Complete Tutorial

Everything you need to know about creating tracks with Background Noises

Using the mobile app? See the Mobile Tutorial for casting, offline & health features

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Getting Started Sounds & Customization Brainwave Science Binaural Journeys Managing Your Library Player Controls Paid Plans Breathing Guide Listening Statistics Best Practices

Getting Started

Create Your First Track

No account required — just open the app and start listening. Background Noises uses anonymous sessions so you can generate your first track instantly.

1Open Background Noises at bgnoises.com, or download the app from the App Store or Google Play
2You'll land on the BG Tracks screen — a full-screen video carousel of sound categories
3Swipe left/right (or use the arrows) to browse: Nature, Static Noises, Frequencies, and Ambient
4Tap "Start" on any sound card to reveal the duration slider
5Tap "Generate" — a breathing guide appears while your track is created
6When your track is ready, tap "Listen to your Track" or wait for auto-forward!

No Account Needed

Free users can generate 1-minute tracks without signing up. An anonymous session is created automatically. Create an account anytime to unlock longer durations, save your library across devices, and access premium features.

Sound Categories

The home screen features four main sound cards, each with its own video background:

Nature — Rain, ocean, river, forest, thunder, and fire — swipe the sub-selector to pick your scene

Static Noises — White, pink, brown, and grey noise for sleep and focus

Frequencies — Solfeggio frequencies (174-963 Hz) for sustained tonal drones

Ambient — Curated ethereal textures and sonic atmospheres — includes Weightless, Serenity, Essence, and Underwater

Sounds & Customization

Static Noises

When you swipe to the Static Noises card, a horizontal selector appears at the bottom letting you choose the noise type before generating:

White Noise — Equal energy across all frequencies — classic sleep and focus aid

Pink Noise — Deeper, warmer tone — mimics natural sounds like steady rain

Brown Noise — Deep rumble — like a low waterfall or distant thunder

Grey Noise — Perceptually flat — balanced across the hearing spectrum

Frequencies (Solfeggio)

When you swipe to the Frequencies card, a horizontal selector lets you choose a specific solfeggio frequency:

174 Hz — Grounding — designed to support a sense of physical ease

285 Hz — Renewal — crafted to support a sense of restoration

396 Hz — Release — designed to support letting go of tension

417 Hz — Facilitate change — helps process and accept change

432 Hz — Natural tuning — universal harmony and calm

528 Hz — Harmony — associated with a sense of balance and well-being

639 Hz — Connection — strengthens relationships and communication

741 Hz — Expression — awakens intuition and self-expression

852 Hz — Intuition — returns to spiritual awareness

963 Hz — Crown activation — connects to higher consciousness

Duration & Credits

After tapping "Start", drag the slider to choose any duration from 1 minute to 12 hours. The slider offers minute-by-minute precision up to 30 minutes, then larger steps. Longer tracks cost more credits:

Free — Fixed at 1 minute, 1 credit per track (6 credits per 30-day cycle)

Paid (up to 1 hour) — 1 credit per track

Paid (1-4 hours) — 2 credits per track

Paid (4-8 hours) — 3 credits per track

Paid (8-12 hours) — 4 credits per track

Brainwave Science

What are Binaural Beats?

Binaural beats work by playing slightly different frequencies in each ear through stereo headphones. Your brain perceives a third "beat" at the difference frequency, which can gently guide your brainwaves into a desired state. For example, a 200 Hz tone in the left ear and 210 Hz in the right creates a perceived 10 Hz alpha beat.

Stereo headphones are required for binaural beats to work!

Brainwave Types

Delta (0.5-4 Hz) — Deep sleep, healing, restoration. Best for: overnight sleep, recovery, deep rest

Theta (4-8 Hz) — Deep meditation, creativity, dreaming. Best for: meditation, creative work, visualization

Alpha (8-13 Hz) — Relaxed focus, calm awareness. Best for: relaxation, light meditation, reading

Beta (13-30 Hz) — Active focus, alertness, concentration. Best for: work, studying, productivity

Intensity

Adjust how prominent the binaural beats are in the mix (5-100%). Lower values (10-25%) create a subtle background effect you barely notice. Higher values (50-100%) make the beats prominent and more directly stimulating. Start low and increase gradually.

Binaural Journeys

What are Binaural Journeys?

