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What's the Difference Between Weighted and Unweighted Tuning Forks?

by M H March 17, 2025

Tuning Forks have been used since the 18th century to tune musical instruments to standard tones. In modern times, tuning forks have become popular sound healing instruments for meditation, sound therapy, and sound bath meditation. They’re popular among acupressure and acupuncture practitioners, massage therapists, and other energy-adjacent work.

If you’re interested in Tuning Forks for Sound Healing, you may have noticed that there are weighted and unweighted tuning forks – but what’s the difference between weighted and unweighted tuning forks? Which one is right for the type of sound healing or sound therapy work you’re doing?

It depends on the type of sound healing or energy healing work you’re doing! We think weighted and unweighted tuning forks are BOTH great options, and many sound therapists will have some of each in their sound healing toolkit.

Why Use Weighted Tuning Forks?

Weighted tuning forks have (as you probably guessed) weights affixed to the end of each prong. These weights make the tuning fork heavier, which creates a deeper tone with more amplitude or power behind the sound (to picture this, imagine the height of a sound wave – a taller sound wave has more amplitude and volume than a shorter wave of the same frequency).

Since the weights make the sound deeper, weighted forks are harder to hear than their unweighted counterparts. So why use weighted forks? Because of the depth and increased power, they’re easier to feel on the body! The way to use a weighted fork is to tap it and then place the tip of the handle on certain contact points on the body, where the deeper, stronger vibrations can be felt. These forks are commonly used on acupressure points. Weighted tuning forks are great for physical stress, tension, and discomfort.

If you're looking for recommendations on weighted tuning forks, we like Jonathan Goldman's 64 Hz "Otto" Body Weighted Tuning Fork and our Unlimited 128 Hz Weighted Tuning Fork.

Here's a demonstration of Jonathan Goldman's Otto Weighted Forks

Why Use Unweighted Tuning Forks?

Unweighted tuning forks are lighter, which means a higher pitch, which makes it easier to hear, but harder to feel physically. These forks are best used in the space around and near the listener or inside of their energetic space, but not touching them. Unweighted tuning forks are great for meditation, relaxation, and energy work.

If you're looking for recommendations on unweighted tuning forks, we suggest our Unlimited Rife Remedy Tuning Fork Trio (465 Hz, 787 Hz, and 880 Hz) and Biosonics 432 Hz Tuning Fork.

Here's a demonstration of our Unlimited Rife Tuning Fork Set

How to Use Tuning Forks for Sound Healing

To use either tuning fork, tap the fork against a Rubber Activator, just hard enough to activate vibrations but not so hard that it makes a klang sound. Once activated, you can use the fork as desired – with a weighted fork, place the stem on a part of the body applying some light pressure. Repeat as desired, responding to the feedback from the recipient and adjusting based on their needs. With an unweighted fork, once activated, hold it in the body’s energy field around the body or near the ears and depending on how the recipient is feeling, adjust as needed.

Here's a demonstration showing how we use our Rife Tuning Forks for sound healing

M H

Author

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