NEWS

In recent years, Binaural Beats have gained prominence in the health & wellness community and have crossed over from the fringes into the mainstream.

Whilst the research on the full applications of Binaural beats is still in its early phase, they have become extremely popular online with some videos getting millions of views, and alongside other phenomena like ASMR, it shows the growing awareness of the role that sound plays in shaping people's mindstates and mental wellbeing.

In this article, we will share with you some basic processes for creating your own Binaural beats.

What Are Binaural Beats?

Before we dive into the process of creating them, we should first talk about exactly what Binaural beats are and how they work.

‍In short, Binaural Beats are pieces of sound that are designed to encourage the introduction of different brainwave patterns in the brain. A Binaural Beat contains two sound waves that are close together in frequency, with a different wave being transmitted to each ear by headphones.

The brain processes these two frequencies both independently and in unison,  and "hears" the difference between them as a wave or pulse, creating the perceived effect of the Binaural Beat.

"A binaural beat is an illusion created by the brain when you listen to two tones with slightly different frequencies at the same time. The two tones align with your brain waves to produce a beat with a different frequency. This frequency is the difference in hertz (Hz) between the frequencies of the two tones."  

- Dan Brennan, MD.

See below for a basic example of the frequencies involved in a 12 Hz Alpha wave Binaural Beat:

Left Ear - 104 Hz sine wave.

Right Ear - 116 Hz sine wave.

12 Hz difference = Alpha wave

Effects of Binaural Beats

The perceived effects of Binaural Beats are varied and encompass a wide range of different moods and emotional sensations. Whilst Binaural Beats are perhaps most commonly associated with states of meditation and relaxation, they can also be used to increase creative and positive thinking, high-level cognition, problem-solving, peak awareness and memory recall, with these effects making Binaural Beats increasingly popular with top-level business professionals and other high-performance individuals.

The five different brainwave states associated with Binaural Beats, alongside their effects and corresponding frequencies are listed below:

Gamma - 30-100Hz - High-level information processing, Cognitive Enhancement, Improved Memory Recall, Increased awareness, Transcendental States.

Beta - 14 - 30 Hz - Improved focus and attention, High-level cognition, Analytical thinking & problem solving, Stimulates energy and motivation.

Alpha - 8 - 14 Hz - Relaxed mind, Reduced Stress, Positive thinking, Accelerated learning, Flow states.

Theta 4 - 8 Hz - Rem sleep, Deep relaxation and inner pace, Meditation, Enhanced creativity, Dreamlike states.

Delta - 1 - 4 Hz - Deep sleep, Pain relief, anti-ageing, Reduced cortisol, Access to the unconscious mind.

How to create a Binaural Beat

As illustrated in the previous paragraphs, Binaural Beats are constructed of 2 close frequency sign waves going into the left and right ears simultaneously, which makes the process of actually creating one very simple.

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Step One

Create two mono channels in your DAW and pan one hard right and the other hard left.

Step Two

Load in a sine wave generator into each channel. Decide which wave state you want to introduce (Alpha, Gamma, Theta etc) Set the frequency of each sine wave so that the difference is within the range of one of the wave states.

We will return to our example from earlier to create an Alpha wave Binaural Beat.

Left Ear - 104 Hz sine wave.

Right Ear - 116 Hz sine wave.

12 Hz difference = Alpha wave

Step Three

Decide how long you want the Binaural Beat track to be and export your audio with the desired duration.

In our example below, we have chosen to export a 2-minute selection but many Binaural beats tracks you can find online are much longer with times over 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Well done, you have successfully created your own Binaural Beat! Now it's time to put your headphones on, find a comfortable listening space and let yourself become fully immersed in the sounds.

We hope you enjoyed this article!

We are very proud to share an audio rebranding project that we completed recently for a large multinational organisation - BNI. The visual branding was completed by Morgan Stephenson who worked closely with us to achieve the brand vision.

344 Audio was responsible for creating an Audio Logo and Theme Music for the company.

The brief for the Theme Music was to express the journey of a new BNI member, from the initial entry to their first event, to meeting fellow business people, to eventually achieving great successes in their business. The music is structured in a way that it can be adapted and used in many different circumstances by the organisation.

The Audio Logo brief was to create a memorable ident that people would associate with the brand's desire for constant growths, trust and collaboration were also important themes to project. The logo had to give the listener the impression of hearing B N I, without actually hearing it. The 3 note musical element of the piece was developed to eventually form part of the Theme Music.

Here is what Morgan had to say about working with us:

I recently commissioned Alex from 344 Audio to work on a large audio branding project for one of my most important clients spanning 70+ countries.

As a producer, it’s important to me that I build sustainable and trusting relationships, with experts in their field. Alex certainly didn’t disappoint. At every point, Alex maintained the highest ethical and professional standards.

Importantly though, he always took the time to listen to my own perspective on the project and my experience, and more importantly the experience of my valued client. He never took things off in his own direction as creatives often do with an; “I’m the creative, and I know best“ attitude, which is commonplace in our industry.

