🌤️ Free gentle alarm sound
Music Box Alarm Sound
A Brahms waltz played on a music box. Melodic, soft and pretty: the kind of alarm sound research links to less morning grogginess.
The recording
Johannes Brahms’ Waltz No. 3 from Opus 39, played on a music box instrument. The tune is in the public domain and the recording was released free. About a minute long.
Recorded by Flying_Deer_Fx and shared on Freesound as “Music Box - J. Brahms - Opus 39 - Waltz no 3” under CC0: free to use for anything. We volume-matched it and made the phone files.
Who it’s for
Great for: Light sleepers and anyone who wakes up grumpy from beeps.
Skip it if: You oversleep easily. Set a louder backup 5 minutes later.
Music box: the numbers
| Length | 0:59 |
|---|---|
| Loudness | Loud (-12 dB at matched volume) |
| How it starts | Full volume right away |
| Pattern | Slow waltz melody |
| Wake power | 2 out of 5 |
| iPhone file | First 30 seconds, with a 2-second fade |
Questions people ask
Is a music box a good sound to wake up to?
For light sleepers, yes. A 2020 study from RMIT University found that melodic alarms were linked to less grogginess after waking than harsh beeps. A music box is about as melodic and gentle as it gets.
Which song does this music box play?
Waltz No. 3 from Brahms’ Opus 39, a set of 16 short waltzes he wrote in 1865. It is not the famous Brahms lullaby, but just as calm.