174 Hz Solfeggio Frequency: The Lowest Tone, for Grounding and Sleep
Pure tone at 174 Hz, solfeggio scale
174 Hz is the lowest of the nine solfeggio tones, a deep hum close to the F below middle C. It is traditionally paired with grounding and a sense of safety, and in practice it is the solfeggio tone our listeners use most for sleep because it sits far out of the way under rain or brown noise.
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What 174 Hz is
174 Hz is the first and lowest tone of the extended solfeggio scale, one of the three tones added below and above the original six. As a pitch it sits near F3, the F below middle C: low enough that you feel it as much as hear it. In Mindael it is generated as a pure tone at exactly 174 Hz, not a detuned recording, so what you hear is the frequency on the label.
What it is used for
The tradition pairs 174 Hz with grounding, safety and a sense of being held. Setting the tradition aside, the practical reason people keep it is simpler: it is the one solfeggio tone that disappears into a sleep mix. Where 528 Hz or 963 Hz sit in the middle of your attention, 174 Hz sits under it, closer to brown noise than to a note, so you can run it all night without noticing it and still feel the room is fuller.
Our listeners mostly use it in three ways: under rain or brown noise for sleep, under ocean for a grounding ten minutes after a stressful day, and as the drone beneath a lying-down meditation.
How to listen
Low, and never alone. Put rain or brown noise on top at about twice its volume, use a real speaker or earbuds (phone speakers cannot reproduce 174 Hz properly), and set a 60 minute fade. If you want a beat under it for falling asleep, a delta 2 Hz beat with earbuds works well for the first twenty minutes.
The nine tones, where they come from and what the research shows are all in our guide to solfeggio frequencies.
The floor of the whole scale.
If you only want one solfeggio tone for sleep, this is it. Mindael generates 174 Hz at exactly 174 Hz, and you can slide it under rain or brown noise and set a timer in three taps. Download it and try it tonight at a volume you barely notice.
- All nine solfeggio tones, pitch-accurate
- Layer 174 Hz under rain, brown noise or a delta beat
- Sleep timer with a gentle fade, works offline
Free · No account needed · Works offline Frequently asked questions
What is 174 Hz used for?
In the solfeggio tradition, grounding and a feeling of safety. In everyday use it is a sleep tone: low enough to sit under rain or brown noise without being noticed, which makes it the easiest of the nine to fall asleep to.
What does 174 Hz sound like?
A deep, soft hum, roughly the F below middle C. On its own it can feel like a distant engine; under rain it becomes a warm floor.
Do I need headphones for 174 Hz?
No. It is a single tone, not a binaural beat, so a speaker works. Small phone speakers reproduce 174 Hz poorly, so a bedside speaker or earbuds will sound noticeably fuller.