Theta may or may not be appropriate for what you are trying to do. According to Anna Wise (and Dawna Markova?) the alpha state is the bridge between the conscious and not normally conscious minds.
It may be that is why Alex suggested spiking the alpha after doing theta for a while.
In general the lower frequency beats give bigger picture (global) cogitation. Buzzy little beta wave give detail but no gestalt. If you want some fun try using delta beats while you are photoreading.
You can use words (hypnosis) to generate brain states based on the tasking those words generate. The result is not as precise as making a specific receipe for certain frequencies of consciousness.
I think the binaurals may be more useful for unstructured exploration while the hypnotic languaging is more task oriented.
Mix 'em and match 'em. Whisky with a beer chaser. The Monroe Institute folks do talking before binaural beat sequences and the auditory guidance makes a big difference. Just plain binaural beats (especially single or double) can be very boring.
Much of the music/binaural combinations are just layered over and not a crafted whole. Some music is as effective as binaural beats.
The frequency following response is going on with the music and the beats. Things can get muddy. For me, anything over a half dozen tone pairs requires careful thought.
Present and prior state also play a role. For example, I can dial up some beat combinations that, early in the morning after a pot of strong coffee, do wonderful things. Then in the afternoon when I listen to them I go, "Ick." The really worthwhile combination are those that are universal.
If you are trying to combine music and tones at least calibrate to the western pitch standard of A=440 and use the harmonic series to keep open voicings on your chords.
I'm not an affirmation fan but that is just me. I am a big double induction fan. You can "riff" on one voice while the other voice leads you on. John Overdurf and Julie Silverthorne are great at that.
Paul Scheele keeps both voices moving. I like the indirect less authoritarian approach he uses. There is a lot of work that goes into his tapes.
Unless you had a special need for something I'd just fork out $30 clams for one of Paul's tapes and be done with it. They now have binaural beats with them.
