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Harmonic Tide
Harmonic Tide sounds settled where several of its neighbours sound restless, and the reason is simple: everything in it is properly in tune. Ten notes spread over three octaves, a B flat chord, nothing beating against anything else. It is warm rather than dark, and it manages to hold still without having to be quiet.
Ready to play
Stack this under rain or a fire, keep the blend, and play it with your screen off. Slo, on iOS, Android and Mac.
What being in tune does to a pad
Every tone in it lands within a hair of standard concert pitch. Compare that with Lunar Tide, where two notes a few hertz apart throb against each other, or Crystal Drift, which stacks six pitches inside a whole tone. Here the intervals are clean, so the sound sits still on its own terms rather than by being pushed down in the mix.
It falls towards the brighter end of the ambient group without sounding thin. A quarter of its weight is in the bass and there is enough at the top to keep it from feeling muffled, and its stereo spread is moderate, so little changes between headphones and a speaker.
The same notes as Focus Flow
This file and Focus Flow draw on almost the same set of pitches: both are B flat collections built on the same handful of notes. What differs is the weight and the spread. Focus Flow has hardly any bass and opens out wide; this one has more than twice the low end and sits closer to the centre. If you liked one and wanted more of the same, the other is the honest recommendation.
Among the existing pads, Deep Focus is the nearest relative, an E flat chord with far less at the top. Or try the Harmonic Tide and rain blend in the free sound mixer.
Frequently asked questions
What key is Harmonic Tide in?
B flat. Ten tones spread over three octaves, running from a low D sharp up to the C above middle C.
Why does it sound calmer than the other pads?
Every tone in it is properly in tune, so nothing beats against anything else. Several nearby loops rely on deliberate detuning instead.
How is it different from Focus Flow?
They use nearly the same notes. This one has more than twice the bass and sits closer to the centre; Focus Flow is thinner and wider.
Does it loop cleanly?
Yes. The 32-second file repeats continuously until you stop it or the sleep timer does.