Forbidden Frequencies: The Lost Chord

Goldman

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank those who contributed to the creation of this book; Donald Beaman for his visionary artwork and wisdom, Donald Beaman and Chad Darnell for the cover art, Sarah Benson for her healing heart and initiatory sounds, Lenny Bruce for his humor, Ray Featherman for his character and sincerity, Joshua Goldman for his gift of being and his editing, Jimi Hendrix for his purple ray sonics, Kitaro for his music and consciousness, Jay Nelson for his eBook expertise, Shamael for his supervision and all the masters of Light, Love and Sound who have assisted with this project.

Special thanks to my wife Andi—without your support, laughter, clarity, editing and extraordinary love this book could not have occurred.

May Forbidden Frequencies: The Lost Chord assist all who read it in opening to the joyous and transformational energies of sound.

Author’s Note

While Forbidden Frequencies: The Lost Chord is a work of fiction, all the information about sound that is found within these pages is true, except for one thing: the Lost Chord has not been created yet. And, if it had been, this would not be revealed.

—Jonathan Goldman

Introduction

I know it sounds crazy—the Lost Chord—as though something like that could ever exist. But it does, or at least it did for a while. Until I stopped it. The forbidden frequencies of the Lost Chord—an idea, a concept that’s been kicked around throughout history, ever since Pythagoras, maybe before. The Lost Chord—a sound that could heal and transform and more. Much more! Dream on sisters. Play on brothers. Until you find out that it’s real and that it’s got you.

The first music was probably an attempt at healing or at least of communicating with the spirits. When Og the Caveman picked up a stone and began to beat a rhythm on a log, probably grunting some unknown chant, it was likely that he was actually trying to talk with the Gods; maybe asking for a healing for himself and his family, or hoping for a little rain or some animals to hunt. Later on in history, when the Hebrews and other assorted nomads began to find the Holy One, they did it through intoning the Divine Name. Stories of healing and transformation through sound are found in the Old Testament, like the time when David cured mad King Saul of his demons by playing the harp.

In fact, if you examine the basic beliefs of most of the major traditions on this planet, you’ll find a commonality in their understanding that the world was created through sound. From the Old Testament you have: And the Lord said ‘Let there be Light’. From St. John in the New Testament, it reads: In the beginning was the Word. From the Vedas, in the Hindu tradition, you have the statement: In the beginning was Brahman, with whom was the word and the Word was Brahman, which smacks of a lot of similarities to the quote from St. John. The ancients knew something that we’re only beginning to understand—that sound is an extraordinarily powerful energy that really does have the ability to heal and transform.

Of course, I didn’t know any of this at the time. I’m still only beginning to understand it now. Since this episode with the Lost Chord, I’ve found out a lot of things. I’ve discovered that for a lot of musicians and mystics (many times they’re one and the same), finding the Chord was a lifelong quest that often brought them to the brink of sanity, sometimes over it. Alexander Scriabin, the early 20th century composer, was so possessed with finding the Lost Chord he apparently went crazy. I think he got rather peeved that he hadn’t succeeded in finding the Chord and this just took him over the edge of madness—the last project he was working on was an attempt to create a tone that would split the Earth in half. Supposedly, Scriabin died of an infection due to a pimple on his lip just before he completed this project. Perhaps the Gods and Goddesses were not ready for such an artistic statement as the destruction of this planet. Or perhaps he should have been more patient and looked a bit longer for the Lost Chord.

Rumor had it that Pythagoras, the Greek Father of Geometry, found the Lost Chord. He had a school on the island in Krotona in the 6th century B.C. that taught three levels of initiation. The first level learned about the magic of numbers. The second level was one of purification. At the third level, the initiates learned of the power of sound to heal and transform. They learned of the effects of different scales and modes and how to use these to elicit different physical, emotional and mental states.

Here’s a story about Pythagoras. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but different version of it have survived. One day, Pythagoras was walking down the street with one of his students when he saw a man in an obvious state of fury, setting wood around his house. Trapped inside were this man’s wife and her lover. The cuckolded husband was about to set fire to the wood, when Pythagoras instructed his student to begin playing a particular tune on his instrument. Almost immediately, the man became entranced and walked away, leaving his wife and her lover to escape.

