Cricket sounds
A warm summer night: several crickets chirping at their own pitch and pace, scattered across the stereo field over a faint low night ambience.
- Spectrum
- Narrow chirp band around 4–5 kHz over a quiet low bed
- Good for
- Falling asleep with a summer-night feel
- Covering high-pitched sounds and tinnitus
- Pairing with wind, a stream or brown noise
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How crickets make their chirp
Male field crickets chirp by rubbing a scraper on one forewing across a row of teeth (the file) on the other. Each closing stroke of the wings produces a short, almost pure tone pulse, usually between about 4 and 5 kHz, and a chirp is a quick train of three to five pulses. The wing itself acts as a resonator, which is why the tone is so clean.
Crickets chirp faster when it is warmer. Dolbear's law (1897) estimates temperature from the snowy tree cricket's rate: degrees Fahrenheit ≈ 40 + the number of chirps in 14 seconds.
How our crickets are made
Seven virtual crickets each get their own pitch between 4.1 and 5.2 kHz, their own chirp rhythm and their own place left to right. Every chirp is a short train of tone pulses, and each cricket occasionally skips a beat, so the field never locks into a pattern.
Are crickets good for sleep?
For many people crickets mean a calm summer night, and their sound sits in a narrow high band, so it can cover a high ring or whistle. Because each chirp is a distinct event, some light sleepers find it more noticeable than steady noise. Keep the Crickets fader low and add brown noise or wind underneath to soften it.
Questions
Are these real cricket recordings?
No. The crickets are synthesised from the way real chirps work: short trains of tone pulses at 4–5 kHz, with a different pitch and rhythm for each insect.
Do cricket sounds help with tinnitus?
Some people with a high-pitched ring find that a sound in the same region blends with it. It is a comfort measure, not a treatment. See our tinnitus sound therapy page.
Can I play crickets all night?
Yes. Set the timer to Off for continuous playback, or let it fade out after you fall asleep.
Why do crickets chirp at night?
Males chirp to attract mates and warn rivals. Many species are most active after dark, when it is safer from predators.