Alarm / Ringtone Design — Wake Up Gently

## Gentle Wake-Up Alarm Design

**Purpose**: [morning alarm / meditation timer / app notification / smart home alert]
**Duration**: 30 seconds (with built-in escalation)
**Character**: [nature-inspired / musical / minimal / playful / zen]
**Must work on**: [phone speaker / smart speaker / watch]

### Sound Design:

**Phase 1: Whisper (0-10 sec)**
- Nearly silent start — barely audible
- Single element: [soft chime / bird chirp / distant bell / quiet arpeggio]
- Frequency range: mid-range only (phone speakers handle this best)
- Volume: 20% of max
- Spacing: one sound every 3 seconds

**Phase 2: Awareness (10-20 sec)**
- Second element joins: [soft harmony / nature ambiance / gentle rhythm]
- Volume: 40% of max
- Spacing: sounds closer together (every 2 seconds)
- A simple melody emerges (pentatonic scale — can't sound "wrong")

**Phase 3: Awake (20-30 sec)**
- Full version: all elements present
- Volume: 70% of max
- Clear, pleasant, but insistent enough to not ignore
- If not dismissed, loop from Phase 2 at higher volume

### Design Principles:
- ✅ Start in a frequency range that penetrates sleep (1-3kHz)
- ✅ Gradual volume increase (logarithmic, not linear)
- ✅ Pleasant intervals (perfect 5ths, major 3rds, octaves)
- ✅ Organic timbre (not synthetic beeps)
- ❌ No sudden starts (the #1 cortisol trigger)
- ❌ No alarm-clock associations (beep-beep-beep)
- ❌ No minor keys or dissonance

### Variations:
1. **Default**: [nature-inspired — birds, water, chimes]
2. **Musical**: [gentle piano melody building]
3. **Minimal**: [single repeating tone, volume increases]
4. **Seasonal**: [spring = birds, summer = waves, autumn = rain, winter = fireplace crackle]

### Technical:
- Format: AAC or M4A (phone compatible)
- Sample rate: 44.1kHz
- Loudness: starts at -30 LUFS, ends at -16 LUFS
- Loop point: clean at 30 seconds
- Tested on: iPhone speaker, Android speaker, AirPods, bedside speaker