- LucyTuning is a revolutionary
system of musical tuning to rival the conventional, Western,
12-note system.
- LucyTuning produces beats &
frequencies found in the brain during deep sleep, thus greatly
aiding relaxation and easing the process of falling asleep.
- Our LucyTuned Lullabies are safe
and effective for babies and adults alike.
The origins of LucyTuning date back to John Harrison, an
18th-century English clockmaker who solved the problem of global
navigation by building the first virtually friction-free chronometer
with which a ship's position could be calculated to within a few
miles. Solving the problems associated with calculating
longitude was one of the most important breakthroughs of that age
and earned John 'longitude' Harrison his place in history.
We should therefore be very excited to learn of another
major invention proposed by this irrefutable genius: a
system of musical tuning derived from the mathematics of pi to rival
the conventional, Western, 12-note tuning-system.
Fortunately, in the 1980's, Charles Lucy discovered the writings
of John Harrison and recognised the enormous potential of the tuning
system. Following Harrison's description, Lucy modified
instruments to play the tunings exactly as Harrison had proposed.
Lucy continued his research with many different musical instruments
and computer applications to develop a tuning system which is known
today as LucyTuning. LucyTuning produces the same, ultra-low
frequencies as found in the brain during deep sleep which
explains its effectiveness at soothing and relaxing listeners. LucyTuned lullabies have been specially designed for babies and
young children but elicit the same calming and relaxing effects on
adults and therefore the LucyTuned Lullaby albums can be enjoyed by
all ages (but should not be used whilst driving or operating
potentially dangerous machinery).
 London Sunday Times Nov. 1987
PERFECT tuning has long eluded the world's musicians: like the yeti
its existence is assumed but so far
never authenticated. For centuries the 12 standard intervals divided
an octave have left players struggling
with an imperfect harmonic jigsaw. Violinists, with wide freedom to
control their instruments, make
constant tuning adjustments. But pianists and guitar players,
working with a more rigid mechanical
framework must steel themselves to accept sounds which sometimes
come out slightly wrong. Today, at
London's Barbican Centre the curtain is being raised on the Lucy
scale, an attempt by a computer-literate
guitarist to build on the work of an 18th-century clockmaker. The
aim is to remove the fundamental artistic
obstacle which forces instrumentalists to play an A sharp as if it
were a B flat, when all their instincts
shout that they are different. Charles Lucy, the scale's inventor
who often busks on London's
Underground, said: "If this catches on, the public will have an
alternative system to create music: much
more harmonious, much more consonant." The deficiencies of the
conventional 12-tone scale had
worried Lucy for years. But his attempts to straighten them out
proved fruitless until he discovered the
work of John Harrison (1693-1776), inventor of the marine
chronometer. After squeezing 20,000 pounds
out of the government, Lucy devoted himself to perfecting "the
really true scale of musick". It was
Harrison's work on the subject, enshrined in the City at The
Clockmakers' Library, which put Lucy on the
right track. "I took his numbers and equations and worked them
through on the computer." Harrison's
discoveries showed that the closest approximation to perfection
required the division of a scale into 19 or
25 parts, as opposed to the classical 12. Applied to a guitar, the
Harrison/Lucy solution means providing
19-25 fretted divisions. Although careful to point out this is just
one of hundreds of variants proposed
throughout the ages, Lucy admits: "The difference is, this one seems
to work." The Barbican guitar weekend is the acid test.
Darrel Mayers, The Sunday Times, 29th November 1987.
As he explored the musical system further, Lucy realised that this
tuning system also generated
extremely low pitches caused by the beating of "harmonics". These
same frequencies can be found in the
brainwave patterns which are demonstrated by ECG machines during
relaxation and sleep. This seemed
to explain why listeners often described LucyTuned music as making
them feel extremely relaxed.
LucyTuned Lullabies (from around the world) are unique recordings,
which help relaxation and sleep,
particularly for young children. LucyTuning generates beats and
frequencies, which match the brain's own
frequencies, can induce particular brainwave patterns and their
corresponding states of consciousness,
as has been observed in many laboratories all over the world.
When Charles's son was born, Lucy was doing musical research in
Hawaii, and found the 1967 book
“Lullabies of the World” by Dorothy Berliner Commins, in his local
library in Hilo. Having LucyTuned
instruments and computers readily available, Charles began to
experiment with them as a way to calm his
newborn.
 The original LucyTuned Lullabies (from around the world) album of
eight lullabies, was produced in
1994, with James Sanger, at James's studio, which was then in
Bournemouth, England.
Ten years later, James and Charles recorded Lullabies II at James's
“state-of the art” studio at Barneville-Carteret in Normandy on
which Aide
Burrows, of the British band My Architects, plays a LucyTuned
twelve-string
guitar. Aide rehearsed his part of
the
Montenegro lullaby “Lully, Lully, Lully” whilst sitting outdoors
under the
now-famous "Walnut Tree" of the Keane song from the Hopes and Fears
album which had been produced by James in the same studio, a short
time earlier.
Now you can benefit from LucyTuned Lullabies (from around the
world)
• During pregnancy. (Gestating babies are able to perceive sound
from 16 weeks).
• When children or adults wish to relax or sleep.
• For general relaxation or meditation.
• To encourage concentration and better productivity, particularly
when preparing for
examinations or sport competitions.
• To enhance creativity and imagination.
• For music education. To develop intellectual faculties at an early
age.
• To help treat bipolar disorders such as depression or anxiety, or
calm hyperactivity.
• To enhance your spiritual abilities, and reach out to your inner
self.
"All the recent research shows that children exposed to music from
an early age develop better
language and reading skills and a generally heightened ability to
concentrate and therefore learn.
So music is not just good for the soul - it can actually promote the
literacy and numeracy targets at
the heart of the new agenda." Sir Simon Rattle of the City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, on
the need for music in schools. The Observer - Feb 98.
To learn more & to listen to samples, please choose an album:
LucyTuned Lullabies Album 1 LucyTuned Lullabies Album 2
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