Alpha

Alpha is the most famous EEG rhythm and the easiest to observe: close your eyes and relax, and for most people a clear 8–12 Hz oscillation appears over the back of the head. It fades when you open your eyes or start effortful thinking. Alpha is broadly associated with relaxed wakefulness — settled, unhurried, but still present.

What people use it for

Alpha-range beats (8–12 Hz) are the default for general relaxation, unwinding after work, and low-key background listening. A 10 Hz beat — the center of the band — is the studio's default setting and the most common choice in relaxation studies.

In the studio

• Set the beat between 8–12 Hz (the Relax preset uses 10 Hz)
• The default 220 Hz carrier works well here
• Add a whisper of pink noise if pure tones feel too clinical
• Good band for first-time listeners: comfortable and unambiguous

Worth knowing

Alpha entrainment has some of the more consistent (though still modest) findings in the binaural beat literature, particularly around self-reported relaxation and anxiety. "More consistent" is doing careful work in that sentence — see the research page.