The intention with the piece was to create music that someone could play just as s/he got into bed. A piece that would accompany that state of getting settled in before sleep, and the moment between being awake and asleep when thoughts drift from those we control to those that wander as the sleep state starts to take over the waking state. I started with Delta waves; per Jeris’ research Delta waves can be used to facilitate a deep sleep state. I learned that, on average, it takes someone 7-10 minutes to fall asleep. This fact informed the length and pacing of this track. Ambient sounds have proven to be useful in helping sleep — so I included a number of ambient sounds, starting with the sound of water. Not only is the sound of water (waves, rain, streams, etc.) soothing, it is also a symbol of the unconscious; thus, I included the sound of water at the beginning of the lullaby as an invitation to the listener to enter the depths of his or her unconscious through the sleep state. For this piece, I chose sounds that would be heard at night - crickets, nightingale, wind, purring. Other sounds include sounds of a star recorded by the Kepler spacecraft ( sound courtesy of NASA). Pretty Little Horses has always been one of my favorite lullabies. ( A capella uploaded separately — it includes harmonies not included here.)

Other off-site samples used include the sound of the ocean and the sound of crickets, both from freesound.org.

if you sleep on it — I’d be interested to know how it goes