Sound & programs · 13 MIN READ · 8 SOURCE QUOTES
Metamusic: music with Hemi-Sync
Metamusic is the Monroe Institute's name for recordings that blend musical compositions with Hemi-Sync sound patterns and carry no spoken instruction. The publisher's definition fits in one line: Metamusic selections contain music and Hemi-Sync with no verbal guidance. Where a Gateway exercise talks you through a sequence in Bob Monroe's voice, a Metamusic title simply plays. The Hemi-Sync signals sit underneath the melody, and what you do with the time is up to you. People put it on for sleep, for reading or studying, for relaxation and meditation, or as a backdrop to an ordinary evening.
A Hemi-Sync Journal history dates the idea to the early 1980s, when Robert Monroe began moving the sound patterns from the guided tapes into a music background and named the result Metamusic. A. J. Honeycutt, who presented the history of Hemi-Sync at the Institute's 2014 Professional Seminar, played Midsummer Night, which he described as composed by Alan Phillips in 1986, as one of the first titles. The catalog grew into the Metamusic Artist series, titles for sleep and learning, and, in recent years, Metamusic Atmospheres, ambient environments built around the listener's own intention.
Metamusic sits at the gentle end of the Hemi-Sync catalog. It does not teach Gateway's tools or count you into a Focus level. The people who wrote about it are mostly practitioners: a dentist, a psychiatrist, a speech-language pathologist, teachers, workshop leaders and Institute staff describing what they chose and what they saw. Their accounts are warm and modest, and a 1998 Journal summary of early studies quotes one researcher's conclusion that Metamusic with Hemi-Sync needs more empirical evidence. Think of it as the Institute's sound technology in its most everyday form.
Metamusic is music with Hemi-Sync blended in and no spoken guidance: an open background for sleep, study, relaxation and meditation.
Key points
Music and Hemi-Sync together, with no voice
The music comes first. The publisher's Metamusic page names styles from New Age to dramatic ambient and classical, and each album is the work of a named artist. Serene Sleep, for example, runs 46 minutes and was composed, programmed and recorded by Gregory Kyryluk under the name Alpha Wave Movement. The Hemi-Sync signals are blended into the composition, so what you hear is a piece of music rather than an exercise.
A catalog of composed albums since the 1980s
Midsummer Night, which Honeycutt dated to 1986, was among the first artist titles. By the early 1990s the Metamusic Artist series included Inner Journey and Sleeping Through the Rain, which a 1995 Journal report calls Volume 1. In 1995 the Journal introduced Remembrance, created for study and retention. Its author, a professor of interpersonal communications, traced it to Dr. George Lozanov's suggestopedia and the superlearning approach popularized in a 1979 book, and argued that what goes in with music comes out with music.
Each title carries frequencies chosen for its purpose
The publisher's FAQ says Hemi-Sync frequencies are not the same on every title: sleep products use mostly delta and learning products mostly beta. Its Metamusic page adds that many titles use special blends of alpha, theta and delta to slow excess mental activity for meditation or deeper relaxation, others emphasize beta for focus and concentration, and others delta for sleep. A 1998 Journal article adds that three distinctive Hemi-Sync sound patterns may be blended with the music, and reasons that different binaural beat combinations lead to different subjective states.
The signal sits quietly under the music
Honeycutt explained that in the guided tapes the Hemi-Sync tones were nestled in a bed of phased pink noise, described as Bob's bed, so the raw tones were not out in front. Metamusic moved the technology into the composition. After playing Midsummer Night, Honeycutt asked the room whether they heard the Hemi-Sync, answered that it was hardly present, and said the signal was Focus 10, the tried and true mix of delta and theta. You listen to the music; the technology sits underneath.
The unguided end of the Hemi-Sync catalog
The publisher separates its lines by when the benefit arrives. Most Mind Food and Heart-Sync titles deliver theirs while you listen, Human Plus recordings teach a cue you use later, and the Gateway Experience is a progressive training series. Metamusic is the nonverbal line: no instructions, no counting, no tools to learn. Nancy McMoneagle, a longtime Monroe Institute leader, described it as the recordings with no verbal aspect at all, naming Serene Sleep.
Chosen for the room: waiting rooms and workshops
Practitioners treat Metamusic as a room tone. A center offering energy-healing sessions played Inner Journey and Sleeping Through the Rain continuously through speakers in its waiting room and later added pillows with speakers. A 1993 conflict-management workshop played Cloudscapes and Daybreak through four corner speakers, and participants thought the music helped productivity and relaxation during discussions and breaks.
Atmospheres: a newer branch for your own intention
In the 2015 update Honeycutt described the newer Metamusic Atmospheres as a subgroup of ambient audio environments where the emphasis is on the technology and on the listener's ability to direct their own intentions. Celestial Meditation was the sample. They are meant for the times when a guided meditation is not what you want.