Unlike fixed brainwave presets that stay at one frequency, Binaural Journeys dynamically ramp frequencies throughout your session. This guides your brain through multiple states in a single track — for example, starting in Alpha (awake) and gradually descending into Delta (deep sleep). This mimics the brain's natural transition patterns.

Access the Binaural tab on mobile, or the Binaural Journeys card on web.

Pre-Built Journeys

Six curated journeys are available as pre-rendered audio (same credit cost as music tracks):

Sleep Induction — Alpha 10 → Theta 6 → Delta 3 → 1.5 Hz — guides you into deep sleep

Focus Ramp — Alpha 10 → SMR 14 → Beta 18 → 22 Hz — progressively sharpens concentration

Meditation — Beta 14 → Alpha 10 → Theta 6 → 4 Hz — descends into deep meditative state

Power Nap — Alpha 10 → Theta 5 → Alpha 10 Hz — quick descent to light sleep with gentle wake-up

Deep Delta — Alpha 8 → Theta 5 → Delta 3 → 1.5 Hz — extended delta immersion for deep rest

Creative Flow — Alpha 10 → 8 → Theta-Alpha 7.5 Hz — the twilight zone where insights emerge

Duration Options

Pre-rendered journeys are available in multiple durations from 1 minute to 12 hours. All durations use the same credit tiers as music tracks (1 credit up to 1 hr, 2 credits up to 4 hr, etc.). Free users can access the 1-minute demo. Premium users have access to all durations up to 12 hours.

Advanced Builder (Premium)

Below the journey selector, the Advanced Builder lets you create fully custom multi-segment journeys:

1Tap "Advanced Builder" to expand the custom editor
2Each journey is pre-populated with the selected journey's segments — edit freely
3Adjust each segment's carrier frequency (100-500 Hz), beat frequency (0.5-40 Hz), duration, and intensity
4Add up to 10 segments using the + button
5A visual timeline bar shows each segment's brainwave band and relative duration
6Choose a background sound: Pure Tones, Pink Noise, Brown Noise, or White Noise
7Tap "Build Custom" to generate your custom journey (credit cost based on total duration)

Journey Tips

Try pre-rendered first — Pre-built journeys are instant — great for exploring before customizing

Headphones required — Essential for the frequency shifts to work properly

Be consistent — Using the same journey daily trains your brain to respond faster

Match duration to goal — Sleep journeys work best at 30+ minutes; focus sessions at 20-45 minutes

Journal afterwards — Note how each journey makes you feel to find your favorites

Managing Your Library

Library Features

1All generated tracks are saved to your Library automatically
2View track details: style, duration, brainwave type, and creation date
3Click any track to open it in the Player
4Download tracks as MP3 files for offline use
5Delete tracks you no longer need

Track Information

Each track card shows:

Title — Auto-generated based on your sound type and settings

Duration — Length of the track

Style — Sound category (Rain, Ocean, Forest, Sacred Acoustics, etc.)

Brainwave — Which binaural preset or journey was used (if infused)

Status — Ready, Processing, Demo (fallback), or Failed

Extending Tracks

Love a track and want it longer? Premium users can extend any track directly from the Player. Choose a new target duration (up to 12 hours) and Background Noises will seamlessly loop and extend your audio with professional crossfades.

Player Controls

Playback

1Play/Pause — start and stop playback
2Progress bar — click or drag to seek to any position
3Loop / Restart — replay the track from the beginning
4Save to Device — download the track as an MP3 file for offline listening
5Extend — make the track longer (Premium)
6Stop Generating — cancel a track while it's being created (available on all generating screens including Binaural Journeys)

Video Backgrounds

The Player displays mood-matched video backgrounds that complement your track. Videos match the sound category of your track (e.g. rain falling, forest canopy, crackling fire, aurora lights). Videos play silently behind the player controls.

Pro Tips

Use headphones — Required for proper binaural beat effect — speakers will not work for binaural tracks

Comfortable volume — Binaural beats work best at moderate volume — don't blast them

Consistent practice — Daily use trains your brain to respond faster to binaural frequencies

Dark environment — Close your eyes in a quiet, dark space for the deepest experience

Paid Plans

Free Tier

6 credits per cycle — Credits reset every 30 days from account creation

1-minute tracks only — Perfect for sampling every sound category

All sound categories — Nature (6 sub-sounds), Static Noises, Frequencies, Ambient

Binaural Journeys — 1-minute pre-rendered demo (1 credit). Upgrade to Premium for longer durations

