The Healing Power of Tuning Forks: A Beginner’s Guide to Vibration and Calm

When I first started studying sound healing, I was given a small starter kit. It included a beautiful Tibetan singing bowl and a set of tuning forks. I remember feeling curious but also a little confused. The bowl made sense - it had that rich, resonant sound that drew you in. But the forks? They looked so metal, so clinical. They didn’t have the same visual or auditory allure. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them.

But then I started playing around. I tried them on myself, then on my family. I started noticing things shift. Tension releasing. A strange calm settling in. What began as experimentation turned into fascination. I went down a rabbit hole (I'm still in it...) and found that these little tools were deceptively powerful. You can use them to clear energy in a space (like Marie Kondo does), balance chakras, ease physical discomfort, and even calm a racing mind.

They are easy to carry around, practically indestructible, they have no cultural or spiritual context and best of all, you don’t need to be a musician (or even particularly coordinated) to use them. With so many reasons to love tuning forks, I was all in.

If you’re curious to learn more about tuning forks, here’s a little rundown of what they are and how you might start using them in your own life. But be warned - you might be getting yourself into a rabbit hole ;)

The Proof is in the Ping Pong Ball

Most of us understand that sound travels in waves, but we don’t always grasp how physically powerful those waves can be. One of my favourite ways to demonstrate this is by striking a tuning fork next to a ping pong ball – and watching it start to bounce and shift. It’s a fun little science trick, but it also mirrors what happens inside us. Just like the ball, our cells, tissues, and organs respond to the vibration. Sometimes the shift is subtle. Sometimes, it’s deeply felt.

Meet the Tuning Forks

There are two main types of tuning forks you’ll encounter in a session:

Unweighted tuning forks are the "plain-looking" ones. You can hear them clearly and they have a very pure tone. They're typically used off the body, often moved gently next to your ears or through your energetic field (the space around your body). The sound is used to help clear stuck energy, balance emotions, create harmony in the biofield, and even influence brainwave activity, gently guiding the mind into more relaxed or focused states. 

Weighted tuning forks, on the other hand, have weights at the end of the fork, which makes them look a bit bulkier. You can barely hear them (they have a drone-like sound), but you can definitely feel them. These forks are made to be placed on the body. When placed on muscles, joints, or specific points along the spine, they deliver a soothing vibration that penetrates deeply. It’s like giving your body a sonic massage.These are the same forks you might see in an ENT clinic to test for hearing loss, or in neurological assessments to check nerve sensitivity and response.

A Fork in the Road, and the Nervous System

The history of tuning forks begins in music, where they were originally designed to help tune instruments. But over the past few decades, these humble tools have found their way into healing rooms, hospitals, and holistic practices.

Pioneers like Dr. John Beaulieu, a composer, pianist, and naturopathic doctor, were among the first to explore how tuning forks affect the human nervous system. Beaulieu discovered that when two forks vibrating at specific intervals were struck near the body, people would enter deep states of relaxation, even without physical touch. He named this approach Biosonic Repatterning and dedicated decades to studying its effects on stress, trauma, and the body's subtle energy systems. Since then, he has continued to develop new protocols and applications for tuning forks, including their use for adrenal balancing, cranial sacral rhythm entrainment, and emotional tone mapping. One of his more accessible and practical works is the book Human Tuning: Sound Healing with Tuning Forks, which offers insight into his methods and how anyone can begin applying them at home or in practice.

Eileen McKusick, another trailblazer in the field, took things even further. After years of working with clients, she began to detect patterns - specific emotions and energetic "knots" that showed up in consistent places in the biofield. Using unweighted tuning forks, she mapped these patterns and developed a method now widely used to release stuck energy and restore emotional balance. Since then, she has continued to expand her method, developing what she calls "Biofield Tuning" into a full therapeutic system. Her approach blends science, intuition, and practical tools for working with the energetic body in a repeatable and grounded way. For those curious about her philosophy and insights into how unresolved experiences live in the body's energy field, her book Electric Body, Electric Health is a great read – even if you're not planning to become a practitioner. It's an accessible introduction to her view of how energy, sound, and emotion intersect in the healing process.

Why It Works – The Science Behind the Sound

The key lies in how sound interacts with both the nervous system and the body’s natural rhythm.