Studies are few, small and early
The Journal describes two early comparisons. Varney's 1988 study followed six toddlers in a home-based early-intervention program: three heard Metamusic with Hemi-Sync and three matched children heard the same music without it. Guilfoyle and Carbone's 1997 study matched twenty adults with developmental disabilities, gave one group music with alpha-beta Hemi-Sync signals and the other the same music alone, and tested memory and attention before and after fifteen sessions. In 2014 Honeycutt described an Army hospital study in which 74 participants listened to Dreamland, some versions with Hemi-Sync and some without.
In their own words
Quotes are checked word for word against the recordings and documents they come from. Bracketed words correct transcription errors; “…” marks an omission.
“In the early 1980s Robert Monroe began to incorporate many of the Hemi-Sync sound patterns developed for the guided tapes into a music background, which he called Metamusic. Metamusic tapes opened the door for children to benefit from Hemi-Sync sound patterns, since the verbal content of the original tapes was inappropriate. It allowed listeners of all ages to enjoy Hemi-Sync as an open, nondirected background for activities such as reading, studying, sleep, and self-generated imagery.”
“We fast-forward to the '80s and enter now, enter meta music, where we began to blend the technology with, into the artist works. We wanted to create a souped-up version that [was] designed [to] enhance the intention of the overall composition. This is a sample from Midsummer Night, and this was composed by Alan Phillips in 1986. It's, it's one of our first meta music titles. Okay, so [Hemi-Sync] signature, did you guys hear the [Hemi-Sync] in it? Hardly, hardly, hardly present in this case. But in this case it's Focus 10. This is the, the tried and true mix of Delta and Theta signals that have been relaxing people for years.”
“More and more people are looking for these kinds of environments where they can do their own thing. And we believe, believe that this provides a great vehicle for those pursuits. And sometimes guided meditations are fine. But other times you just want to wander around at your own pace and intention, and these [Metamusic] atmospheres are perfect for that.”
“For this purpose, I selected the Sleeping Through the Rain tape from the Metamusic Artist series for several reasons. First, the tape contains no verbalization, just music. While a verbally guided tape is fine in most situations, I felt it might be difficult to coordinate a forty-five-minute guided relaxation exercise with a thirty-minute appointment. Second, the low bass tones in Sleeping Through the Rain are excellent for drowning out the sound of the dental equipment, such as the handpiece, ultrasonic scaler, and suction machine.”
“Clients claimed they started relaxing on hearing the music. Pillows with speakers were later introduced as an experiment to see if relaxation was enhanced during treatment. The experiment was very successful, especially for assisting people coming for the first visit into a receptive state. The most popular tape was Surf, though at times we’ve used Soft and Still, and some request Cloudscapes.”
“My two standbys are Surf and Cloudscapes. Surf is the only Hemi-Sync audiotape with nature sounds. Incidentally, the Stream Songs relaxation video is wonderful, as is the rainstorm on the Lucid Dreaming album. Cloudscapes offers a gentle, neutral background that is comparable to nature sounds. A few people request tapes with verbal guidance. In such cases, Guide to Serenity and Deep 10 Relaxation have been very useful.”
“But again, a reminder of the power of music. The tremendous power of music. … Now, we want to know about … the response to Hemi-Sync meta music in a quiet setting. The type of meta music, I use open speakers placed in front of or behind the children because it's a gentler approach. … The question always is, is Hemi-Sync appropriate for this child? And it is not appropriate for everyone. And I think that is very important to acknowledge.”
“Although the usefulness and effectiveness of Metamusic with Hemi-Sync requires additional empirical evidence, interventionists may find that playing Metamusic with Hemi-Sync during intervention with young children with developmental disabilities will improve attention behaviors, social interactions and communication.”
Important things to consider
Use it as music, not as a technique
There is nothing to do. The Journal history calls Metamusic an open, nondirected background, and the publisher's listening tips say to play it as background during other activities. If you want to be taught to reach a state, choose a guided program such as Gateway. If you want the Institute's signals in the background of an ordinary evening, put on an album and carry on.
Match the title to the purpose
Each title uses a custom blend of frequencies for its purpose, so read the description before you choose. A delta-weighted sleep album is the wrong choice for a work session, and even within one purpose, rooms differ. In a 1993 seminar talk by workshop leaders Jim and Charlene Akenhead, one of them called Sleeping Through the Rain a personal favorite but said it did not work well in discussion groups, where Cloudscapes was preferred.
Headphones for strength, speakers for ambience
The publisher's listening tips say headphones give the best results, that ear-enclosing models also cut room noise, and that more separation between the ears means a stronger effect. Speakers work too and suit background listening, and because Metamusic is nonverbal the tips say speakers are fine. Set the volume to a comfortable level.
