Generating Subliminal Sound or Masking Tracks
A masking or accompanying subliminal sound track is important for any type of subliminal, supraliminal or paraliminal recording.
Theese can be recorded, obtained for no, little or some cost and also be generated.
This article focuses on generating these subliminal masking sound tracks and provides guidelines as to how to do this in the best manner.
If you decide to generate your sound or masking tracks you will need the basic knowledge as to what to do and in the proper way.
It is necessary that you first consider what is most desired in the sound or masking audio track.
Also important is the software program chosen and the features that it should have.
Sound Track Features
The sound track that you create should be relaxing and soothing and also be consistent in how it sounds.
Software programs can generate these sound clips if you understand what the target characteristics are.
The preferred choice is to use sounds of nature and be able to generate and adjust them in a suitable way.
Nature sounds are highly appealing and the variations of them can be almost infinite.
There are choices with respect to the sound of rainfalls, waterfalls, babbling brook, thunderstorms, gentle rain, windstorms, and many others.
You should seek to create a small library of reusable and different sounding nature audio clips if possible.
You should also be able to choose secondary sounds so that your masking or sound track is more appealing.
Gentle ocean waves can be relaxing, but using them exclusively can make the sound track seem repetitive and somewhat boring.
Including secondary and random sounds of nature will only serve to make the sound segment seem more appealing to listeners.
Random sounds of birds or insects render the sound clip more interesting to listen to.
Ideal Sound Characteristics
In addition to how the generated audio sounds to the ear, it is also important that it have certain physical characteristics.
The most important of these is that it is possible to save the generated output file in the WAV format. Other compressed formats such as MP3 or OGG are preferable, but not necessary.
Although the WAV output file is larger than a compressed format, using it makes it easier to mix the sound track with other tracks to build the final recording.
There should also be considerations for the audio output sample rate, sample size and the number of channels.
The ideal frequency sampling rate should be 44,100 Hz, the sample size 16-bit and created using one or two channels.
These settings are desirable for all audio recording components because it provides a common standard and avoids conversion issues when mixing audio segments.
Ideal Software Program Features
Ideally, a program chosen to generate sound clips to use in a recording would have certain features, but this may not always be possible. A list of desirable features would be as follows:
- Available for most operating platforms
- Have no cost or a reasonable cost
- Trial version available
- Easily downloadable
- Easy to use graphical interface
- Include basic nature sound templates
- Allow secondary random sounds to be used
- Full documentation and help available
- Allow generated audio output saved in WAV format
- Permit control over physical audio characteristics
- Allows control over length or size of generated recording
- Provides controls for adjusting recording levels
- No royalty payments required
Of the programs available that can generate sound clips, most usually focus on either nature sounds or brainwave sounds.
There are a greater number of software programs capable of generating brainwave tracks then there are those dedicated to generating nature sounds. The discussion of programs that can generate brainwave entrainment or binaural sounds is provided in a different article.
An important consideration when selecting a software program is to be able to generate nature sound clips without being charged royalty fees or additional licensing fees. This can be significant if you decide to market and sell your final recordings.
Recommended Software
One of the most popular software programs available for generating sounds of nature is Atmosphere Deluxe. It meets most of the desirable characteristics, but not all. Regrettably, it is only provided for the Windows platform. A free trial version is available and you may wish to download and test it. Below is a screenshot of Atmosphere Deluxe.
There are three different versions of this program available: Atmosphere Lite, Atmosphere Lite Plus and Atmosphere Deluxe. Atmosphere Lite is completely free of charge but has limited features.
Atmosphere Lite Plus is the midrange version and comes with additional sounds and features. Atmosphere Deluxe is the fully featured version and provides extra features and sounds that are more realistic.
All three are available for download and the Atmosphere Lite version has no usage restrictions. The Lite Plus and Deluxe versions are available as 21 day fully functional trial downloads and have a cost of $19.95 USD and $34.95 USD respectively.
The graphical interface is easy to use, basic nature sound templates (or presets) included, and random secondary sound control provided. Full documentation and online help is also available.
The generated output file can be saved as a WAV file or converted into the MP3 format, although this is not recommended. The physical characteristics of the output audio are also controllable.
It is also possible to control the length of the generated audio output in terms of physical file size or time duration, and the audio levels of the selected recording device to use. This is highly important if you require the sound segment to be of a specific time length.
There are no royalty fees involved when using either version of Atmosphere, but it may be necessary to purchase a commercial license. This is only important if you decide to use the generated audio sounds in your recordings and sell them. If your recordings are only for personal use then it is not necessary to purchase a commercial license.
The cost for obtaining a commercial license for the full version, or Atmosphere Deluxe is approximately $98 USD. This permits you to generate audio segments to be used in the final subliminal, supraliminal or paraliminal recording at no additional charge and sell them in any way chosen without royalty costs.
Even if you decide that the Atmosphere software is not suitable for your purposes, it is worthwhile to at least experiment with this program and you can obtain the software from www.relaxingsoftware.com.
To conclude, you have different options available with respect to creating a masking or sound track. Using sounds of nature that are generated by a computer program is an excellent choice if you understand what is required.
About the Author
James Kudlak specializes in writing articles and building websites across a variety of topics such as paternity issues or insurance. Visit one of his newer website creations relating to pet insurance at http://petcarehealthinsurance.com/ which helps people select among the many Pet Insurance Companies available.
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