity, what else does?" Binaural beats do.

Binaural beats result from hearing two frequencies at the same time, one in each ear. The binaural beat is difference between the two frequencies. For example, if you hear a 210 Hz sound in your left ear and 200 Hz sound in your left, your brain "hears" 10 Hz (210-200=10). This happens if the difference between the right and left frequency is less than 100 Hz. The right and left ears need to hear different sounds so you must use stereo headphones for binaural beats to occur. Speakers don't work.

Binaural beats can increase brain wave activity within a specific range because our brain waves mimicing the frequency. This is called entrainment or frequency-following response. Think of binaural beats as subsonic frequencies heard within our brain. They're auditory processing artifacts. Read more about binaural beats on Wikipedia (the first place we all look).

Let's use binaural beats to moderate brainwaves. Beta brainwaves (13-40 Hz) are associated with active thinking and concentration. Alpha brainwaves (7-13 Hz) are associated with relaxation and/or drowsiness. Theta brainwaves (4-7 Hz) are associated with dreams, meditation, and REM sleep. There are two or three frequencies for type of brainwave. Try each one and see how they work for you.

• high beta, 25 Hz
• mid beta, 20 Hz
• low beta, 15 Hz


• high alpha, 12 Hz
• mid alpha, 10 Hz the Berger's wave or Berger Rhythm)
• low alpha, 8 Hz


• high theta, 6 Hz
• mid theta, 5 Hz
• low theta, 4 Hz


• delta, 2.5 Hz

Each of the MP3 files is designed to increase a specific type of brainwave: beta, alpha, or theta brainwaves. All of the binaural beat MP3s are based on a 136.1 Hz sine wave, a tone called "Nada Brahma", the sound of Om.

My advice? Start with the beta, then the alpha, and finally the theta. This mimics progress going deeper into one's meditation. Go from high to low. Or pick and choose.

I also did three additional binaural beat sound files that traverse a range of brainwaves. The first goes from mid-beta to mid-alpha (20 Hz to 10 Hz), the second goes from mid-alpha to delta (10 Hz to 2.5 Hz), and the last goes from high-theta to delta (6 Hz to 2.5 Hz). One goes from waking conscious to relaxation, the next from relaxation deeper, and the last from deep to deepest.

There's another page with more complex binaural beats. These are advanced binaural beats in that some are complex sounds combining more than one frequency and others have specific patterns to them. These binaural MP3's do not simply target one specific brain wave frequency but have a different objective.

You may find these binaural beat MP3 files of assistance while learning how to meditate. Think of them as your meditation training wheels. Use them to get started but once you've learned how to do it, you may not need them anymore. You may find that you outgrow them. Or perhaps they work for you and you'll use them over and over again. The only way to find out is to try them.

I've also created a set of meditation timers, both audio and video files of varying length. Time yourself from 10 to 30 minutes in 5 minute intervals. No binaural beats, just a single bell at the end of silence. Try them and see.

Don't stop. Learn more by reading some of these meditation books. Buy them or take advantage of your local public library.

Don't forget to sit.