The Sound of our Ancient Ancestors
What did the first musical instruments look like? How were they played? Much of the prehistoric era is still shrouded in mystery. But with the help of music ethnologist and myNoise fan Alexandre Bartos, who kindly offered to share his unique collection of self-built primitive musical instruments, you can experience for yourself the sounds of our eldest ancestors. The result is both amazing and mystifying, as well as faithful to the spirituality of the wonderful recording session held in his southern France home.
Dating back to the Paleolithic era, bullroarers were primitive instruments that may have been used in a long-range communication system, but also to repel away curious, non-initiated wanderers from sacred rituals. Now imagine... bullroarers humming warding noises at the mouth of a cave, some 15,000 years ago, somewhere in the south of France. Inside cave walls, Shamans gather in secret. They believe in the healing properties of hollow tones, such as those produced by sea shells or mammoth husks when hollowed and blown, or flat stones when rapped. As the Shamans discuss their findings, they play their gathered instruments all together as one and discover for the first time in history a power that can shake the world from its foundations: harmony.
Published by Stéphane on May 18th, 2015
User Stories
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I had two 'Prehistory' tabs, one 2x slower at G# and one default, both animated with hard transition at x8 speed, added with Moonlight Forest in yet another tab, also animated, volume low and high set to modest background levels - what a haunting soundscape with great calming, meditative effect, the best orchestration I've created yet!
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This along with In The Sky sounds otherworldly!!
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I really like this combined with Into Balance, Polyrhthyms, and African Wildlife. Just beautiful.
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A charming melody curve, excellent for meditation or just relaxing with a bowl of burning herb.
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Literally like a sound time machine.
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Tones sound like harmless and playful bees buzzing in your ears, in surprise, as you invade their forest habitat. The sounds bring a profound degree of calm and peace to the mind. I feel the vibrations strongly in the head: right and left hemispheres. The sensations felt is like a mental tonic of spiritual healing.
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I love the ability to combine different generators! I am listening to "Folk Traditions - Haunting Flutes" with "Prehistory - Mammoth Tusk." I am my own ancestor out on the wide open plains of Africa, watching wild dogs come for a drink at the watering hole; or perhaps on the steppes of Mongolia, watching wild horses gambol in the early summer air. This sound combination lets my imagination soar!
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This setting has the deep hum of the mammoth tusk as the background, the lithophone as the leading tones, the conch as back-up singers, and just a touch of the bullroarers. Very good for meditation. I combined this with a very quiet, modified version of the "relaxed" preset of the isochronic tones for maximum relaxation.
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One of the coolest sliders. I love listening to this when I'm writing or trying to zone out and relax. Hypnotic.
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This is one of my favourite sliders because it fits well with everything - whether you need something to breathe with for anxiety, something to create ambience for creative writing, or something hypnotic enough to keep you focused on studies/work. Also an amazing fit with the Swedish diver/loon calls and waves of the Lake life generator.
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Love this! A few weeks ago I researched the word "headache" on myNoise, and I found it here in a comment (many thanks to this person!). This music really soothes my frequent headaches, especially when they have just started, it is amazing! You should create a section for headaches, I think most people have no idea music can relieve them this much.
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This makes me think of ancient rituals performed by gathered worshippers of old gods... good stuff.
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For some reason, this really soothes a headache I've been trying to get rid of for the past hour. It tunes it to a gentle throbbing instead of a harsh stabbing, which is much more preferable. Thank you.
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Reminiscent of a temple from The Legend of Zelda.Something about this feels mysterious and foreboding, as if you are staring into the depths of an unexplored cavern.
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Pairing this with desert wind is really good for studying Latin. It puts you right in that ancient Roman feel.
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I love Prehistory! I use this generator perhaps more than any other (and quite often coupled with one or two others) as background when I'm writing. It suits the mystery, adventure and history themes I like to pursue!
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There's something strangely lonely about this combined with Desert Wind, but in a good way. Alone in the wild, walking a path forgotten by time itself, far away from the noise and stress of life... No distractions, no anxiety... Nothing but me and the wind. I'm caught up in my own world, and for once my brain isn't running a hundred miles an hour. With this generator, I can finally think clearly.
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This sounds EXACTLY like the Hannibal soundtrack. Very soothing and calming, nonetheless. Helped tons with my anxiety!
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I think it sounds better than music!
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This sounds like something out of the Myst game series, especially the green lithophone slider.
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Enter the Shaman cave.
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Lost in a vast primeval forest 10,000 years ago.
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I used this with the wind and fire noise generator and it was fantasticly peaceful. It carries you to a far away place, out on the plains with only your thoughts and the campfire.
