The Solfeggio Frequencies vs. The Solfège System

Jan 27

Confusion & Controversy

In doing my research for this article, I have found that the ‘Solfeggio Frequencies’ are quite a controversial topic. Although they have a large following, with many believing that they can be incredibly beneficial for the human mind and body, they also face a lot of criticism and cynicism over the veracity of these claims. I think this is a rather natural response to quite an unusual concept anyway. Some are more open to exploring more eccentric ideas and concepts than others. We all choose what we believe and what we are willing to be receptive to, which is what makes our experience on this Earth so unique.

Nevertheless, I do think that much of the criticism towards the frequencies comes from the fact that they are named the ‘Solfeggio Frequencies’, which from a musician’s point of view, is actually rather odd. As you will discover in the second half of this article, the word solfeggio is first and foremost linked with The Solfège System, a pitch recognition method that has its roots in the eleventh-century. Whereas, as far as I can tell, the frequencies were only brought to light in the 1970’s, by the physician and researcher Dr. Joseph Puleo.

Perhaps Dr. Joseph Puleo named his frequencies after the Solfège System to add more musical weight to his claims. People tend to be more open to new ideas when they are presented as being linked to something already very well known. Perhaps he had a poor understanding of what the Solfège System actually was, and inadvertently misnamed his frequencies, thinking that they were related to this method when in reality they weren’t at all. Or perhaps there was another reason, and I just cannot think of it, nor find it through research.

The issue with the name is that it creates a clash between the more spiritual ways of thinking and the more traditional musical ways of thinking. The music people see it as their treasured method being hijacked in favour of some ‘pseudo-science’, and the more spiritual people (without knowledge of music) seem to think that the Solfeggio Frequencies and The Solfège System are either the same or very closely related. It makes the conversations about these two very different ideas muddy and confusing. If they were completely separated by different names, there probably wouldn’t be such controversy between the two, and likely would never be mentioned in the same sentence.

The Solfeggio Frequencies

The Solfeggio Frequencies are a series of frequencies created by Dr. Joseph Puleo in the mid-1970’s. Initially, there were only 6 original frequencies, which included: 396Hz, 417Hz, 528Hz, 639Hz, 741Hz, and 852Hz. Later on, 3 additional frequencies were added- 174Hz, 285Hz, 963Hz- completing the set of nine tones. In more spiritual circles, they are believed to hold spiritual significance and that in listening to or meditating with these frequencies playing, one can experience positive effects on their mind and body as a result.

It seems that they are used within various spiritual practices and for countless healing purposes, following the notion that if you listen to these frequencies playing, your own body, physical or energetic, begins to tune to the frequency which is what triggers the healing or positive change. To illustrate how these frequencies have been associated with different Chakras, symbols, and affirmations, I have created the table shared below. I have also generated some short sine wave clips for each frequency, so that you have the opportunity to hear them as well.

Solfeggio Frequencies- Sine Wave Examples:

Now, this is where the trail gets sticky, in my opinion. On one hand we have studies that support the idea that these frequencies- specifically 528Hz- have been shown to have a positive effect on the human mind and body, particularly in regards to reducing tension and anxiety. Though, it should be emphasised that many of these studies are in their infancy, and that more scientific-backed research is required if we want uncover more solid proof to satisfy the human mind. At the moment, there is not enough there to wholly prove or disprove these claims.

Additionally, the frequencies have a great amount of interest surrounding them. Reading any personal responses from people who have listened to these frequencies across the many comment sections on the internet, show just how much comfort people garner from them. Many comments deem them to be helpful in reducing anxiety and fostering a sense of calm or inner peace. I, myself, have listened to them many times, long before I ever bothered to research them nor ever developed any specific beliefs about them, for or against, and I was surprised over the marked difference I would feel after having listened to them, especially after long periods of time. Nevertheless, unfortunately, personal experiences only benefit the individual experiencing them, and are not enough to signify proof for the wider world.

Now we have covered the more positive assumptions, it is sadly time to switch to the negatives. You see, the other hand is that the origin story for these ‘Solfeggio Frequencies’ is incredibly vague and terribly perplexing. It seems that Puleo supposedly discovered the frequencies by applying a ‘Pythagorean method of numerical reduction’ to reveal ‘six mathematically encoded patterns’ within the Bible. The passages of the Bible in question are apparently The Book of Numbers from The Old Testament, Chapter 7, verses 12 to 83. Perusing on the internet will never be enough for me to understand exactly how he did this or what the method entailed. Was it purely a numerical venture? Would it matter what language the Bible was written in? Was there a specific way the Pythagorean mathematics was applied?

When writing my other blog post exploring the 432Hz vs 440Hz debate, the 432Hz frequency was also derived from Pythagoras’ Harmonic Ratios, and yet within the chart associated with these ratios, the Solfeggio Frequencies do not feature. Also, when an instrument is tuned to 432Hz, the Solfeggio Frequencies do not appear to relate to the Hz levels of the other notes in the scale either. So, I can only assume that it is the biblical material combined with the Pythagorean mathematics that led to the discovery of these numbers. But then why the numerical values uncovered were deemed to be frequencies, I have no clue.

