Free · 5 sounds · 4 presets · works offline
Ambience and timer studio
A free ambient sound mixer and meditation timer. Mix rain, ocean waves, forest, pink noise and brown noise at any volume, or start from a preset. Set a length, interval bells and a start and end bell. Every sound is generated live in your browser, so there is nothing to download and it works offline.
Open the tool
10 minute timer
10:00
Sound
Heavy rain with a low rumble, like a downpour on a tin roof.
Timer and bells
How to use the ambience studio
- Choose a sound. Tap a preset (Focus, Sleep, Rain on the roof or Beach morning), or switch layers on and off and set each one’s volume. Changes are heard straight away while it plays.
- Set the timer. Pick a length from 5 to 60 minutes, or no timer to play until you stop. Add an interval bell if you want a reminder every few minutes, and choose whether a bell sounds at the start and the end.
- Press start. The sound fades in, the clock counts down, and at the end the sound fades out and the bell rings. Pause, resume or stop at any time.
Your mix and timer settings are remembered on this device for next time.
How the sounds are made
There are no recordings. Each layer is built from mathematics as you listen, using the Web Audio features built into every current browser:
- Rain is a bed of soft noise with thousands of tiny, randomly timed drops of brighter noise on top.
- Ocean is deep noise passed through a filter that opens and closes slowly, driven by two unrelated wave rhythms so the swell never repeats exactly.
- Forest is wind (noise through a wandering band filter) with short rising whistles at random pitches and positions, like birds in the trees.
- Pink and brown noise are steady hiss shaped to be softer in the high notes, brown more so than pink.
- The bell is a singing bowl made from five out-of-tune partials that fade at different speeds, with a slight beat between pairs that gives the shimmer.
Because nothing is downloaded, the studio uses no data, starts instantly, and keeps working with no connection once the page has loaded.
When to use it
For meditation, a light layer of rain or forest under a silent sit gives the ears something gentle to rest on and covers a noisy street. The meditation timer is the simplest bell-only option, and the guided meditation library adds a voice. For sleep, the Sleep preset with a 30 or 45 minute timer pairs well with the evening routine on yoga for sleep. For focus, pink noise with a little rain masks office chatter and keyboards.
How it compares with a plain timer
A silent timer works, but many people find a quiet bed of sound helps them settle, especially in a busy home or a city flat. Compared with looping a sound video, the studio does not stream, does not run ads, has no loop you start to recognise, and ends itself with a fade and a bell. Compared with a simple bell timer, you can set interval bells, fade lengths and the mix.
Privacy
Nothing leaves your device. There is no account, no tracking of what you play, and no microphone use. Settings and your session log are saved only in this browser, and clearing your browser data removes them.
What this tool draws on
Use the sounds and the timer with any of these practices.
Questions
Why can I not hear the ambience on my iPhone?
On many iPhones, sound made by a web page follows the ring/silent switch, so it is muted when the switch shows orange. Flip the switch to ring, turn the volume up, and press start again. Newer iOS versions let the page play like a music app; older ones do not.
What is the difference between pink noise and brown noise?
Both are steady hiss with more energy in the low notes than white noise. Pink noise sounds soft and even, a little like steady rain. Brown noise drops away faster towards the high notes, so it sounds deeper, like a distant waterfall or a plane cabin. Many people find brown noise easier to sleep with.
Will the sounds keep playing with the screen off?
Usually, yes. The sound and the bells are scheduled on the phone's audio clock, so the fade and end bell stay on time. Some phones pause web audio to save battery or when a call comes in; if that happens, open the page and press resume.
Does the timer count towards my practice log?
Yes, when you set a length. A finished timed session, or one stopped after at least a minute, is added to the practice log saved in this browser, which the YogaPH practice app reads for minutes and streaks. Open-ended play with no timer is not logged.
Is it safe to sleep with noise playing all night?
Keep it quiet: set the master volume low, ideally just loud enough to cover background noise, and keep the phone away from your ear. Use a timer so it fades out after you fall asleep rather than playing all night, and see a doctor if you have ringing in the ears.
Updated