"The genre emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm."
The use of background noise and environmental sounds to create a sense of space and atmosphere, both in real-world settings and in created worlds.
Field Recording: The process of capturing soundscapes from real-world environments using specialized equipment.
Sound Libraries: Pre-recorded sound effects and music that can be used for a variety of situations in sound design.
Foleys: The art of reproducing everyday sounds using various objects to create sound effects that enhance the storytelling.
Synthesizers: Electronic instruments that can generate a wide range of sounds that can be used for ambiance.
Mixing and Editing: The process of combining and manipulating sounds to create a cohesive soundscape.
Acoustics: The properties and behaviors of sound in different environments.
Room Tuning: The process of optimizing a room's acoustics by manipulating the placement of speakers and acoustic treatments.
Psychoacoustics: How human perception affects the way we perceive sound.
Microphone Techniques: Using different microphone types and placement to capture specific sounds and create different effects.
Immersive Sound: Creating and delivering sound that is so realistic that it immerses the listener in a different reality.
Ambisonics: Using surround sound technology to create a 3D soundscape.
Soundscapes and Mood: How various sounds and music can affect the atmosphere and mood of a scene or environment.
Storytelling through Sound: The use of sound design to enhance and support the narrative of a story.
Sound Design Software: The software tools used to create and manipulate sounds for sound design.
Live Sound Design: The process of creating soundscapes in real-time for live performances or events.
Room Tone: It’s the noise that exists in a specific environment, such as the low hum of air conditioning or the distant sound of traffic that creates overall ambience.
Nature sounds: Includes sounds like waves crashing, bird chirping, leaves rustling, rain or lightning strikes, used for creating a natural environment.
Urban sounds: Includes sounds like traffic, cars honking, people talking, footsteps, sirens, city whistles, etc. to create a city or urban environment.
Foley sounds: Includes sounds like footsteps, rustling clothes, doors opening/closing, object handling or manipulation, which are artificially created to enhance the realism of a scene.
Background music: Music tracks that is used to create a specific emotional tone or context rather than being explicitly tied to any visual cues.
Soundscapes: The combination or layering of sounds to create a sonic environment for a specific location or situation, such as a city night, beach or forest.
Sound Effects: Sound effects are used to illustrate specific events that occur on screen, such as explosions, gunshots, screams, and other noteworthy happenings.
Human-made environments: Includes sounds from factories, workplaces or any human-dominated space with machines working or people talking, to create realistic environments.
Sci-fi sounds: Include synth waves, digital sounds, and futuristic noises used to create a surreal, sci-fi environment.
ASMR Sounds: ASMR sounds uses binaural recordings to create immersive sounds that trigger physical sensations.
"It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody."
"It uses textural layers of sound that can reward both passive and active listening and encourage a sense of calm or contemplation."
"The genre is said to evoke an 'atmospheric', 'visual', or 'unobtrusive' quality."
"Nature soundscapes may be included."
"The sounds of acoustic instruments such as the piano, strings, and flute may be emulated through a synthesizer."
"The genre was prominently named and popularized by British musician Brian Eno in 1978."
"...his album Ambient 1: Music for Airports."
"Eno opined that ambient music 'must be as ignorable as it is interesting'."
"It saw a revival towards the late 1980s with the prominence of house and techno music."
"Ambient music often takes influences from many other genres, ranging from classic, avant-garde music, experimental music, folk, jazz, and world music, amongst others."
"Being criticized as everything from 'dolled-up new age, [..] to boring and irrelevant technical noodling'."
"It has attained a certain degree of acclaim throughout the years, especially in the Internet age."
"Styles such as musique concrète, minimal music, Jamaican dub reggae, and German electronic music."
"The genre was presaged by Erik Satie's furniture music."
"The genre originated in the 1960s and 1970s."
"When new musical instruments were being introduced to a wider market, such as the synthesizer."
"Ambient music may have elements of new-age music and drone music."
"It grew a cult following by the 1990s."
"Ambient music is criticized as everything from 'dolled-up new age' to 'boring and irrelevant technical noodling'."