Sound is one of the most primal of healing techniques and has been practiced for thousands of years by cultures all over the globe. Practices included the use of instruments for rituals such as celebrations, cure mental health, boost morale or chanting to ward of evil spirits.

In the West it had nearly disappeared until the mid of the 1900s and had been “re-discovered” in form of ultrasound. The Australian Aborigines are the first known culture (about 40.000 years) who were using the didgeridoo for all sorts of illnesses, even broken bones.

Also the Egyptians and Babylonians used drums and rattles for their frequencies to accelerate healing. They used vowel sounds to enhance their healing and spiritual practice. There is strong evidence in the architecture of temples and even the burial chambers of the pyramids to improve and deepen the sound healing and ritualistic experience.

We can’t go through the history of sound healing without mentioning Pythagoras (ca. 500BC), who is credited the first person to “use music as medicine”. His primary instruments were the flute and lyre and he was one to create the musical intervals we still use to this day. Chanting was part of his healing practice as it greatly contributed to the overall health.

In the Greco-Roman era healing temples were established and used for “incubation”, where patients underwent a “dream sleep”. The reverberant spaces enhanced the acoustic experience.

Also in Ireland there is a long tradition of using sound for accelerated healing. Here horns in various frequencies were used in a similar fashion to didgeridoos, as well as gongs made out of bronze had their part.