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136.1 Hz
Free healing-frequency, solfeggio & Om sound generator
A low, steady Om drone to chant with — press Play, find the pitch, and let your voice settle into it.
Start at a low volume and turn up slowly. Pure tones can sound louder than music at the same setting, especially higher frequencies.
Om is usually written Aum in teaching because it is chanted as three sounds that flow into one, followed by silence. A simple way to practise with the drone above:
Repeat for 3, 11, 21 or 108 rounds — 108 is traditional and often counted on a mala. Don't force the length of each breath; a relaxed, unhurried exhale is the point.
You do not need to hit any particular note. Chant wherever your voice is comfortable and steady. If you would like to tune in to the drone, try humming the low tone first, then the note a fifth above (the drone plays both, like a tanpura's Sa and Pa). Lower voices often sit right on the root; higher voices may find the octave above (about 272 Hz) or the fifth more natural.
Use Om drone for a warm, tanpura-like bed to chant over, or Pure 136.1 Hz for a single clear reference tone.
The figure 136.1 Hz is a modern convention, not a property of the syllable. In the late 1970s the Swiss musicologist Hans Cousto proposed "planetary tones": take the time the Earth takes to orbit the Sun (one year), express it as a frequency, and double it 32 times until it lands in the audible range. The result, about 136.1 Hz, he called the tone of the Earth year, and it has since been sold as the "Om" tuning fork and used by some sound practitioners to tune instruments.
It is worth being clear about what that is: arithmetic, not physics. Nothing in the Earth's orbit produces a sound, doubling a frequency 32 times is an arbitrary choice, and Om chanted by real people is pitched wherever their voices are. Musically, 136.1 Hz is close to C#3 (C#3 −31 cents), which is why you may see Om associated with C#. It is a pleasant, low, voice-friendly pitch — a good choice for a chanting drone, and a tradition in its own right, without needing a cosmic justification.
Om (ॐ, also written Aum, and called Omkara or Pranava) is a sacred syllable in Hinduism, where it appears in the Vedas and is the subject of the Mandukya Upanishad, which treats it as a symbol of all that exists. It opens and closes many prayers and mantras — Om Namah Shivaya, Om Shanti Shanti Shanti — and is chanted at the start and end of many yoga classes.
Om is also important in Buddhism (as in the Tibetan mantra Om mani padme hum) and Jainism, and Sikhism's Ik Onkar (“One Creator”) is closely related. For many people it is a prayer, not a relaxation technique. Chanting it sincerely is widely welcomed; using it with respect — and not as decoration or a gimmick — is the least we can do.
The clearest effect of chanting Om is the breath: each round is a long, slow, controlled exhale, and slow breathing is a well-established way to feel calmer. Some small studies have looked at Om chanting directly — for example, a 2011 brain-imaging study of 12 people reported changes in brain activity during Om chanting compared with a control sound — but samples have been small and the findings are preliminary.
We don't claim Om, or this drone, treats anything. It is a meditation and devotional practice; enjoy it as that.
There is no single physical frequency of Om — chanted Om is pitched wherever your voice is comfortable. The figure 136.1 Hz is a modern convention from sound-healing circles, derived by the Swiss musicologist Hans Cousto by raising the frequency of the Earth's orbit around the Sun by 32 octaves. It is about a C#.
Sit upright, breathe in slowly through the nose, then on one long exhale sound "A" (aah) with an open mouth, let it round into "U" (ooh), and close the lips into "M" (mmm), letting the hum fade into a moment of silence before the next breath. Keep it relaxed and at a comfortable pitch.
Common practice is 3, 11, 21 or 108 repetitions — 108 is traditional and is often counted on a mala of 108 beads. Even three slow rounds at the start or end of a practice is worthwhile.
No. Matching the drone (or the note a fifth or an octave away) can feel resonant and is good ear training, but the right pitch is the one your voice can sustain without strain.
Om is chanted by many people outside those traditions, and teachers generally welcome sincere practice. Treat it as the sacred syllable it is for millions of people: chant it with attention, and avoid using the symbol or sound as decoration or a joke.