As someone who suffers from anxiety, I have always found it difficult to relax at night. My mind races, thinking of everything that could go wrong the next day, and I often end up tossing and turning for hours on end. However, in March 2023, I discovered a new way to help me unwind and drift off to sleep: creating a calming rain nightscape.
It all started when I recorded the sounds of rain from my balcony during a few different rainstorms, all with my mobile phone built in microphone. After listening to the recordings, I determined that the one I captured on the 24th of March was the best as it was less impacted by city sounds and human interaction. Despite being recorded during the day, I felt it could be made more moody and have a nighttime, sleepy feel to it.
To achieve this, I decided to pair the rain sounds with a piano loop in C#, provided for free by BandLab by Cakewalk. During the mixing process, I turned both the audio of the rain and the piano loop into stereo sound to enhance the quality. I also enjoyed the white noise ambiance from the rain recording, which added to the atmosphere.
To complete the soundscape, I took a photo from a nature walk I did in March 2023, completely unrelated to the sound of the rain heard in this recording. I went with this particular pairing of audio and visual elements to create a separate soundscape that embodies the essence of nighttime relaxation with rain. Adding the piano provides stable consistency and predictability to the piece, which I find calming and grounding when trying to sleep.
I used Cakewalk to create the 10-minute soundscape. I went with this because I enjoy doing 10-minute meditations. I have meditated since 2015 and feel 10 minutes a day can greatly improve my relaxation. This 10-minute rain nightscape has become a part of my nighttime routine. By having something to listen to like this, I can focus on something other than my thoughts and allow me to relax.
From my experience, creating a calming rain nightscape with piano and a nature walk photo is a great way to unwind and relax before bed. It is easy to make and can be done using free tools like Cakewalk. If you are like me and have trouble relaxing at night, I highly recommend giving this a try. It may just change your nighttime routine for the better.