v1.6.0

Shepard tone

Layer octave-spaced voices to create a pitch that appears to rise or fall forever.

npx web-audio-api shepard up 15s
dir=<up|down>
movement direction
wave=<type>
sine, triangle, square, or sawtooth
rate=<octaves/s>
movement speed
-d, --duration <time>
run time (CLI accepts s/m/h suffixes; default: 30s)
ready

Other examples

12Risset rhythmLayer tempo cycles to create a beat that appears to accelerate or decelerate forever.Explore 13Binaural beatsSend nearby frequencies to opposite ears and hear their difference.Explore 14Missing fundamentalPlay harmonics 2–6 while omitting the pitch the listener still perceives.Explore 15BeatingHear amplitude beating produced by two nearby frequencies.Explore

This is the Shepard tone illusion online: octave-spaced voices fade in and out so the pitch seems to rise or fall forever without ever settling on a top or bottom note. Play it in the browser to hear the auditory illusion, or run the Node CLI to render the same infinite tone for a demo or a test file.