Meditation music comes in many types. Some of the first meditation music I came across was ocean waves and other sounds of nature. Now you can download programs to create your own customized nature soundscapes. One such program is called 'Atmosphere' and comes with a free version called 'Atmosphere Lite'.

Other types of meditation music I've found would be best described as new-age. Many of these include chanting, bells, and other light percussion instruments. The backgrounds are usually bass sounds with no discernible beat. The use of horn instruments is also common. A whole range of ambient tones can now be produced electronically.

These are all great but they still require the listener to be in the right frame of mind to get any benefit. Thanks to science though, we now have a better way. Meditation music has taken a quantum leap forward and it's called Binaural Beats.

Binaural beats is the process of introducing 2 different but steady frequencies to each ear. The tones are combined in the brain and the difference of the two tones is perceived. For instance, if you give the left ear a tone of 200Hz and give the right ear the tone of 210Hz, then the brain will perceive a 10Hz tone. Since humans are unable to hear tones below 20Hz this is the simplest way to entrain the brain to induce alternate states. The four states of the brain are as follows...

Beta (14Hz-30Hz) Highly alert and focused
Alpha (8Hz-14Hz) Relaxed but alert
Theta (4Hz-8Hz) Drowsiness
Delta (0.5Hz-4Hz) Deep sleep

By using binaural beats with or without traditional meditation music, you can now have the benefits of altered brain states without the need for extensive practice.

WARNING: You should not operate heavy machinery while reading this web page.

If however, you are sitting comfortably at home then feel free to proceed and check out these Meditation Music Reviews.

(One of them even has 6 Hours of Free Meditation Music that you can download. Can you find it? Hint: They're used to Cure Insomnia.)