Instead, he carefully took into consideration all of the opinions on direction and even the target audience with their expectations. After doing that, Alex still managed to masterfully create his own unique vision, which so cleverly matched what we wanted to achieve at the same time.

I’ve worked with composers for nearly 20 years and rarely do I find creatives that I can connect with in the way I did to Alex on this project. Even in the last moments of the process making last minute mixing changes because I felt it needed one last tweak to percussion. He didn’t have to make those changes, but being the professional he is, it had to be perfect for us.

Thank you again Alex and 344 audio for such an amazing job, and for making me look good too.

I can’t wait to work with you again in the very near future.

Morgan J. Stephenson | Producer

This will now be seen in 70+ countries by hundreds of thousands of members of the organisation, it’s all very exciting!

Working in creative industries provides many exciting opportunities, which come with their unique sets of challenges. Unfortunately, we all run into different kinds of creative blocks when coming up with ideas, and they can be tough to overcome. This is more commonly known as writer's block;  it happens to everyone. It's an entirely natural part of the creative process and is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I have personally experienced it many times. Don't worry, though; we have come up with our 10 Top Tips for helping you overcome your creative block!

Before we jump in, it may be helpful to identify why you're experiencing a block, as this will help you tackle it. The most common issue we creatives face is the mental block. You may find yourself stuck in an internal loop, failing to explore alternate ways to deal with the same problem. Your mind might feel drained of ideas, and forcing ideas only causes you to spiral. There is also an emotional barrier. Creativity can be intense! You may not be happy with your current sounds, and this can also cause you to spiral down into a rut. Alternatively, you might find that you need a switch-up in your schedule. Maybe your current work/life balance isn't quite right, and you need to take more/less time away from work. You could be working too early or too late; you might not find optimal working hours without experimentation. Finally, you could be feeling overwhelmed by the increasing amounts of work or ideas that you have. Sometimes it helps to break projects down into small, manageable parts and finish what you started before jumping around multiple sessions.

So how can you overcome your creative block? Here are our 10 Top Tips

1) Take a digital detox

Taking a walk through nature is a fantastic way to escape technology. Time away from all screens will help your mind refocus. This will also help you to avoid retracing similar steps that initially lead to the block. Taking a walk with some fresh air will help your brain reset. Perhaps try changing out of your 'studio clothes'. An outfit change may help you detach from your work in the studio, thus giving you an easier reset.

2) Download some more plugins

Treat yourself! Going on a little shopping spree for some shiny new plugins is sure to spark up the creative furnace. Take some time to browse through YouTube videos, blogs and websites that showcase new plugins, and find a couple that you think you'd enjoy. Try to find something that you can have fun experimenting with, not something you feel could help your work. I find that creativity often comes naturally, so planning to find plugins to help with said work may land you back where you started.

3) Set yourself a challenge

Leading on from section 2, it's always great fun to set yourself an unrelated challenge using your new plugins. Some examples could include: creating a drum kit out of biscuit samples or manipulate some sounds with as many plugins as possible. Again, try to keep it different to your work. Alternatively, try something completely different, like making some musical vegetables. Perhaps a carrot recorder? Corn shaker? Or even a drum kit made from watermelon and coconuts. Get creative! Here's a great tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn5O3_C1sqw

4) Get some sleep

It's possible that you're not getting enough sleep, which negatively affects your creative output. Maintaining a robust sleep schedule is essential for maximising your productivity. Try to avoid any caffeine intake 7+ hours before your bedtime. This will ensure you get to sleep easier and deeper.

5) Wake up earlier

Many producers tend to be night owls, and while you may think this helps with your creative output, it does not. If you are stuck in a rut, it might be time to start becoming strict with a schedule and waking up early. Working in the early hours of the morning should boost happiness and productivity. Try starting your day with a cold shower. This stimulates your blood circulation and gets you invigorated for the day.

6) Try completing a monotonous task

Creative work takes its toll on the brain. Taking on a simple and repetitive task will aid an internal reset. There's a lot of things you can try. Washing the dishes is a great example—any housework that might need completing gives your creative muscle a chance to relax.

7) Switch up your surroundings

If you're often working from home, and after months and months of working in the same room, it might be nice to give your studio a fresh look. It always helps to have a change in scenery, but as most of us are stuck in the studio, it may help to re-decorate the room!

8) Go with the flow

When we create sounds, it's important not to put too much pressure on ourselves to come up with something. If one day nothing comes, and you're staring at a blank sheet of paper or an empty screen, then try again on another day - it'll come! Sometimes it'll work, and sometimes it won't.

9) Take notes

If you're like me, inspiration will often come at completely random times. Lots of ideas can pop into your head when you're not working, so it's always helpful to have a mini notepad nearby to jot ideas down. Alternatively, you could use voice notes on a smartphone. I find it easier to speak to my phone or hum a melody to save for later. That way, when you are stuck for ideas on a rainy day, you can scroll through your phone in search of any little golden nuggets you may have recorded in the past!