Weighted tuning forks can help stimulate the vagus nerve, which supports emotional regulation and physiological calm, and activate the parasympathetic response – the rest-and-digest state. But that’s only part of the picture.

Unweighted forks influence brainwave activity, entraining the mind toward more coherent, relaxed states like alpha and theta.

On a cellular level, vibration stimulates movement, encouraging circulation and energy flow. As Eileen McKusick describes it, the body is like a band that’s gone slightly out of sync. Tuning forks act like a pitch reference, helping the system retune and come back into harmony.

It’s not about “fixing” anything. It’s about offering the body a steady, coherent signal, a sound it can resonate with, so it can remember what balance feels like, and begin to return to it naturally.

What Actually Happens in a Session?

A tuning fork session might seem simple at first. The practitioner will activate the forks (by gently striking them to produce vibration and sound) and then either work around your ears and energetic field, or place them directly on specific points of your body (depending on your needs in that session). There’s usually very little talking, but often a distinct sense that something is happening.

Some practitioners work exclusively with tuning forks throughout the entire session. Personally, I like to combine them in a more holistic approach, weaving them in alongside other instruments like gongs and singing bowls.

People may feel warmth, subtle vibration, tingling, or even emotions rising to the surface. Sometimes there’s even a quiet but unmistakable sense of release. And while some might not notice much in the moment, most people walk away feeling lighter, clearer, and more balanced.

Not Just for Practitioners

One of the most exciting things about tuning forks is how accessible they are.

You don’t need to be a sound healer to use them. In my Heal with Sound workshops, I teach people how to use tuning forks for daily calm, stress relief, pain management, and even to reset between meetings. Some parents use them with their kids before bedtime. Some keep them at their desk. Some use them on long flights or during panic attacks.

Once you’ve felt how quickly your system responds, you start to reach for them like you would a glass of water or a deep breath.

Questions I Often Get About Tuning Forks

Curious minds usually have more than one question when they first come across tuning forks – and honestly, I love that. Here are some of the most common ones I hear:

There are so many types of forks and sets – where do I start? It’s true, the options can feel overwhelming. There are dozens of frequencies, chakra sets, organ sets, planetary sets… you name it. If you’re just starting out, I usually recommend the OM weighted fork (136.1 Hz) – it’s deeply grounding, calming, and great for on-body use. For unweighted forks, a C & G set is a solid starting point. It’s harmonically balanced and versatile.

Do certain tuning forks match specific chakras?

Yes… and also no. Many systems assign forks to chakras based on frequency correspondences. For example, the 639 Hz Solfeggio frequency is often associated with the heart chakra, but these associations aren’t universal or scientifically validated. Some practitioners swear by it, others work intuitively. I recommend treating these correspondences as flexible guides, not fixed rules.

How often can I use them?

There’s no hard rule - they’re gentle and safe to use daily. Some people use them once or twice a day for focus, stress relief, or grounding. Like any wellness tool, consistency over intensity tends to work best.

Can I learn this on my own?

Yes! Many people begin using tuning forks for self-care without formal training. That said, learning from an experienced guide can really deepen your understanding. I offer workshops and private sessions where you can learn how to use forks confidently and safely.

What’s the difference between the same frequency fork from different brands?

It’s often about build quality, materials, and slight variations in craftsmanship. A high-quality aluminum fork will sound cleaner and sustain longer than a cheaper alternative. If you're investing in your wellness, it’s worth buying from a trusted source.

Is this sound healing or energy healing or both?

Both. You’re working with physical vibration and the subtle energy field – the same way acupuncture uses the physical needle and also taps into energy meridians. Forks just happen to do both without needles.

If you have more questions – just leave a comment or contact me directly.

Want to Try It? Here’s How.

Whether you're tuning in for curiosity or deep healing, there are plenty of ways to start:

• Book a private session in my clinic Sydney space

• Join a Heal with Sound workshop and learn how to use forks on yourself

• Or just send me your questions - I love sound nerds

  
  

Remember, you don’t need a PhD in vibration or a belief system to benefit from tuning forks. You just need a little curiosity, and maybe a moment of quiet to hear what your body’s been waiting to say.

Till next time, may the fork be with you ;)