How our
Sleep CD's are Constructed
I have
talked at length in various sections of this site about the concept of
'virtual dreaming' as a bridge from Alpha (relaxing), to Theta
(daydreaming) and then to Delta (deep sleep) brainwaves state. In this
Sleep Thoughts
I would like to delve into the paradigm of a virtual dream.
First
comes the idea. Lets take the newest download we have constructed,
The Mountaineer, and break it down.
All of our sleep sounds MP3's must have relaxing, and hopefully sleep inducing,
sounds that make up the bulk of the recording. If I don't have a 'sleep
sound' in mind when I first start the mixing process trouble may ensue.
Sometimes there are happy accidents and things just 'work out' but, more
often then not, if the 'sleep sound' (waves, thunderstorm, rain) is not
considered ahead of time the work can become a bit muddled. In the case
of Mountaineer I was shooting for a gentle spring thunderstorm combined
with the Rain MP3
hitting canvas.
Sleep Sounds That Promote Visualization
The
visualization process starts from the opening and usually runs 5 to 10
minutes. All our recordings are binaural (stereo) and there is a spatial
quality to them that promotes the idea of movement and depth of scene.
If our big brains accept the sounds as 'accurate' the visualization
process becomes almost second nature. Creating the scenario for the
Mountaineer required horse sounds, snowshoe sounds, Foley effects, and
such. Trying to keep the visualization as basic as possible is
important. No one wants to think too much when trying to sleep. The
mountain man sets up camp by starting a fire (he uses matches so that
dates this dreamscape as sometime after 1855 when matches were
invented), and constructing a basic lean-to by chopping down some small
trees and covering the structure with a canvas. All the while wind,
wildlife, and distant thunder is heard.
As the
mountaineer goes into his makeshift shelter it occurred to me that he
would do one last thing. He makes sure his rifle and six shooter are
loaded and ready. It is bear country, after all. These sleep sounds
begins in mountaineer at about 5 or 6 minutes. Rain starts slowly and,
combined with the sound of droplets striking the canvas 'roof', a
relaxing sound scenario ensues. The average human falls to sleep
in ten to twenty minutes. So, keeping this in mind, all extraneous
sounds outside of background ambiance are usually over by minute ten.
Most of our relaxation downloads are formatted in this
way. There are exceptions.
Stormy Beach
and Bedtime Storm are static
atmospheres that have their own uniqueness. If you have any suggestions
on how we can improve our products, or this site, please
email me.
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Thoughts