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I love this! It puts me in such a good frame of mind for writing. I can't listen to music while I write because even music with no lyrics seems to distract me, but while this generator is melodic, it's JUST unstructured enough to provide a great background atmosphere. I like a lot of the soundscapes on this website but this one is my fave :)
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Prehistory with Distant Thunder and African Trance all on "Animate" is calming, exciting, intriguing and a little spine tingling. It's great, please give it a try.
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This is just one of the most facinating and interesting soundscapes out there. This makes me focus and concentrate on my homework really nicely and almost sort of transports me to a different planet with alien lifeforms surrounding me. It feels like some form of exploration.
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I'm a writer, and using the bullroarers and mammoth tusks from Prehistory with the throat-tones from Tibetan Choir is the perfect atmosphere for the scene I'm writing today. I love the bone-deep humming of these tones, and the vivid sense the noises give me of what my protagonist is experiencing. Thank you so much for this invaluable tool.
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This sounds like something from the Myst series of games. Maybe something from Uru live? It's so atmospheric!
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It makes it feel like I'm watching a documentary, which I love doing because I love history. It always calms me.
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The corpse of the village elder was carried slowly to the funeral pyre. Around the stack of wood, people on their knees were whispering prayers. The eerie sounds of the horns were meant to guide the deceased to the land of the spirits.
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I work from home with two loud little boys plus their father in the background. This sound not only blocks all their noises but it is soothing, strange, and calming. The low tones and moving rhythms help me concentrate without stress. Thank you so much!
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This sound helps me relax if I have a headache or just feeling tense. Closing my eyes, lying down if I can, and having my mind transported to a different time a different world is such a beautiful thing.
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Fans of the show Hannibal might recognize some of the instruments at work here the bullroarer, in particular. The show's composer, Brian Reitzell, is a fan of using instruments like these when "live composing" for the (unfortunately cancelled) show.
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Pair this with African trance, it has a nice steady beat to it. Very calming well worth the listen.
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It's like prehistoric jazz. And something like what I'd imagine the soundtrack to most of my dreams would be. I love being able to hear it in my bones. This is one of my favorite generators!
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I can work on homework for hours with this sound, and the mysteriousness of it makes me eager to study. It's great for quick naps between classes since it's relaxing and blocks out other noisy students. I also use this when I go to sleep at night; I fall asleep fast. Whenever I sleep with it playing, I have interesting dreams and ALWAYS wake up refreshed the next morning!
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Wow. This is wonderful for meditation. So much going on but not too much. It's just enough to keep the mind from wandering. I will definite be listening to these incredible sounds again :)
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This setting plus the Distant Thunder track set on "Still Dry" adds a lot of depth to the sound. LOVE IT!
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I've always been fascinated by ancient Paleolithic and Greek mythology, regarding the strange creatures that were thought to exist. This setting makes me think of observing a cave wall covered in paintings of a feared magical creature...
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A really nice creepy, prehistoric tune going on here.
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This sound is the perfect noise for studying for an ancient art history test to.
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This gives me sort of that wasteland wanderer, or sort of a desert planet feel. It seems somewhat post-apocalyptic and I am loving it. Its great for when developing characters or writing a story.
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I really love this generator. I grew up playing the Myst series of games and this sounds like something right out of one of the games! It's great for ambient background noise. Thank you, Dr. Pigeon!
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Your entire website has seriously supported my sanity over the last few months. I cannot thank you enough for your integrity and hard work. It's such a treat to find you've released a new generator. This one's very soothing though containing upbeat rhythms. I've silenced the bullroarers though for when I feel less anxious!
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If any of you watch or read Game of Thrones, this setting reminds me of Daenerys walking through the Red Waste with her Dothraki tribe... It just gives me sort of a tribal vibe.
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I was immediately struck by the beauty and strangeness of this generator. Very relaxing, too! I can already tell that I will be returning to listen to this again and again.
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Aside from the Magic Generators, I can see this becoming my favorite very quickly. There's something so powerful and haunting about this generator. It's both mystifying and strangely soothing simultaneously. I absolutely love it.
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Reminds me a lot of the background music of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, video games that take place in a bare, scorched Earth. It doesn't convey a sensation of heat, but desolation and uncertainty. Lovely generator!
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I feel like I'm listening to distant tribes communicating to one another. Very peaceful.
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← a Bullroarers setting that is made to mix with low theta and delta tones. The panning of the audio makes a great addition to isochronic, binaurals, and sweeps blends. Thank you!
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So relaxing! Perfect for meditation and working on papers!
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