10) Don't get stuck on tiny steps

Sometimes it can be pretty easy to become fixated on tiny steps before finishing off a project. If nothing comes to you, then just put something down! When you're really far into a project and just think that you can't go any further, it can be easier to put anything down, make a note of it, and move on to the next part of the session. When you return to the nitty-gritty sections, working on them in isolation may be useful by opening it up in an empty session. That way, you can work on complex parts without the rest of the project in your view.

That concludes our Top Ten Tips for overcoming the creative block! We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that our tips will help you out in the future! Remember that these tips will work on a personal level! Some will work for you and some won't. So try out as many as possible!

We hope you enjoyed checking out this article!

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We could all use a little more wisdom in our lives, so here are 5 great quotes from Hollywood sound veterans.

"By manipulating what you hear and how you hear it - and what other things you don't hear - you can not only help tell the story, you can help the audience get into the mind of the character." ~ Walter Murch - Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, The English Patient

"There's no excuse for having a mental or creative block in sound. You can just go out and collect things in the real world - they make the sound, not you. It's very restricting to always use a library for sound effects. It's much more interesting and freeing to go out and record new sounds because you never know what you're going to get." ~ Gary Rydstrom - Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Finding Nemo.

"I've always found that when you're trying to create illusions with sound, especially in a science fiction or fantasy movie, that pulling sounds from the world around us is a great way to cement that illusion because you can go out and record an elevator in George Lucas's house or something, and it will have that motor sound." ~ Ben Burtt - Star Wars, Wall-E, Super 8.

“If a sound makes the audience think about somebody creating that sound then it’s the wrong sound.” ~ Dane Davis - The Matrix, Treasure Planet, Sinister.

"Having grown up a musician, I am avowed of the idea that all organized sound is music. I see my work in movies every bit a composition as those of Beethoven and the Beatles. I just happen to use dissonance, specious melodic content and arrhythmia to it's fullest advantage. My works are no less considered, designed, creative or manipulative. They just aren't hummable." ~ Mark Mangini - Fifth Element, Bladerunner 2049, Mad Max Fury Road.

We hope you enjoyed these quotes!

With the current restrictions on daily life, many of us are now working from home. However, it can often prove difficult to avoid distractions and stay on track. To help you with this, we have put together a list of practical suggestions to keep you productive and make the most of the current circumstances.

1. Get Dressed

One of the biggest challenges people face when working from home is having the discipline to actually do the work.

Left to their own devices, people are likely to choose the path that requires the least effort. We are creatures of habit and when you are so used to being at ease in your own home, it can be difficult to get in the same mental zone you would be in the studio or office.

Getting properly dressed is the first step to achieving this. It may seem like a little thing, but by getting dressed first thing you are beginning your day by accomplish a task, and this sets the tone for the rest of the day. You are also sending a signal to your body and mind that its time to prepare for work.

2. Have a plan

If you know you are working from home tomorrow then take the time to plan out your day. It doesn't have to be complex, just outline the tasks that need to be completed and allocate the appropriate time to each.

By having a plan you are removing any barriers that will prevent you from getting your brain into work mode. It also makes you accountable to yourself, as at the end of the day you have a clear illustration of whether you did the things you said you would or not.

You can conclude each workday by writing out your plan for the following day. Cyclical habits such as this can be extremely effective at keeping you on track when there’s no-one there cracking the whip.

3. Eliminate Distractions

Don't spend time doing things that aren’t the things you need to do.

Sounds easy right?

This is perhaps the most simple tip but also the most difficult to implement. There are a ton of distractions around the house, and that before you even take into account the Internet.

Write down all the things that are likely to distract you, and then find a way of mitigating it. You can put your phone out of reach or in a different room if that's an issue for you. Or you could keep some snacks and drinks in your working area to stop you having to leave to go to the kitchen.

If you don't need the Internet to complete the work, use an app such as SelfControl or Freedom. These tools allow you to block Internet services, keeping you away from distracting websites, videos and other such things.

Basically, make use of anything that helps keep your mind focused on the tasks at hand.

4. Optimise your workspace

Setup your workspace in a way that works best for you. This is especially important for those who are new to working from home. You are going to be spending a lot of time in here, so create an environment that is comfortable and invites your best work. This is one of the big advantages of working at home, as you have complete control over the way things are laid out.

If you have already established your home recording setup, now could be a good opportunity to de-clutter and rearrange things. You’d be surprised at the positive effect this can have on your mindset.

5. Take Breaks

Break your workday down into segments and schedule breaks in between. This will reinforce the sense of structure and create mini deadlines  to complete tasks by.

Spend your break time doing some light exercise or watering the plants. Take a nap or read a book. By regularly spending a short time away from your work, you will stay mentally fresh and ready for the next task.

We hope you found this article to be useful. Have fun working from home and stay safe.

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