Traditional / experimental practice

Anatomy of Sound · The Life of a Sound

Every sound has a life: an onset, a duration and a decay. Four sounds at the same pitch: one that starts instantly like a plucked string and dies at once, a bowl that rings on and fades by itself after it is struck, a sound that swells slowly and withdraws slowly, and a steady tone that lasts for minutes, slowly emerging and slowly fading; all of them over a low, soft floor. Even with the same pitch and timbre, the onset changes the sound's identity. A listening practice with no claim of any effect.

8 minNo headphones neededEvidence level S: Soundscape, no claim

Liner notes

Body: Cluster drone · 110 and 220 Hz, Tonal voice ×2
Strikes: Singing bowl · 220 Hz
What do you hear?: tonal · narrow · busy

5 layers, 3 sound engines; generated on this device every time it plays.

How is this sound made?

Cluster drone−24 dB
Cluster drone · A2 (440 Hz tuning), 2 oscillators
Cluster drone−60 dB
Cluster drone · A3 (440 Hz tuning), 2 oscillators
Tonal voice−12 dB
Tonal voice · 88 notes
Tonal voice−12 dB
Tonal voice · 9 notes
Bell−12 dB
Singing bowl · 220 Hz, 15 strikes

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 6 s fade-in at the start and a 1 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.

These two sounds can't share one recipe (different tuning or effects): listen to the samples one after the other.

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.