Traditional / experimental practice

Beyond Perception · The Endless Staircase

A sound that seems to rise without end: the Shepard tone. Sines spaced an octave apart rise slowly; as the top ones fade away silently, new ones arrive from the bottom, so the sound never reaches a ceiling. First a rise with a twenty-second cycle, then the same staircase descending, and finally a slow rise with a fifty-second cycle. A listening practice with no claim of any effect.

8 minNo headphones neededEvidence level S: Soundscape, no claim

Liner notes

Body: Endless rise ×3
What do you hear?: even · narrow · dark

3 layers, one sound engine; generated on this device every time it plays.

How is this sound made?

Endless rise−16.5 dB
Endless rise (Shepard) · centre 220 Hz, 6 octaves, 20 s per octave
Endless rise−60 dB
Endless fall (Shepard) · centre 220 Hz, 6 octaves, 20 s per octave
Endless rise−60 dB
Endless rise (Shepard) · centre 220 Hz, 6 octaves, 50 s per octave

Reverb: room, 12% mix

In the room you can listen to each layer on its own, change its settings and save it as your own recipe.

Sound is generated on this device in real time; no files are downloaded from a server. There is a 10 s fade-in at the start and a 0 min fade-out at the end.

Compare with another sound

Hear both at the same loudness; drag the slider to the middle and they blend.

In the middle the two sounds truly blend; loudness is matched.

B: neighbours on the map

Another sound

What do we know, what don't we know?

S · Soundscape, no claim

No health or mental-effect claim at all; it is simply a soundscape.

This session isn't linked to any claim of effect.

A session's level is the weakest of its linked claims; it is never raised by a strong but unrelated claim.

Its neighbours on the map

The five sounds closest to this one by measured sound features.

See on the map

Keep your device volume comfortable, preferably below 60%. You can also use your device's headphone-safety settings.