The Key of David

Michael Tyrell and the Music of Healing

There are 7 music tracks recorded over 7 music frequencies – the six Solfeggio frequencies and, additionally, 444 Hz. – the supposed “key of David.”

In his book, Tyrell describes an encounter with Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz while he was undergoing alternative medical treatment for a health problem. Tyrell mentions:

After meeting Leonard, I felt that my theories of sound and light and spontaneous healing with music might be far more than just theories.

Tyrrell, Michael S., The Sound of Healing: Unveiling the Phenomena of Wholetones, Barton Publishing, 2015, p.41

Tyrell describes the history of Solfege, or “sight singing”, which, he notes, he was introduced to while he was training to become a Madrigal singer. He notes that:

The early Christians and disciples of Jesus continued to sing the psalms of the Old Testament. These psalms by King David became the inspiration of the Gregorian chants or Solfege (sight singing).

Ibid., p.61

Tyrell then describes how, in AD 590, Pope Gregory officially made several modifications to the original music of the Roman Catholic church:

Historians reported that the Pope reduced the multiple original intervals of the scale to just 7, then modified the ancient music accordingly. He compiled the altered chants in two books, Antiphonarium and Gradual Romanum….

Ibid., p.63

The upshot of these changes was that:

By the year 1050 AD, the Church admitted to losing 152 of the original Solfeggios sung by the early Church prior to Pope Gregory. Along with those Solfeggios, 6 intervals or frequencies inspired by ancient Hebraic songs were also missing, seemingly forever.

Ibid., p.64

Tyrell then suggests that these missing frequencies were, in fact, identified by Dr. Joseph Puleo and Dr. Leonard Horowitz, as recounted in their book, Healing Codes for the Biological Apocalypse. These are the very frequencies that, in addition to the 444 Hz. “Key of David”, form the basis of Tyrell’s Wholetones healing frequency music project, which he clearly acknowledges and documents in his book.

Tyrell describes taking a trip to Israel with a friend, and stopping at a coffee shop on Ben Yehuda street in Tel Aviv. Upon a chance encounter with a piano player, coincidentally named David, Tyrell was gifted with “manuscript copies of several of David’s psalms” (Ibid., p.80) which contained his musical transcriptions of the ancient musical texts. Upon examining the transcriptions, Tyrell “noticed that [David, the piano player] had adapted these manuscripts to play in modern keys, based on the A440 tuning. At the time, it seemed logical.” (Ibid., p.81)

After returning home, Tyrell tried playing these adaptations of the Biblical psalms on his guitar. However, he notes, “[t]hough they were beautiful, I felt that something was missing.” (Ibid., p. 81) Tyrell also mentions that for him, music has a supernatural quality to it: “I had always known that music held a key to far more than entertainment.” (Ibid., p.81)

The verse in question reads, “I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David.…” (Isaiah, 22:22)

Tyrell mentions that King David famously played the lyre or kinnor – a musical instrument that never left his side and was a critical part of the practice of worship of the nation of Israel. Tyrell notes that David constructed his lyre out of cedar wood from Lebanon, which was sturdier than other wood, resistant to insects and natural decay, while being beautifully fragrant.

As Tyrell reflected on these varying themes, he was struck by an epiphany – a sudden realization about what it all meant:

I always imagined David tuned his kinnor [i.e. lyre] with some derivative of the note “A,” which in Western tuning today would be 440 Hz…. I also knew that David tuned higher than many of his contemporaries. Suddenly, I remembered page 222 in my Bible, as well as Isaiah 22:22. I asked myself, “What if I double them to 444? Could the tuning be 444?”

Then the bomb dropped! Could it be more than a note … maybe a key, THE key of David? There was only one way to find out!

I grabbed my guitar and tuned it to 444 (“A”) and there it was: 4 of the 6 solfeggio tones were right under my fingers!

Ibid., p.94

Tyrell goes on to say that this realization was like solving a musical puzzle as all the pieces began to fall into place:

Suddenly, it all made sense. Because David was not satisfied with the kinnors that were available to him, he built his own. He chose cedar from Lebanon because it was a stronger, warmer sounding wood…. Its strength holds up under the higher tensile strength of the 10 strings tuned to 444 Hz.

Ibid., p.95

All the questions in Tyrell’s mind began to be answered by this understanding. “I began to understand why the ‘Sound of Heaven’ was so elusive and impossible for musicians to capture,” he continues. “Not only have we been playing music in the wrong key, but also we often do it with impure motives.” (Ibid., p.95) Tyrell continues with a powerful affirmation of the spiritual and supernatural dimension of correctly tuned music:

When someone plays music with true spiritual motives and properly directs it to God in worship of HIM alone, God responds and heaven invades earth.

Ibid., p.96

Tyrell proceeds to discuss the history of music tuning in the western world. He mentions that early instrumental music tuning did not follow any consistent guidelines – there were no reliable standards in place. While King David apparently tuned his lyre to A=444Hz, his contemporaries did not necessarily abide by that system of tuning. However, Tyrell points out, “[t]uning would eventually become stringent due to polyphony and larger symphonic works.” (Ibid., p.97)

Tyrell observes that from the 17th through the 19th centuries, music tuned to A=432Hz was widespread – a practice that is common even today. “By 1850,” Tyrell notes, “instruments were redesigned to play at pitches from 420 Hz (A) to 460 Hz (A). Some played even higher in the cultured theaters of Venice. A full swing tuning war thus began in Europe!” (Ibid., p.98)

Citing the Schiller Institute at length, Tyrell observes that the current practice of A=440Hz music turning was never widespread or taken seriously until the 1930’s, when it was adopted by Nazi Germany and promoted by Hitler’s propaganda minister, the infamous Joseph Goebbels:

The first effort to institutionalize A=440, in fact, was a conference organized by Joseph Goebbels in 1939, who had standardized A=440 as the official German pitch.… The congress did in fact occur in London, a very short time before the war, in May-June 1939. No French composer was invited. The decision to raise the pitch was thus taken without consulting French musicians, and against their will. The Anglo-Nazi agreement, given the outbreak of war, did not last, so that still A=440 did not stick as a standard pitch.

