Ancestors: how it sounds
How Ancestors is built: layered binaural beats from 4 to 40 Hz on carriers from 82 to 612 Hz, session by session, with the research behind the method and an honest summary of the evidence.
How this course sounds — the science
Every session is a layered binaural program: several tone pairs, one tone of each pair per ear, over a soft noise bed. The numbers below come straight from the session designs.
The course in numbers
- Beats from 4 to 40 Hz, covering the theta, alpha, beta, gamma bands.
- Carrier tones from 82 to 612 Hz.
- Up to 4 tone pairs sound at once.
- Slower beats sit on lower carriers in 74 of 102 pair comparisons, the ordering measured in the reference set.
- Tone level changes by -2.9 dB per octave of carrier, so the higher tones sit quieter.
- 5 sessions end with a beta-range wake-up block.
- Noise bed: brown, independent in each ear. Its level and brightness move on a slow 10-second cycle.
Tuning and carriers
The Tuning setting in the editor re-pitches the carrier tones and never the beats.
- Standard: carriers from 80 to 592 Hz, as designed.
- A=432 Hz: every carrier 31.8 cents lower, from 78.5 to 581.2 Hz.
- Solfeggio: carriers snap to 174, 285, 396, 417, 528, 639 Hz inside their own range; the lowest and highest carriers keep their pitch.
Tunings and tones are offered as sound to explore, with no promise of effects. Read what the research says about frequencies.
The method
The sessions use the layered binaural method described in our research note. We measured a reference set of guided programs and generate every bed from those statistics, never from a recording.
- Carrier–beat ordering: slow beats ride on low carriers and faster beats on higher ones, and each tone's level falls with carrier frequency (stacking and level).
- Each phase moves the stack to a new band and crossfades smoothly into it (beats by stage).
- A noise bed shaped to the measured spectrum keeps the tones soft and masks small sounds around you (noise).
- The voice sits about 12 dB above the bed, and gentle mastering leaves the stereo beats intact (how your audio is made).
Session by session
Ancestors 1 · Tree of Roots · 30 min
| Phase | Minutes | Band | Beats (Hz) | Carriers (Hz) | Tone pairs | Noise (dBFS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | 2.5 | alpha | 8, 10 | 125, 164 | 2 | -40 |
| Settle | 3 | alpha | 8, 10 | 84, 165, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Descend | 3 | theta | 7, 7.5 | 84, 164, 244 | 3 | -40 |
| Journey | 8.9 | theta | 6, 6.25, 6.5, 10 | 83, 163, 243, 405 | 4 | -40 |
| Deep | 6 | theta | 6, 6.25, 6.5 | 83, 163, 243 | 3 | -40 |
| Return | 3 | theta | 7, 7.5, 10 | 84, 164, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Rise | 1.5 | alpha | 10 | 165, 405 | 2 | -41 |
| Awake | 2.2 | beta | 15, 16, 40 | 328, 488, 612 | 3 | -41 |
Ancestors 2 · The Long Line · 30 min
| Phase | Minutes | Band | Beats (Hz) | Carriers (Hz) | Tone pairs | Noise (dBFS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | 2.5 | alpha | 8, 10 | 125, 164 | 2 | -40 |
| Settle | 3 | alpha | 8, 10 | 84, 165, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Descend | 3 | theta | 6.5, 7 | 84, 163, 244 | 3 | -40 |
| Journey | 8.9 | theta | 5.5, 5.75, 6, 10 | 83, 163, 243, 405 | 4 | -40 |
| Deep | 6 | theta | 5.5, 5.75, 6 | 83, 163, 243 | 3 | -40 |
| Return | 3 | theta | 7, 10 | 84, 164, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Rise | 1.5 | alpha | 10 | 165, 405 | 2 | -41 |
| Awake | 2.2 | beta | 15, 16, 40 | 328, 488, 612 | 3 | -41 |
Ancestors 3 · The Old Home · 30 min
| Phase | Minutes | Band | Beats (Hz) | Carriers (Hz) | Tone pairs | Noise (dBFS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | 2.5 | alpha | 8, 10 | 125, 164 | 2 | -40 |
| Settle | 3 | alpha | 8, 10 | 84, 165, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Descend | 3 | theta | 6, 6.5, 7 | 84, 163, 243 | 3 | -40 |
| Journey | 8.9 | theta | 5, 5.25, 5.5, 10 | 83, 162, 243, 405 | 4 | -40 |
| Deep | 6 | theta | 5, 5.25, 5.5 | 82, 163, 243 | 3 | -40 |
| Return | 3 | theta | 6.5, 7, 10 | 83, 164, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Rise | 1.5 | alpha | 10 | 165, 405 | 2 | -41 |
| Awake | 2.2 | beta | 15, 16, 40 | 328, 488, 612 | 3 | -41 |
Ancestors 4 · The Blessing · 30 min
| Phase | Minutes | Band | Beats (Hz) | Carriers (Hz) | Tone pairs | Noise (dBFS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | 2.5 | alpha | 8, 10 | 125, 164 | 2 | -40 |
| Settle | 3 | alpha | 8, 10 | 84, 165, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Descend | 3 | theta | 5.5, 6, 7 | 84, 163, 243 | 3 | -40 |
| Journey | 8.9 | theta | 4.5, 4.75, 5, 10 | 82, 162, 242, 405 | 4 | -40 |
| Deep | 6 | theta | 4.5, 4.75, 5 | 82, 162, 242 | 3 | -40 |
| Return | 3 | theta | 6, 7, 10 | 83, 164, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Rise | 1.5 | alpha | 10 | 165, 405 | 2 | -41 |
| Awake | 2.2 | beta | 15, 16, 40 | 328, 488, 612 | 3 | -41 |
Ancestors 5 · Passing It On · 30 min
| Phase | Minutes | Band | Beats (Hz) | Carriers (Hz) | Tone pairs | Noise (dBFS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive | 2.5 | alpha | 8, 10 | 125, 164 | 2 | -40 |
| Settle | 3 | alpha | 8, 10 | 84, 165, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Descend | 3 | theta | 5, 5.5, 7 | 84, 162, 243 | 3 | -40 |
| Journey | 8.9 | theta | 4, 4.25, 4.5, 10 | 82, 162, 242, 405 | 4 | -40 |
| Deep | 6 | theta | 4, 4.25, 4.5 | 82, 162, 242 | 3 | -40 |
| Return | 3 | theta | 5.5, 7, 10 | 83, 164, 405 | 3 | -40 |
| Rise | 1.5 | alpha | 10 | 165, 405 | 2 | -41 |
| Awake | 2.2 | beta | 15, 16, 40 | 328, 488, 612 | 3 | -41 |
What you'll practise
- Tree of Roots — A tree whose roots are the people who came before you, known or unknown.
- The Long Line — Generations standing behind you, a hand on each shoulder.
- The Old Home — An imagined home of your roots: a kitchen, a village, a field.
- The Blessing — A blessing from an imagined elder, in a few simple words.
