Soothing Sounds (Disquiet Junto Project 0250)

Formant · 2016-10-16T17:08:21.582Z

Hi Juntonians.

Here’s my contribution for the week.

I wanted something mellow on the piano, but ended up using an electronic piano patch from Waves instead. It was called “Good Night”, which seemed fitting. A chord progression switching between D minor and A major had also been rumbling about my head, so I decided to expand on that idea. I tried to keep it all pretty simple, aside from writing it in 5/4, which I’ve been oddly obsessed with lately.
Soothing for baby? Hopefully.

https://soundcloud.com/alt-formant/at-night-disquiet0250

yapruder · 2016-10-16T17:57:35.811Z

Recently I read something about newborn brains being not really
organized for tracking or pattern recognition which takes time to
develop. I wanted to do something smooth, soothing and enveloping with a
rich spectrum.
I took short guitar phrases and stretched them and
came up with one track that seemed suitable. It sounds like a pad in the
supportive sense of the word –- a lily pad to float away on.

davidestevens · 2016-10-16T18:34:58.124Z

The sound source is the bell-like thingie in the image. Struck a few times with soft and medium strikers. Recorded into buffers which are played back at 4 different speed/pitches (2 2 buffers, so 8 pitches). As the pitch change is produced by playing the buffer at different speeds, the also changes the playback times, hence the different rhythms that are generated. The output of the playback modules goes into 3 time stretchers (2 sec buffers each); record in each buffer is triggered according to the level of the incoming sounds. I ran the patch for 5 minutes twice, and then mixed the results in Mixbus, with minimal additional processing.

Also, in case you’re interested, here’s a reply to 337is on Soundcloud about about which is the original pitch played in the piece -
The closest would be the tiny tinkly sounds you can hear in the background through the middle of the track, though they are transposed -1, 0, and +1. The first bell you hear is 2 8ves down. There are 2 of these “pitch play” modules in the patch, and 2 passes. The first pass (soft beater) is C0, G0,C1,G1 and C1, G1, Bb1 & G1 (remember that these are _transpositions, not pitches), and the second pass (hard beater) is C1, G1, C2, G2 & C1, B2,C3,C#3 (where C3 is the original pitch - i.e. non-transposed)

GlennSogge · 2016-10-16T19:20:13.574Z

Some simple sounds for sleeping.

Reaktor NOD-E driving the DSK ChoirZ plugin & Reaktor Space Modulator for atmosphere.

https://soundcloud.com/glenn-sogge/a-simple-sleep-disquiet0250

337is · 2016-10-16T20:57:11.065Z

https://soundcloud.com/337is/how-to-repeat-disquiet0250

Wasn’t in a Raymond Scott sort of mood though I love his work … this contribution may well be a hold over from the last junto … it’s hard to leave phases behind.

When I’m at my most vulnerable, minimalism soothes me greatly. Perhaps this new baby will find a similar feeling in listening to this.

This is a simple 4 note motif sequenced for one of the TVP’s voices. I played the other voice live in realtime, warts and all, and this adds a human touch that I know I crave, and it seems likely that most babies do too.

Oootini · 2016-10-16T21:23:34.043Z

https://soundcloud.com/oootini/disquiet0250-a-static-place

From the description:

[quote=“oootini”]
This weeks Junto is relevant to my interests - we are expecting our second child in 8 weeks. For our first child, I made a 30 minute white noise track with some waves from a favorite beach mixed in. It was a help when our daughter was inconsolable. We used it on occasion.

Strange to see an infant react to white noise. When the noise is loud enough (about as loud as a hair dryer), it seems to drown all other sensory input, her face goes blank, and it’s like she goes back to some pre-cognitive state of being. Somewhere before thought, before time. Maybe that’s what we all need sometimes - to go back to the place before.

For this 250th Junto, I tried to do something similar - put the track in a place apart. There is no melody to speak of, and various white noise sources are strewn around the stereo field. Time, as always a factor in these compositions, means this one like all the others is really just a half rendered sketch as the finish line approaches. Recorded in one take on the modular, and twiddled with afterwards on the computer.

As I type, our first daughter is wrestling for control of the keyboard. Time moves in a different gear when you are a parent. Life seems to pass so quickly! It is nice to imagine spaces where time doesn’t exist sometimes.[/quote]

pfig · 2016-10-16T23:02:37.820Z

https://soundcloud.com/everythingdies/the-magical-box

Disquiet is 250 - thank you, Marc, apologies for mostly lurking.

My initials thoughts revolved around music boxes and mobiles, with a simple chord progression (I, VI, II, V, I in Do Major) to please a baby’s lizard brain. Once I was happy with this, I sprinkled some randomness and reverb.

The original photo used for the cover is “Music Teeth” by Arby Reed: https://www.flickr.com/photos/19779889@N00/12910103635

ClaudeLeBelge · 2016-10-16T23:32:26.296Z

It’s been a big party! People came from distances to celebrate the newborn. As vintage is in these days, some trentenaries (whose own kids make a lot of noise taking selfies wherever possible) have brought old mechanical playskool and music boxes, such as you hang atop the craddle (thats where the stereo mic quietly sits). Several times they come back and rewind a mechanism, had to cope with that too. Of course the kids like to have a look at the new baby (more shouts), and then some young cousin brought a CD of recorded heartbeats and said: basically, thats what a newborn needs to hear (but so loud?)
https://soundcloud.com/claudelebelge/view-from-the-craddle-disquiet0250

Mike_Dayton · 2016-10-16T23:38:47.514Z

http://soundcloud.com/mike-88/bells-for-baby

Upon listening to Raymond Scott’s work I was both surprised and intrigued, this didn’t sound like what I would have expected based on being released in the 60s. Immediately I searched Wikipedia and found it quite interesting that he created his own electronic instruments and worked with Bob Moog. For my piece I tried to replicate a bit of the sound and feel of some of his tracks. Bells, blips, and lots of delay. While I didn’t use any strange or unique techniques this project did push me to create a bright and happy track which are a bit of a rarity for me.