This story illustrates just how refined the ancient knowledge of sound to change consciousness might have been. Pythagoras was said to have received much of his training of the ancient mysteries from the Egyptians, who were extremely advanced in their knowledge of sound. Some sources even claim that the pyramids were levitated and built by sound. This wouldn’t surprise me one bit considering what I’ve recently gone through.

Poor Pythagoras. He should have used the power of sound for himself, because, according to legend, his school burned down with him in it. Maybe he didn’t care anymore, or maybe he just couldn’t remember what the right tune was. Regardless, whatever knowledge Pythagoras might have given to the Western world about sound for transformation and healing, perished in the flames, along with the ancient master. The same thing is probably true about much of the information about sound and other forms of vibrational energy when the Library of Alexandria was burned.

Throughout the history of the world legends and myths survive about the power of sound: from China, from India, from Tibet, from Egypt, from Israel, from Athens, from Rome, From Africa, from Australia, from South America, and from our own Native American Indians. Great legends and myths—stories about terminal illnesses being cured, legends of Gods and Goddesses coming down from the heavens for visitations and miracles, tales of extraordinary feats occurring through sound and music; dematerialization, levitation, teleportation—you name it, there’s a story about it. Unfortunately, they’re just stories. If the Tibetans really have a mantra that allows them to teleport across time and space, it’s not something they’re about to make public. Besides, who would believe it? I certainly would not have, at least not until now.

There are even stories that Adolph Hitler knew about using sound to control people. Now I might have believed this information beforehand, simply because you’ve got to ask yourself, how did that madman really influence so many people? Some years ago, I came across a quite in Omni, the science magazine that was attributed to Hitler. Here it is: We would not have conquered Germany without the automobile, the airplane or the loudspeaker. The loudspeaker! Sound! I’ve since heard that Hitler worked with some nasty magicians who knew about the ability of sound to control brain waves—things that we’re only now just beginning to scientifically discover. This also makes sense, in light of my Lost Chord adventure.

I don’t want to frighten you with this last bit of information, but it’s something you’ve got to be aware of—the power of sound! I now know for a fact that sound can be used to do amazing things, things I never dreamed of before. Here’s another quote, this one from the headlines of The New York Times Science section: Sound shaped into dazzling new tool—can make, break or rearrange molecular structure and levitate objects! We’re talking about an energy that can actually change matter. The uses of the power of sound are practically limitless. And the potential good that can be created is awesome. But remember that anything that can be used as a positive and transformative tool can also be utilized in its opposite form. And that is the case with this story.

The forbidden frequencies of the Lost Chord have remained a mystery. Undiscovered. Unfound. Stories continue to surface about its supposed discovery and then its ultimate disappearance. I think the rock group, the Moody Blues, was looking for it. Last rumor was the Jimi Hendrix had found it just before his untimely demise. But in reality, the Lost Chord, that special set of frequencies that has worked as a sonic hallucinogen and could create inter-dimensional gateways, never made it past the storybooks. Until now. If Hitler had some ability to control the masses with sound, I shudder to think what he would have done with the technologies now available. Or maybe I don’t have to think too much because I already know.

These adventures with the Lost Chord took place some years ago—before the advent of the Internet and the predominance of mp3s and much more. Oh that stuff was certainly beginning to manifest, for sure, but it would be a few years before you could post something and suddenly it would go viral. In fact, at the time, you couldn’t post anything at all to the Internet or at least most people weren’t able to—not like now! Who knows what would have happened if the Lost Chord would have somehow slipped into cyberspace? It might have been unstoppable.

Lots of things have changed since the adventure of the Lost Chord. Time seems to be accelerating at an incredible rate. There’s more focus on sound as an extraordinary modality for creating shift and change on this planet. And I’ve had more and more experiences realizing the truly dynamic power that sound can create. This story is just the start of my adventures into sound. There are many more to follow.

And if parts of this story strike you as a fairy tale, that’s okay. I was in much the same position. Sometimes the mind refuses to believe those things that don’t fit into our preconditioned way of thinking. Sometimes it’s easier just to close our eyes and our ears to the truth. But I can’t do that anymore. Not now. Not after all I’ve been through. I’ve got to tell this story. It’s too important not to. And I’ve got to start somewhere, so I’ll start at what was the beginning of this amazing adventure for me.