Often the frequencies are deemed ‘ancient’ or ‘sacred’, based on the notion that this information hidden within the Bible was well-known by those living many centuries before us, often being linked, most specifically, to the Gregorian Chants. However, I think much of this belief comes from the fact that the history of The Solfeggio Frequencies and history of The Solfège System are repeatedly combined, when in reality they are totally separate. It is The Solfège System that stems from the eleventh-century and is built upon the basis of the hymn “Ut Queant Laxis”, not The Solfeggio Frequencies, which were only created in the 1970’s. They are not the same. Honestly, the amount of blog posts as well as supposedly well-researched theses (a couple which I have linked below as an example), that I have come across that talk about The Solfeggio Frequencies as though they are directly linked to The Solfège System and share the same history is bonkers. It is a terrible case of misinformation that has permeated our digital world, so much so, that even the Google AI is getting it all wrong.

Without being to damning or seeing all these complexities as red flags (which they are, but not necessarily in the way we all think), all I can say is that there is a book. A book titled ‘Healing Codes for the Biological Apocalypse’ (1999) by Dr. Joseph. Puleo & Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz. It is not a book I have read, nor one I was planning to read, especially as the front cover does make it look like some dystopian sci-fi conspiracy theory stuff. Though, they do always say, don’t judge a book by its cover. From researching and writing this blog post, I have to say I am intrigued, if not just to see if they do share more details as to how these frequencies were unveiled and whether they themselves wrongly link their discovery to The Solfège System or whether that is a mistake that has happened since. Part of me thinks that the only way I’ll truly be able to figure out if there is any weight to their claims is by reading it. For up until this point, I have only been able to read other people’s analysis on this phenomenon, of which so many have already got it completely wrong.

So, is it a truth that has been consistently misinterpreted? Is it all psychosomatic? Or is it a pack of lies?

If I do decide to take the plunge and read the book, I will likely be back with an update about these frequencies and my changing opinions on them. But, for now, I will leave it there, still wading in the murky depths of confusion and controversy.

Numerical Patterns

Before I move onto explain The Solfège System, I did want to share a couple of things about The Solfeggio Frequencies that I have noticed, based on the numerical patterns over any musical consequence. Whether they are at all significant, I have no idea.

When all nine numbers are ordered from lowest to highest, it is clear that each one starts with every number from 1-9. The second number in the frequencies also follows the pattern 1-9, however, it is shifted so that the pattern starts from 417Hz. Again, the third number in the frequencies follows the same pattern, however it is shifted so the pattern starts from 741Hz. I have colour coded the numbers and underlined the 1s in the picture below to illustrate this more easily.

Now if you take all the numbers containing the 1s- 174Hz, 417Hz, 741Hz- you can see that they are the same numbers re-organised. 285Hz, 528Hz, 852Hz and 396Hz, 639Hz, 963Hz, also follow this pattern. Each set of three figures are the same numbers in a different order.

Because they are a series of numbers containing the same numbers within them, when you add the three digits of each frequency together, you get this pattern: 12, 15, 18, 12, 15, 18, 12, 15, 18- all multiplications of three. And when you divide the pattern by three, you get 4, 5, 6, 4, 5, 6, 4, 5, 6.

I am no mathematician or numerologist, nor am I completely au fait with the symbolism of numbers and how they are significant within the universe. However, I am aware that the number 3 plays a role, as well as the 3,6,9 pattern, which does feature here. Also, it seems 4,5,6, has its own symbolic meaning, supposedly of change, usually positive.

Of course, these patterns only hold weight depending on what it is you believe. Those well-versed in mathematics or numerology may see more significance here than others. For me, I’m not sure, but I do love patterns and I certainly found this interesting.

The Solfège System

The Solfège System is a memory device designed to help musicians develop their sight-reading, sight-singing, pitch recognition, and aural skills within the Western Tradition. A form of solmization, certain syllables are assigned to each note of the scale to help musicians mentally hear and hit the right pitch when singing aloud. The syllables are also associated with particular hand gestures for added visual representation and physical movement, which can be especially useful for new or younger learners.

The system is known by many names, all inspired by two of the syllables used within the method, including sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, and solfeggio, hence the reason it is usually confused or combined with the solfeggio frequencies, when really they are completely separate concepts and used for very different purposes.

In English-speaking countries, the most commonly used syllables are Do (doh), Re, Mi, Fa, So (sol), La, Ti, Do, which are well remembered due to the song ‘Do-Re-Mi’ from The Sound Of Music. These syllables most commonly reference each of the eight pitches in a diatonic scale, however, more advanced versions of the system include the chromatic notes as well. The sharpened notes use the syllables Di, Ri, Fi, Si, & Li, and the flattened notes use the syllables Te, Le, Se, Me, & Ra.

This system can be applied in two different ways:

Fixed Do- this is where the syllables are tied to specific pitches, usually the notes of a C-Major scale (Do being C-natural).
Movable Do- this is where the syllables are tied to scale degrees, allowing for changes of key. For example, in G-Major, Do would be G, in F-Major, Do would be F… and so on.

Historically, the earliest version of these syllables were created by the eleventh-century Italian music theorist Guido d’Arezzo. Using the Latin hymn “Ut Queant Laxis”, he named each note of the hexachord- from C-natural to A4- after the first syllable of each line of the hymn, producing Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La for the first six notes of the C-Major scale. As time went on, the system developed, with Ut being replaced by Do in Italy in the 1600’s. Si was later added as the seventh note, however, in English-speaking countries, it was switched to Ti in the 1900’s by Sarah Glover, based on the preference that each syllable should start with a different letter.