Listen where it is safe
The publisher advises against listening while driving or operating heavy equipment and against combining Hemi-Sync with other devices that affect brainwaves. It says to consult a physician first if you have a seizure tendency or an auditory or mental condition, and to stop if you feel unusual physical or mental discomfort. Suzanne Evans Morris told the 2015 seminar that Hemi-Sync is not appropriate for everyone.
Plain music is powerful too
Morris showed a video of animals settling peacefully around a computer while ordinary music played, and said that had it been Hemi-Sync, people would have praised the power of Hemi-Sync. If a Metamusic album relaxes you, some or all of that may come from the music itself, the quiet room and your expectations. It is a good reason to choose music you actually enjoy.
The evidence is small and mostly practitioner reports
The published comparisons are few and small, mostly with young children or adults with developmental disabilities, and the Journal's 1998 summary quotes one researcher's conclusion that the usefulness of Metamusic with Hemi-Sync requires additional empirical evidence. The other accounts, from a dentist, a psychiatrist and workshop leaders, show how Metamusic is used and why people favor particular titles, but they cannot separate the effect of the signals from that of pleasant music, a quiet room and expectation.
Toning along with the music
A 1997 Journal article suggests making Metamusic an accompaniment for chores, relaxation or sleep. For Gateway listeners it also suggests carrying Resonant Tuning through the day by humming or singing along with music you prefer. The author finds cello music easy to tone with because of its deep, elongated vibrations.
Common questions
What is Metamusic?
Metamusic, also written meta music, is the Monroe Institute's name for music recordings with Hemi-Sync sound patterns blended in and no spoken guidance. The publisher's definition is that Metamusic selections contain music and Hemi-Sync with no verbal guidance. A 1998 Journal history says Robert Monroe began adding the sound patterns from the guided tapes to a music background in the early 1980s, and that the format let listeners of all ages, children included, use Hemi-Sync as an open, nondirected background for reading, studying, sleep and self-generated imagery. Different titles emphasize different frequencies for sleep, focus and meditation.
How is Metamusic different from the Gateway Experience?
The Gateway Experience is a progressive training program. Monroe's voice guides each exercise, teaches tools such as the Energy Conversion Box and Resonant Tuning, and counts you into Focus levels. Metamusic does none of that. It has no voice, no counting and no steps: it is music with Hemi-Sync blended in, meant to play while you sleep, read, relax or meditate. The publisher also separates it from Human Plus, which teaches a cue to use later, and from Mind Food and Heart-Sync titles, most of which act while you listen.
Do I need headphones to listen to Metamusic?
Not necessarily. The publisher's listening tips say headphones give the best results, especially ear-enclosing models that cut room noise, and that more separation between the ears gives a stronger effect. They also say speakers work and suit background listening, and that because Metamusic is nonverbal, speakers are fine. Practitioners in the Journal used both setups. A center offering energy-healing sessions played Metamusic through room speakers and later pillow speakers, and speech-language pathologist Suzanne Evans Morris uses open speakers in front of or behind children because it is a gentler approach.
Which Metamusic should I choose for sleep, study or meditation?
Start with the title's own description. The publisher says sleep titles mainly use delta frequencies, focus and learning titles mainly use beta, and many meditation and relaxation titles use blends of alpha, theta and delta. For sleep, the sources name Serene Sleep by Alpha Wave Movement and Sleeping Through the Rain, a favorite of several practitioners; a dentist chose it for patients because it has no voice and its low bass tones cover equipment noise. Practitioners also favor Cloudscapes as a gentle, neutral background and Inner Journey for relaxation and guided imagery. For self-directed meditation the Institute points to its Atmospheres titles, such as Celestial Meditation. Pick music you like, because you will hear it many times.
Can I hear the Hemi-Sync in Metamusic?
Usually not as a distinct sound. Honeycutt said the Hemi-Sync tones were originally nestled into a bed of pink noise so they would not be out in front, and in Metamusic they are blended into the composition. When Honeycutt played the early title Midsummer Night and asked whether the audience heard the Hemi-Sync, the answer given was that it was hardly present. Research designs get around this by comparing matched versions of the same music with and without the signal, as in the Army hospital study Honeycutt described in 2014, instead of relying on what listeners think they can hear.
Does Metamusic work, and is it safe for children?
People use Metamusic to relax, sleep and concentrate, and practitioners in the Journal describe what they noticed. The research is small. The Journal summarizes two early comparisons, with toddlers and with adults with developmental disabilities, in which listeners to music with Hemi-Sync did better on some measures than those who heard the same music alone, and it quotes one researcher's conclusion that more empirical evidence is needed. Suzanne Evans Morris adds that plain music is powerful too and that the question to ask is always whether Hemi-Sync is appropriate for this child. The publisher's FAQ says nonverbal recordings are fine for children, and its listening tips advise consulting a physician first if there is a seizure tendency or an auditory or mental condition.
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