A second congress in London of the International Standardizing Organization met in October 1953, to again attempt to impose A=440 internationally. This conference passed such a resolution; again no Continental musicians who opposed the rise in pitch were invited, and the resolution was widely ignored….

As recently as 1971, the European Community passed a recommendation calling for the still non-existent international pitch standard. The action was reported in “The Pitch Game,” Time magazine, Aug. 9, 1971. The article states that A=440, “this supposedly international standard, is widely ignored.” Lower tuning is common, including in Moscow, Time reported.…

Ibid., pp.99-101

Tyrell then makes an emphatic, unequivocal statement on his opinion regarding A=440Hz frequency music tuning, which is currently widely accepted as “standard western tuning” and is used by most mainstream media organizations in their practices of sound calibration:

The 440 Hz frequency is a dissonant, unrested, and chaotic tuning that creates agitation in the human body.

Ibid., p. 101

Tyrell quotes the abstract of the article Musical Cult Control: The Rockefeller Foundation’s War on Consciousness through the Imposition of A=440Hz Standard Tuning by Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz, which summarizes his position with regard to the insidious and damaging nature of the A=440Hz music tuning standard as follows:

“This article details events in musical history that are central to understanding and treating modern psychopathology, social aggression, political corruption, genetic dysfunction, and cross-cultural degeneration of traditional values risking life on earth.

This history concerns A=440 Hz “standard tuning,” and the Rockefeller Foundation’s military commercialization of music.

The monopolization of the music industry features this imposed frequency that is “herding” populations into greater aggression, psychosocial agitation, and emotional distress presdisposing people to physical illness and financial impositions profiting the agents, agencies, and companies engaged in the monopoly.

Alternatively, the most natural, instinctively attractive, A=444 Hz (C5=528 Hz) frequency … has been suppressed … [and] musically censored.

Thus, a musical revolution is needed to advance world health and peace, and has already begun with musicians retuning their instruments to perform optimally, impact audiences beneficially, and restore integrity to the performing arts and sciences.

Music makers are thus urged to communicate and debate these facts, condemn the militarization of music that has been secretly administered, and retune instruments and voices to frequencies most sustaining and healing.”

Ibid., pp.102-3

Tyrell proceeds to point out that Joseph Goebbels was a deeply depraved and monstrous member of Hitler’s Nazi party, whose “goal was to ‘Nazify’ the art and culture of Germany.” (Ibid., p.105) Tyrell states that “Goebbels used radio and propaganda films to win over supporters … [and] was also responsible for creating a cult of personality for Hitler.” (Ibid., p.105) Tyrell then poses the naturally occurring question:

Is it a coincidence that a Nazi, anti-Semitic, outright hater of the Jews [sic.] would push for a tuning (A=440 Hz) that facilitates social unrest, agitation, and friction?

Ibid., p.106

Again, to clarify his point, Tyrell poses the question:

Why would Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister and right hand man to Adolf Hitler, master of mind-control, manipulation, and unspeakable evil be so concerned with the international standardizing of musical pitch?

Ibid., p.106

Tyrell then provides the response to his own question:

My answer is control, manipulation, and power.

Ibid., p.106

Tyrell makes the case, in his book, for the power of music properly tuned to the correct Solfeggio frequencies to provide healing and even mystical and supernatural experiences. His claims and affirmations in this regard are informed both by personal experience with the power of frequency tuning and music healing as well as the ideas and literature of Dr. Leonard Horowitz and others who have addressed this subject in their publications.

This is especially true when we consider that the music we listen to is exponentially amplified and transmitted by modern music and communications technology.

“‘Does tuning really make a difference?’” Tyrell inquires in his book. He replies, “My answer would be, ‘Only if you are interested in spontaneous healing, changing the world, and touching the heart of God.’” (Ibid., p.97)

Tyrell notes that:

Intonation is simply the accuracy of pitch…. When the cells of the body are in tune with each other, the body functions flawlessly and resonates with life. When the body is in a state of disease, it is out of tune with itself and in need of cellular intonation.

Ibid., p.107

He summarizes his position with the statement:

“Life is too short to live out of tune.”

Ibid., p.107

While it is hard to provide definitive, concrete evidence to support claims of miraculous healing brought about by frequency music, it is undeniable, in my mind, at least, that certain sound frequencies, and music tuned to those frequencies, have a palpable effect on one’s mind and body. I can attest to having listened to music tracks that almost magically remove stress from one’s system, even as other music tracks I have been exposed to have the power to inexplicably generate a sense of unease, perturbation and even deep-seated dread.

That music generates a powerful emotional response is undeniable in my mind. That this emotional power of music can extend, under the right circumstances, to produce miraculous healing is a remarkable idea and certainly worth considering, debating and putting into practice.

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