Soothing Tracks for Box Breathing

Notes

Box breathing has four equal sides: breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold, each for the same count. These nine tracks keep the count for you, so you can close your eyes and follow the music instead of counting in your head.

One beat is one second, and each side of the box is one bar. Breathe in while the full chord sounds, with the bass underneath it. When the bass and the middle of the sound drop away, hold. Breathe out as the full chord returns, and hold again as it thins to a single high line. The last beat of that hold is silent, a moment of rest before the next breath. One instrument plays on every beat throughout, so you always know where you are in the count.

The counts run from three to six, and there are at least two tracks for each, one with a synthesiser and one without, so you can choose the sound as well as the count. Threes at Dusk and Threes Around the Fire are the gentlest place to start, and the two sixes have the longest holds. Each track moves slowly through its chords, so there is always something to follow, and the Repeat button keeps it going for as long as you want to breathe.

• Four Under Velvet: muted strings and harp, in fours
• Threes at Dusk: synth pad and piano, in threes
• Five Over Winds: flute, clarinet, horns, bassoon and harp, in fives
• Four Through Glass: synth strings and vibraphone, in fours
• Six Beneath the Celestial: orchestra, harp and celesta, in sixes
• Threes Around the Fire: string quartet and guitar, in threes
• Five on Rosewood: synth strings and marimba, in fives
• Six by Moonlight: choir, synth pad and piano, in sixes
• Four Again, Coming Home: muted strings, synth pad, harp and vibraphone, in fours

If you feel light-headed at any point, stop and breathe normally.