What Are Isochronic Tones?
Firstly, for those who are not already familiar with how isochronic tones work, let us take a brief look at what they do. Isochronic tones are a type of sound-based brainwave entrainment technology. Brainwave entrainment refers to the brains tendency to synchronize to an external rhythmic stimulus. If the stimulus has a frequency similar to the brains own range, the brain will tend to match it.
This is useful because the brain produces brainwaves of different frequencies, depending on your state of consciousness. For example, if you are in a state of light relaxation, the brain will predominantly produce alpha brainwaves (in the 8 – 12 Hz range), whereas the theta (4 – 8Hz) range is linked with deeper trance states and dreaming sleep. By listening to an isochronic recording that incorporates these frequencies, many people find it much easier to access specific states of consciousness at will, without having to spend years learning to meditate.
Isochronic tones are pulses of sound that are regularly spaced, and turn on and off in a precise pattern. The frequency at which the pulses repeat varies, according to the purpose for which they are being used. Unlike binaural beats, each pulse is entirely separate from the next — this makes it easier for the brain to follow the rhythm, making isochronic tones a very efficient method of brainwave entrainment.
Choosing Isochronic Tones – What To Look For
Although isochronic tones are not as widely available as binaural beats yet, there are still many places online where you can find them. If you are having trouble deciding which ones to use, here are some things to bear in mind while making your choice:
The tones must be audible
Unlike binaural beats, isochronic tones must be audible in order to be effective. This means that they cannot be fully masked by background music, pink noise or other sounds that are often used on brainwave entrainment recordings. It is ok if the track has these additional sounds (and most will, since they make the listening experience more pleasant),just be sure that you can still hear the tones as well.
The tones should be ramped
This means that the frequency of the tones should change gradually, in order to make the entrainment more effective. The best results, the recording should begin with frequencies close to where you are starting from (which will usually be the beta or high alpha state), and gradually move towards the target frequency. If you are trying to get into the theta state, for example, you do not want a recording that starts off with theta frequency tones, as the entrainment process will likely be less effective. Instead it should start off in beta or high alpha range, and then gradually progress downwards.
Be careful in the delta range
While isochronic tones can be used across the entire brainwave frequency range, many people find that they do not work so well in the delta frequency band, and that at this slow rate the sound of the tones becomes rather irritating and distracting. In such cases, binaural beats are often preferred instead. This is not necessarily going to be everyone's experience, but it's something to bear in mind if you are aiming to access the delta range.
Recommended Isochronic Tone Downloads
If you are looking for high quality isochronic meditation tracks, I recommend the alpha and theta meditation recordings from Brainwaves-T.U.S® – an Android brainwave store on Google Play.
Unlike some other apps, which just re-sell the same old stock recordings under different names, or just scrape together some brainwave fragments, Brainwaves-T.U.S® is in collaboration with The Unexplainable Store who has years of experience in making brainwave entrainment audios. It is an all-in-one brainwave tuning choice with the most comprehensive recordings for your Android Devices.
