174 Hz Solfeggio Frequency: Meaning, Sound and Evidence
174 Hz is the lowest tone in the nine-tone solfeggio scale, almost exactly the note F3. It is a low, steady tone around the pitch of an adult speaking voice, traditionally linked with grounding and pain relief. No study has tested 174 Hz on its own. Music in general does reduce pain modestly in clinical trials, so a calm low tone may help you relax, but any specific effect of this frequency is untested.
174 Hz at a glance
- Nearest note
- F3 (174.6 Hz in standard tuning, A4 = 440 Hz). 174 Hz is about 6 cents flat, which most listeners cannot hear.
- Wavelength in air
- About 1.97 m
- Place in the scale
- Lowest of the nine tones. One of three added later to the original six.
- Solfège syllable
- None. Only the original six tones (396 to 852 Hz) were matched to the syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la.
- Traditional meaning
- Foundation, security, physical ease and pain relief
- Studies on 174 Hz alone
- None found (Europe PMC search, October 2026)
How it sounds
At 174 Hz the tone sits low in the musical range, roughly where a relaxed adult voice speaks. A pure sine wave at this pitch sounds soft, round and steady, with no bright edge. Older descriptions call it sub-bass or say it is felt in the body more than heard. That is not accurate: sub-bass starts well below 100 Hz, and 174 Hz is an ordinary, clearly audible low note.
Because it is the lowest tone of the scale, it is the one people most often describe as settling. That impression comes from pitch, not from any special property of the number: low, unchanging sounds generally feel calmer than high or fluctuating ones.
Hearing it properly
Speakers matter more at this pitch than for any other solfeggio tone. Small phone and laptop speakers reproduce very little energy at low frequencies, so 174 Hz can sound thin or almost disappear, and what you hear is mostly distortion. Use headphones, earbuds or a larger speaker.
Do not chase loudness. Human hearing is less sensitive at low frequencies than in the middle of the range (ISO 226 equal-loudness contours), so 174 Hz sounds quieter than a higher tone at the same level. The temptation is to turn it up. Keep it at a level where you could still talk over it comfortably.
No headphones are required for the tone itself. A solfeggio tone is the same in both ears. Headphones are only needed if you combine it with a binaural beat.
Where the number comes from
The six original solfeggio numbers, 396, 417, 528, 639, 741 and 852, were derived by Joseph Puleo from verse numbers in the Book of Numbers and published by Leonard Horowitz and Puleo in 1999. Their full story is on the solfeggio overview page.
174 Hz is not one of them. It was added later, together with 285 and 963 Hz, to extend the pattern downwards. The pattern is numerological: the digits of every tone add up to 3, 6 or 9 (1 + 7 + 4 = 12, and 1 + 2 = 3), and 174, 285 and 396 are each 111 apart. Nothing in acoustics or physiology makes these sums meaningful; they are what defines the scale.
The association with pain relief and "foundation" follows from its position at the bottom of the scale rather than from any historical source or experiment.
What the evidence says
A search of Europe PMC in October 2026 found no controlled study of 174 Hz on its own, for pain or anything else.
There is good evidence that listening to music reduces pain modestly. A meta-analysis of 97 randomised trials found that music lowered pain by about one point on a 0 to 10 scale and reduced the use of pain medication (Lee, 2016). Another, of 73 trials in surgical patients, found less postoperative pain and anxiety with music, whatever music was chosen (Hole et al., 2015). Those trials used ordinary music, not a 174 Hz tone.
So it is reasonable that a calm, low tone can help you relax while you are uncomfortable. It is not established that 174 Hz does this better than any other quiet sound, and it is not a treatment for pain. The brainstem does follow a steady tone (the frequency-following response), but that only shows the tone is being heard.
How to use it
These are practical suggestions based on how the tone sounds, not tested protocols.
- Choose a quiet moment, such as the start of an evening wind-down, and sit or lie down comfortably.
- Play 174 Hz through headphones or a decent speaker, not a phone speaker, at a low, comfortable level.
- Breathe slowly, for example in for four counts and out for six, and let your attention rest on the tone.
- Stay with it for 10 to 20 minutes. If you use it for sleep, set a timer so it stops on its own.
- If you want a lower-pitched alternative for sleep, try it alongside a Delta session from our binaural beats sleep guide.
Best for, and when to avoid it
- Evening wind-down and the minutes before sleep
- Moments of physical tension, as a calm background while you breathe slowly
- A first session when you feel wired and want something low and unobtrusive
- Phone or laptop speakers, which barely reproduce it
- Focused daytime work, where a low drone can make you drowsy
- Replacing medical care for pain
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Questions about 174 Hz
What note is 174 Hz?
It is almost exactly F3, the F below middle C. In standard tuning F3 is 174.6 Hz, so 174 Hz is about 6 cents flat, a difference most people cannot hear.
Why can I barely hear 174 Hz on my phone?
Small phone speakers reproduce very little at low frequencies. Use headphones or a larger speaker, and keep the volume moderate rather than turning it up to compensate.
Does 174 Hz relieve pain?
No study has tested it. Music in general reduces pain modestly in clinical trials, about one point on a 0 to 10 scale on average, so a calm tone may help you relax. It is not a treatment for pain.
Is 174 Hz a binaural beat?
No. A solfeggio tone is one frequency, the same in both ears. A binaural beat uses two slightly different tones, one in each ear. You can read how those work in how binaural beats work.
References
- Horowitz, L.G. & Puleo, J.S. (1999). Healing Codes for the Biological Apocalypse. Tetrahedron Publishing Group.
- Lee, J.H. (2016). The effects of music on pain: A meta-analysis. Journal of Music Therapy, 53(4), 430–477.
- Hole, J., Hirsch, M., Ball, E., & Meads, C. (2015). Music as an aid for postoperative recovery in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 386(10004), 1659–1671.
- ISO 226:2023. Acoustics: Normal equal-loudness-level contours. International Organization for Standardization.