Black noise
Effectively silence, with almost all energy below what you can hear.
Layers — mix as many as you like
Tap a second sound to layer it — rain under brown noise, for instance.
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What is black noise?
Black noise is the odd one out: for most practical purposes it means silence. The term is used loosely for noise with almost no energy in the audible range — either near-total quiet, or a signal that lives below about 20 Hz where hearing gives out. Some definitions allow occasional faint spikes in otherwise complete silence. What this player produces is the honest version: a very low, very quiet rumble you will barely register, which is what the definition actually implies.
This page is a black noise generator: the sound is computed in your browser rather than streamed from a file, so it starts instantly and never reaches a loop point. More on how that works.
Good for
- People who want the room to feel settled without an audible sound
- Testing whether a sound is helping at all, versus just habit
- Anyone curious about the term after seeing it in a list of colours
The details
- Spectrum
- Effectively no energy in the audible range
- Sounds like
- Silence, or a barely-there low rumble
- Honest note
- If you want actual silence, simply do not press play
- Definitions vary
- Some allow occasional narrow spikes in otherwise total quiet
Questions
Is black noise just silence?
For listening purposes, essentially yes. The term describes a spectrum with no meaningful energy where you can hear, so what reaches your ears is silence or something very close to it. There is nothing wrong with using it — some people prefer a room that feels acoustically settled — but it is worth knowing that you are not missing a hidden sound.
Why does black noise appear in lists of noise colours?
To complete the analogy with light. Black is the absence of visible light, so black noise became the label for the absence of audible sound. It is a naming convention rather than a distinct listening experience.
Every colour of noise
White noise
Equal power at every frequency — the bright hiss that masks almost anything.
Play white noise →Brown noise
Deep and low, like a distant waterfall. The most popular colour for sleeping.
Play brown noise →Green noise
Mid-range noise, often described as the background sound of open countryside.
Play green noise →Pink noise
The middle ground: softer than white, brighter than brown. Close to steady rain.
Play pink noise →Blue noise
The mirror of pink: energy rises with pitch, giving a bright, airy hiss.
Play blue noise →Grey noise
Shaped so every frequency sounds equally loud, rather than measuring equally loud.
Play grey noise →Violet noise
The mirror of brown: rises 6 dB per octave into a thin, piercing hiss.
Play violet noise →Beyond the colours
Not noise colours in the strict sense, but built from them — and useful for the same reason.
Rain
Steady rainfall with the patter on top — the most requested sleep sound there is.
Play rain →Fan
A box fan running in the corner, without the draught or the electricity bill.
Play fan →Ocean
Slow waves arriving and drawing back, roughly ten to a minute.
Play ocean →Thunderstorm
Rain with distant thunder rolling through at irregular intervals.
Play thunderstorm →