BBC has launched an initiative called ‘Soundscapes for Wellbeing’ where you could spend hours mixing these free samples online, or downloading them, from across the world.
The BBC has created an online mixing platform for their 33,066 soundscapes of free samples where you can spend hours editing, blending, layering and cutting these professional field recordings.
In this initiative, the BBC reminds us that “Spending time in nature can improve mood and wellbeing, but not everyone has easy access to the natural world.”
You can find yourself listening to 5 minutes and 47 seconds inside a marshy jungle of Zaire, featuring tree frogs and crickets or short 4 second audio grabs of the Maasai Tribe grunting, squealing or squawking.
The 17,000+ soundscapes are in addition to the 16,000+ the BBC released in 2016 April 2018.
Along with the online mixer and downloadable free samples, there is a Virtual Nature Experiment you can take part in which will run until December 2022. The study is held by the University of Exeter and will explore how these virtual experiences of nature might impact wellbeing. You can take part here.
Whilst you can download the samples for free as WAV or MP3 you cannot use it for commercial use unless you purchase them by clicking on the ‘More Detail’ button. You can use the free samples for non-commercial, personal use or for formal educational purposes as either a teacher or student. But like any sampling or ‘crate-digging’ sometimes having a sample in place can be a great place holder for creativity.
Nonetheless, head over to BBC Soundscapes for Wellbeing and enjoy listening to the natural world for a little while.
