Binaural beats for focus
Built around the block, not the track. Pick 25 or 50 minutes, choose how much noise you want under the beat, and the sound ends when the block does.
For focused work people usually pick a beat in the alpha (8–13 Hz) or low beta (13–20 Hz) range and keep it quiet under a noise bed. The reliable part of the effect is boring: a steady sound masks the irregular ones — a conversation two desks away, a door, a phone — that cost you the thread.
Pick a block, not a playlist
The reason this page has a timer instead of an endless stream is that the timer is the useful part. A block that ends tells you when to stand up; an endless track just runs. The three that cover most work:
| Block | Setting | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| 25 minutes | Alpha 10 Hz, light brown noise | Pomodoro, admin, email, shallow work |
| 50 minutes | Beta 14 Hz, brown noise | Writing, coding, anything with a warm-up cost |
| 30 minutes | Gamma 40 Hz, no noise | Short high-alertness push, revision |
Beat, noise, or both?
They do different jobs and it is worth knowing which one you actually want.
- Noise alone masks the room. It is the part with the least controversy attached and the only part that works on speakers. If you share an office, start here.
- Beat alone gives you a quiet, non-musical sound with no lyrics to follow and no chorus to notice — which is most of why instrumental music helps some people concentrate.
- Both is the default on this page: the beat sits just above a noise bed that covers the room, at a level where neither one demands attention.
If you can hum along to it, it is too loud. The test for a focus sound is that you should be mildly surprised when it stops.
Music, noise, or beats — what should I use for work?
Honestly: whichever one you stop noticing fastest. Research on background sound and concentration is messy, and the largest consistent finding is that lyrics hurt tasks that involve language. Both a binaural beat and a noise bed avoid that problem by having nothing to follow. If music with words works for you, it works — this page is for the times it does not.
Related players
Questions
What Hz is best for concentration?
Alpha around 10 Hz and low beta around 14 Hz are the common starting points; 40 Hz gamma is popular for short bursts. There is no evidence for one exact number, so treat these as starting points and keep whichever one you notice least.
Can I listen while I am in a call?
No — a call takes the same audio path and you will end up talking over a tone. Use the sound between calls, not during them.
Does it work through speakers?
The noise bed does. The binaural beat does not; switch the tone mode to isochronic if you cannot wear headphones.
Why does the sound stop after 25 minutes?
Because that is what the timer is set to. Change it in the timer control, or set it to “No limit” for an open-ended session.
Running this on a phone? The Brainwave Generator app keeps playing with the screen off, works without a connection, and carries the same engine. Free on iOS and Android.