No account required — Start listening instantly with anonymous sessions

Essentials ($1.99/mo)

20 credits per cycle — Credits reset every 30 days from subscription start

Up to 12 hours duration — Longer tracks cost 1-4 credits based on length

All moods & brainwave types — Delta, Theta, Beta (Alpha is free for everyone)

Track Extension — Extend any track up to 12 hours from the Player

Credit Packs available — Purchase additional credits when you need more

Premium ($4.99/mo)

50 credits per cycle — Credits reset every 30 days from subscription start

Everything in Essentials — Full-length tracks, all moods, all brainwaves, track extension

All Binaural Journeys — Pre-rendered journeys at all durations (1 min to 12 hours)

Advanced Builder — Create custom multi-segment binaural journeys with exact frequency control

Credit Costs

All tracks — including Binaural Journeys — use the same credit tiers: up to 1 hour = 1 credit, 1-4 hours = 2 credits, 4-8 hours = 3 credits, 8-12 hours = 4 credits. Cancel anytime.

Need More Credits?

Essentials and Premium subscribers can purchase a 50-credit pack for $4.99 (one-time, non-recurring). Credits are additive — purchased credits stack on top of your existing balance. Buy from your Account page.

Breathing Guide

Breathe While You Wait

While your track is generating, a gentle breathing circle guides you through slow, calming breaths. Just follow along — no tapping or effort needed. This primes your mind for meditation before the track even begins.

Short tracks generate in under a minute. Use the breathing time to settle in before listening.

How It Works

Breathe in — The circle gently expands. Inhale slowly through your nose.

Breathe out — The circle contracts. Exhale softly through your mouth.

Fully automatic — Just follow the circle — everything is timed for you. An 8-second cycle (4s in, 4s out) keeps you centered.

Listening Statistics

Your Listening Stats

Track your listening activity over time. Background Noises logs every session and provides detailed analytics:

Total sessions — How many tracks you've listened to

Total listening time — Cumulative hours and minutes of listening

Average session length — Your typical session duration

Completion rate — What percentage of tracks you listen to fully

Most played tracks — Your favorite tracks ranked by play count

Streak tracking — How many consecutive days you've listened

Population Benchmarks

See how your practice compares to all Background Noises listeners. View percentile rankings for session length, completion rate, and total practice time. These benchmarks update regularly and are anonymous — no personal data is shared.

Accessing Stats

Stats are accessible from your Account page in any app. On mobile, tap Health from the Account screen to see your mindful minutes and meditation practice stats.

Best Practices

For Better Sleep

Use Delta waves — Promotes deep, restorative sleep (0.5-4 Hz) — available via Binaural Journeys

Choose Rain or Forest — Natural sounds with minimal variation ease you into sleep

Try Sleep Induction journey — Alpha → Theta → Delta progression mimics natural sleep onset

Use a long duration — 8 or 12 hours for full-night ambient soundscapes

Lower volume — Subtle background — should not be distracting

For Focus & Work

Use Beta waves — Active, alert concentration (13-30 Hz) via Binaural Journeys

Choose Ambient or Static Noises — Consistent textures that don't distract — brown noise is popular for focus

Try Focus Ramp journey — Alpha → SMR → Beta: progressively sharpens concentration

Match duration to task — 20-30 minutes for focused sprints, 1-2 hours for deep work

For Meditation

Use Theta waves — Deep meditative state (4-8 Hz) via Binaural Journeys

Choose Sacred Acoustics — Singing bowls and resonant harmonics for meditative focus

Try Meditation journey — Beta → Alpha → Theta descent into deep meditative state

Start with 10 minutes — Build up to 20-30 minutes as your practice deepens

Same settings daily — Consistency creates a conditioned mental association

For Anxiety Relief

Use Alpha waves — Calming, relaxed awareness (8-13 Hz)

Choose Rain or Ocean — Rhythmic natural sounds reduce stress hormones

Try Creative Flow journey — Settles into the alpha-theta border for deep calm

Practice consistently — Daily 10-15 minute sessions build lasting resilience

General Safety

Never use while driving — Binaural beats can alter alertness — never use during driving or operating machinery

Epilepsy caution — If you have epilepsy or seizure disorders, consult your doctor before using binaural beats

Take breaks — For extended sessions (4+ hours), take periodic breaks

Start low volume — Increase gradually — blasting binaural beats is not more effective

Not a medical device — Background Noises is for relaxation only and does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition

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