— Christopher Shade, Boulder, Colorado

Chapter 1

I was sitting in the Dugout, nursing a beer, when Dave finally came in.

You missed sound check! I said in a loud voice. I was angry and concerned. Sound check was at three-thirty. It was now close to five. The rest of the band had left a half hour before, but since Dave was my best friend, I waited around to see what had happened.

I’m sorry, he said, wiping a greasy hand through his greasy hair. Dave Baer is a brilliant human, maybe the smartest person I know. Besides being a great keyboard player, he is one hell of a computer wizard. But in terms of personal hygiene, he scores pretty low. This is difficult for me to understand, since he is a vegetarian. Maybe the two have nothing in common.

I took a swig of beer as Dave sat next to me at the bar. Perrier! he told the bartender. The bartender gave me a puzzled look. I shrugged my shoulders and took another swig of beer.

How come you’re late? I asked. You’re never late. I think this is the first sound check you’ve missed in the last three years. What’s the story?

You won’t believe this, Shade, he said.

Shade, everyone calls me Shade. Not my real last name, of course. But Christopher Horowitz makes for a lousy stage name, especially when you’re trying to be a fiery lead guitarist. So they call me Shade.

What won’t I believe? I asked back.

I was over at Rusty’s, Dave began. I nodded. Rusty was another computer wiz and a friend of Dave’s. She was also a pretty good synthesizer player and I jammed with her on occasion. She wasn’t particularly into the blues—more into the techno-pop and electronic stuff. So she didn’t play with us and that was all right.

She’s finally come up with it.

Up with what? A way to make love to computers? Rusty was celibate as far as I could tell. I think she preferred the company of machines to those of humans, or at least of men. Anyway, that’s what I had experienced.

No man, Dave said, looking at me with a bit of disgust. I’m serious. She finally did it.

Did what? I asked, trying to adopt a serious attitude to match Dave’s. I drained my beer and looked at him. What did she finally do? What did she finally come up with?

Dave looked around and scratched his beard. For a moment, I wondered if he was deciding whether to tell me or not. He peered around the Dugout, which was empty, except for the two of us and the bartender. Then he said in a low voice: Remember those ‘Forbidden Frequencies’ we were so interested in a while back. What we called ‘The Lost Chord’, Shade? It’s astounding. She found the Lost Chord.

My mouth dropped open. What? I exclaimed.

Dave motioned for me to keep my voice down. Quiet Shade, this is very important.

You’re kidding me, right? I asked and signaled for the bartender to bring me another beer. My limit was usually one in the afternoon. I didn’t want to get too nodded out before a gig, but if what Dave was telling me was true, I needed another beer.

No, I’m quite serious. She finally did it. My good friend and super synth madwoman, Rusty Fox, has finally found the Lost Chord. It’s true Shade. She actually did it. It’s unbelievable. Dave set down his Perrier and waited for a response from me. I was speechless.

The Lost Chord was legend and I knew it. The whole subject is not my area of expertise, but this is as much as I know. There are certain people, like Dave and particularly like Rusty, who were into what could be called a new science of sound. They were into understanding how sound affects the body and the mind. I was basically into just playing the blues, but these other people, they wanted to know more. Especially Rusty.

Now according to Rusty, as translated to me via Dave, this idea to consciously understand how to use sound to affect the body and the mind was really quite ancient. Dave told me that Pythagoras, whom I remembered from high school as being the father of geometry, was actually a master musician. He knew how to heal with sound. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous, but why not? We all know that music can make you feel better. That’s why I play the blues. And John Lee Hooker had that album about the blues being The Healer. So why couldn’t music be used to really heal?

Dave had told me long ago that Rusty was into finding the Lost Chord. Now I had no idea what the Lost Chord was when he first mentioned it to me. I thought that maybe the Lost Chord was the missing link between my guitar and my amplifier. I still wasn’t too clear on it now though I did have some understanding due to my association with Dave.

The Lost Chord he had explained to me, one night after a gig around three o’clock in the morning, was a concept that a number of mystical musicians and composers like Scriabin had dedicated their lives to finding. It supposedly was a chordal structure that would have the ability to heal and transform.

Well, couldn’t any chord or music do that? I asked.

Yes, Dave answered. "Any music could potentially help anyone depending upon the time and the place and the need of the individual. But it’s pretty much hit or miss. What we’re talking about