Phase 1 results, what we measured, what we learned, what comes next

40Hz is a music and neuroscience research platform developed at Casa degli Artisti in Milan. Phase 1, completed across 2025 and culminating during Milano Music Week, tested a simple idea in a real listening setting, a live concert can become a repeatable research environment when composition, playback conditions, and data collection follow a shared protocol.

What Phase 1 set out to do

Phase 1 focused on feasibility and consistency. We built a stable listening environment, we worked with original 30 minute compositions created in residence, we applied the same research routine across multiple events, and we generated a dataset suitable for structured analysis. This stage aimed to verify whether beneficial effects could be observed and measured reliably within ecological conditions, meaning real audiences, real listening time, controlled yet authentic contexts.

Listening environment and protocol

At the center of Phase 1 there was the Musical Atelier at Casa degli Artisti, equipped with a permanent quadraphonic system and a professional subwoofer, calibrated to deliver stable acoustic conditions and a uniform exposure to sub frequencies, including the 40 Hz area. This setup allowed the Atelier to function as a hybrid listening chamber, positioned between studio practice, concert space, and experimental environment.

Data collection combined validated pre and post listening questionnaires, PANAS and Likert scales, with multichannel EEG recordings using a 14 electrode configuration, applied during public sessions with volunteer participants. A controlled listening protocol and calibrated playback made measurements comparable across different residencies.

Who contributed to the stimuli

Phase 1 involved a sequence of residencies where each artist developed an original composition following a shared narrative model that guided attention, perceptual intensity, and receptivity to low frequency listening. Within that shared frame, each residency explored sub frequencies through distinct musical strategies, including pure sinusoids, drones, layered timbral structures, isochronic beating, modulation, and rhythmic patterning.

The Phase 1 dataset used for the main comparative analysis draws on five residencies where the protocol could be applied in full, Novecento, Les Biologistes Marins, IDRA, Keyclef, Pareal.

Dataset generated in Phase 1

Across five residencies from June to November, Phase 1 collected around 250 paired questionnaires, pre and post listening, and produced multichannel EEG recordings. The compositions, created through a shared model and freely interpreted by the artists, served as comparable experimental stimuli.

Preliminary results

Phase 1 results show significant and coherent changes between pre and post listening measures. Aggregated data indicate:

• 11.6 percent decrease in muscular tension
• 13.8 percent decrease in unwanted or intrusive thoughts
• 11.7 to 11.8 percent improvement in perceived breathing quality
• 11.6 percent improvement in overall mood and perceived wellbeing.

On the psychological scales, Negative Affect decreases, Positive Affect remains stable, mind wandering remains stable, suggesting a consistent direction of effect that aligns with attentive, structured listening in a controlled environment.

A relevant element for interpretation is the consistency across residencies, the same pattern emerges across different musical languages and aesthetics, which supports the robustness of the Phase 1 protocol as a platform for repeatable measurement.

Scientific supervision

The scientific framework is coordinated by neuroscientist Sasha D’Ambrosio, with Thiago Leiros Costa contributing to questionnaire analysis and methodological structure, and researchers Simone Frettoli and William Geroldini supporting EEG research and signal analysis.

Project direction is led by Francesco Piccolomini Naldi Bandini.

What Phase 1 established, and what Phase 2 will clarify

Phase 1 delivered three outcomes, the protocol works in a real public context, beneficial effects appear and can be measured, and the research is ready for a more structured phase aimed at specificity and repeatability.

Phase 2, planned for 2026, deepens the research design with elements that allow stronger inference about which acoustic factors drive which effects. The next stage focuses on comparison between different frequencies, placebo conditions, precise acoustic measurements, dose response analysis and effect duration, extended EEG acquisition, and larger recurring samples.

Phase 2 also expands the listening field through structured partners such as Auditorium San Fedele, Triennale Milano Voce, and Capsula, who can host public restitutions, support data collection, and broaden the statistical base through their audiences.