Time to Slow Down

This soundscape was created as a response to a challenge: design a soundscape as calming as Weightless by Marconi Union — often cited as the most relaxing track ever. Like Weightless, Floating avoids rhythm and melody, using slowly evolving textures and warm low-frequency tones to help the mind slow down by removing musical expectations. But unlike Weightless, which plays the same way each time, Floating is built from independent sound layers that gradually come together and drift apart. This structure keeps the soundscape fresh, ideal for long listening sessions.

The default tempo is 60 BPM, close to your relaxed heart rate. Listening at this tempo can promote entrainment, where your body aligns with external rhythms. This may help slow your breathing and heart rate, leading to a deeper state of calm.

To take your listening experience to the next level, explore the Tape Speed Control feature, which is available for myNoise Patrons. This option allows you to slow down the playback, lowering both the pitch and the tempo. For example, shifting the music to the key of C will bring the tempo down to 57 BPM–this is actually the original key of the composition. If you want to relax even further, try setting it to A# at 50 BPM. This slower pace creates a very spacious feeling between the beats, encouraging both your mind and body to unwind profoundly. Personally, I love setting it to half the original speed at 30 BPM. At this pace, time seems to stretch dramatically, allowing you to enter a world in slow motion. It creates a perfect sanctuary for your mind to retreat and almost hibernate, allowing you to embrace a deep sense of stillness.

Researchers looked at different types of sounds to find out which ones can lower stress. They included the song Weightless and a 6 Hz mono/binaural beat from myNoise in their tests. While both significantly reduced skin conductance levels — a key marker of stress — the 6 Hz beat from myNoise was more effective in lowering respiration rate, suggesting a potentially deeper physiological calming effect. That said, I’ve learned to take scientific studies with a grain of salt. Confirmation bias is real — including me, happily citing a study where myNoise did perform best! :D

Source: “The most relaxing song in the world”? A comparative study, Psychology of Music, 2022..

Whether Floating truly ranks among the most relaxing soundscapes — I’ll let you decide. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

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