tides and orbits

composed in 2024 for Paula Viitanen's Multitides - a site collaborative tidal walk

Pop on your headphones, make sure you have a nice low volume, and

There are six audible frequencies. They are the tide cycle (12 hours 25 minutes) and the earth day (24 hours), each multiplied by 5 million, 1,111,111, and 123,456,789, bringing them into the range of pitch. The volumes of these tones are then modulated variously by the moon orbit (27.3 days) and moon cycle (29.5 days) multiplied by the those same constants, which you hear as pulsing, then modulated again by the earth year (365.25 days) and metonic cycle (19 years, 2 hours and 5 minutes), giving much longer fades in and out.

The sound is being generated in your browser, you are not streaming any audio or using data. On some phones you may need to keep the screen on for the audio to continue.