The Healing Power of Monochords.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN: My Personal
Love Affair with the Monochord
In the summer of 2007 I was sitting in my shop on a slow day. I was listening to a Loreena McKennitt CD and casually looking through the liner notes on the cd. I saw in the list of many instruments used on the CD that one of them was a Monochord. I had never heard of this instrument and had no idea what it looked like or sounded like. But when I read the word “Monochord” my heart started to flutter and it was really clear that I needed to find out more.
I immediately turned to Google and to my surprise I could not find anything at all about where to find this instrument or what it sounded like. I began to call all of my musical instrument suppliers and anyone else I could think of and no-one knew anything about them. There were some references on Google in German about a Soundwave Bed but nothing I could follow up on.
Some months later, after an intensive and futile search, who should walk into my shop but Ingo Böehme, the creator of the Monochord Soundwave Bed! He was taking it to a Sound Healing Conference in New Mexico to see if anyone there would like to work with it and he found me instead. It was two weeks later, after the conference, that Ingo and his team brought the Soundwave Bed back to let me actually try it out. My life hasn't been the same since. At the time I had already been in the business of selling sound healing instruments for 15 years, but I had never experienced anything quite so profound as this.
What is a Monochord?
The exact origin of the monochord is uncertain, but we do know that Pythagorus used this remarkable instrument to explore mathematical ratios, and with it, came to discover musical intervals.
In his continued work with the mathematics of sound, Pythagorus discerned that even cells and atoms vibrate at unique frequencies; that music could bring the body into harmony, and that such resonance could create healing effects in plant and animal life. Pythagorus concluded that all knowledge in the Universe can be found in the harmonics of the monochord, and went on to effectively prescribe music as medicine.
Many who have since utilized monochords for healing have said that the sound emitted from them does nothing less than open up portals to the Angelic realms. I can say that has certainly been true for me. I find that just one strum of the monochord is enough to still my mind and, without my effort, let my consciousness slip into my Heart. I have been using monochords to work with my customers and clients since the fall of 2007 and I know that the experience of most of them has been similar. I have never found any instrument or any technique that so quickly and easily helps us to slip into the Heart where the most profound healings and meditations can happen.
Choices Among Monochords
are the Hinges of Destiny!
Pythagorus is known to have said that “Choices are the hinges of destiny.” In this spirit of free will and self-care, Sacred Rites is pleased to offer three varieties of monochords that have been used in sound healing for millennia.
I offer a portable hand-held version, a stringed chair for your comfort, and also the Soundwave bed.
The Soundwave Bed
The Soundwave bed has 40 strings tuned to three octaves of the same note. Unlike most other monochord beds made by others, Ingo Böehme had the genius to put the strings on the side of the bed rather than underneath. When the strings are underneath it makes it very awkward for the person playing it. With the strings on the side, the practitioner can sit cross legged with the spine straight in the position of meditation. It is a position which makes it possible for the player as well as the client to get very deep and have a profound experience.
I conduct sound therapy sessions using the Soundwave Bed on display in the store for my clients. Please drop by the Sacred Rites store in historic downtown Flagstaff to become a client, and to experience this remarkable form of sound bathing.
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Prices and shipping vary for the Soundwave Bed. Please email Kelly for current prices and shipping rates.
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Dimensions: 75" x 30" x 23" Reclining Area: 52" x 25"
Materials: Sustainably Harvested Padoukwood
Ingo Böehme’s Singing Chair
In addition to the Soundwave Monochord Bed, Sacred Rites also offers monochord chairs that Ingo also designed. These are an absolute delight. They also have 40 long strings on the back of the chair and it's amazing how deeply the vibrations go through every part of the body, gently and subtly releasing any blockages. Again, the design is genius. It supports the lower back very well making it easy and comfortable for the spine to remain relaxed and straight; perfect for meditation and going deep.
It is also easy for the person sitting in the chair to even play it for himself by gently reaching back one arm at a time and strumming some of the strings with the back of the thumbnail. I often strum for myself for a few minutes before stopping, then following the sound into a deep meditation.
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Dimensions: 27.5" x 26" x 50"
Material: Cherrywood & Ash
The Sacred Rites 30” Monochord
Once the beautiful sound healing furniture found their way into my life I was hooked. I came to grow more deeply attached to the regular habit of sound therapy. I did not want to miss a day of the healing effects I got from the Soundwave bed, and wanted something more compact that I could take with me wherever I went. Using the work of Ingo and Pythagoras as an inspiration, I designed a portable monochord that I call the Sacred Rites 30" Monochord. Although it is only 30" long, 6" wide and a few inches deep with 16 strings tuned to three octaves of the same note, it has much the same deep resonance and healing properties of the larger instruments. The “huggable” size of this instrument makes it great for traveling and is considerably more affordable. This monochord comes with a tuning wrench, hammers for you to play alternatively to strumming, and a gig bag to protect your investment.
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Dimensions: 30" x 6" x 4"
Material: Poplar & Baltic Birch
This more mobile instrument is a central feature of worship during our weekly pujas at The Temple of the Divine Mother, adjacent to my historic downtown Flagstaff store. Pujas are streamed on Facebook Live most Sundays at 11:00 am Arizona time. If you are from out-of-town and would like to virtually experience the sacred Aum of the 30" monochord during Puja, please join us via Facebook Live.
Let's Chat!
In addition to my sound bathing monochords, I also offer a variety of other percussion, stringed, and wind instruments used for meditation, worship and healing. If you are looking for hard-to-find instruments from around the world with spiritual, cultural or indigenous significance, please visit the store, give me a call, email me, or use the yellow “Let’s Chat!” button on this page to ask about the Sacred Rites inventory