LeeRosevere · 2016-10-17T01:01:27.706Z

Used a wonderful vst called Lo-Fi Plastic piano, regular piano and stylofone!

YaWha · 2016-10-17T01:14:53.038Z

https://soundcloud.com/yawha/into-wakefulness-disquiet0250

Waking up with baby on a warm summer’s morning, after a balmy shower has wet the world, to the joy of life.
Curtains let a shard of early low sun cut across to the far wall of the bedroom, behind baby’s cot, lighting up the pile of clean vests and socks, and baby’s three books.
Baby’s head is turned to the side, his delicate neck exposed and visible over the baby grow. Hands loosely clenched, eyelids rest easy.
Deep sleep gives way to movement as the rain falls slowly on the grass, a soothing noise brings fresh earthiness thru the open window. The shower passes, hands and eyelids stir, baby wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, as an orchestra of wildlife tunes up in chorus for life and the promise of a new day, the promise of a new life.

Heartbeat an 808 and 606 kick and 606 open hat for some presence.
Lead line four instances of Air Loom. Very little processing, bit of reverb here and there…

Hope you like it.

plusch · 2016-10-17T02:32:50.351Z

https://soundcloud.com/plusch/sweet-dreams-disquiet0250

With the project’s prompt in mind, I set Cthulhu to generate chords from Bach Chorale 112 and played with the note selection until I found something I liked. Those MIDI notes were passed into Obscurium, which had its own sequencer running, and was hosting Synthmaster with a tweaked factory patch. I added complimentary chords with a Synthmaster pad patch, and recorded it all as the bed. Then I added some bits on top using Bazille, ACE, and Alchemy.

Paul

XRMX · 2016-10-17T05:20:19.415Z

Hopefully soothing to someone…

Self-running Serge Modular patch, plus delay and reverb:

http://soundcloud.com/xrmx-1/444-disquiet0250

standard_grey · 2016-10-17T06:25:23.754Z

Thinking about a pal’s smiley little newborn, I aimed for something gentle, optimistic with a bright, ascendant—almost floating, happy dreamtime feel.

Made using Orbita for iOS with a little bit of Moodscape run through my Zoom MS-70 CDR pedal, live runs were recorded and then reconstructed over the weekend in Audacity.

Enjoyable way to spend a quiet afternoon and evening, as always.

https://soundcloud.com/christopherolson/slow-music-for-babies-dreamtime-for-ren-pts-i-iii-disquiet0250

Oootini · 2016-10-17T07:49:19.774Z

i think kids in general can just really easily relate to bass. it can be so tactile - also kids love to dance.

BennDeMole · 2016-10-17T12:35:34.327Z

This one is pretty simple sweet melody for the very young.
I had to make the time to participate in number 250. Thanks for all the inspiration Marc!
https://soundcloud.com/benn-demole/good-morning-baby-disquiet0250

theatlasroom · 2016-10-17T13:50:32.675Z

I had fun imaging what music might actually sound like freshly out of the womb. possibly could have made it more soothing…

https://soundcloud.com/theatlasroom/drone-for-disquiet0250

theatlasroom · 2016-10-17T13:51:40.362Z

such a beautiful set of tones

FabAvilaNeuralXolotl · 2016-10-17T16:38:22.031Z

This piece was made for a really sad friend. How does it sound babies in sadness? Are they always into the void of this disturbing world? Well, this is a song about that. Just some drone, sonudscape and a piano and strings melody improvised by myself. Best,

F - NX

minorshores · 2016-10-17T22:53:25.741Z

23:45 here in London. Made it just in time!

https://soundcloud.com/minorshores/soothing-sounds-disquiet0250

This is my first entry. I’ve been a passive observer for the past few weeks, partly because I’ve a got a new born son myself, so since this is the 250th junto and that the subject is something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently, the moment seemed opportune to throw myself in.

I first came up with the arpeggiated sequence, around which I built the rest of the track, by playing around with Mutable Instruments’s Elements module, sequenced from my Octactrack.
Twinkly toy-piano-like sounds came out of another Mutable Instruments’ module, Clouds (using the parasites firmware in resonator mode) and also sequenced from my Octatrack.
Pad sounds were also a combination of Elements/Clouds.
Kick, bleeps and clicks, as well as the siren sound of the second half all came out of my my trusty OP-1.
Final editing and some light processing / mixing in Ableton Live.

Was originally aiming for something uplifting but somehow went down a more melancholic route. Some of the sounds were inspired from the two weeks our son had to spend in intensive care following his premature birth, where the first sounds he was exposed to were the whirring and beeping of the machines that were keeping him alive. Overwhelming and stressful sonic environment at first, that somehow becomes strangely soothing once your ears start conceiving rhythmic and melodic patterns within it.

Anyway, hope you enjoy. Congratulations to the new parents!

T