Creating an ambient environment with a pleasant sound has never been easier than before due to the use of digital media for playing audio. There are hundreds of such apps for a smartphone that can create the ambient sound, for example, waterfall, birds chirping, fireplace sound, etc., but I prefer to have them on my Ubuntu PC as well, to keep it handy for on-demand playback.
“Ambient Noise” is a minimalistic player that can produce mood-enhancing sounds including a coffee shop, fire, forest, night, rain, sea, storm, and wind, thus allowing you to focus on your productivity, without the need of internet connection. It’s less load on system resources than firing up a browser and playing sounds from online.
The application is written in Python 3 with sound clips saved in mp3/ogg/wav format. Since the MP3 sounds need to be high quality, the installation size is comparatively larger (100MB).
Installing Ambient Noise
Unity and Cinnamon desktops should use the first set of the guide below. GNOME desktop environment needs to jump to the next section instead.
On Ubuntu 16.04, 16.10, and 17.04 (Only Unity environment)
Step 1) Launch ‘Terminal’.
Step 2) Use the following commands in the terminal to install Ambient Noise.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:costales/anoise
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install anoise
Step 3) After the installation is complete, go ahead and launch the app from the dash. From then, the app will minimize to the system tray for easy access and control of sounds.
Step 4) Enjoy the sounds!
On Ubuntu 17.10 and higher (GNOME environment)
GNOME users need to install Anoise GUI to make the Mood sounds work additionally.
Step 1) Launch ‘Terminal’.
Step 2) Use the following commands in the terminal to install Ambient Noise.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:costales/anoise
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install anoise
sudo apt install anoise-gui
Step 3) You can now look for the Anoise app from ‘Activities” and launch it. Enjoy the mood sounds!
Playing Ambient Sounds in Ubuntu 17.10
Optionally, GNOME users can install the “Media Player Indicator” GNOME extension to integrate the Anoise in the sound dash panel.
Integrate Ambient Noise to Speaker Panel (GNOME users only)
Step 1) Install Chrome extensions. See our detailed guide on how to install Chrome Shell extensions in Ubuntu 17.10 and then continue the next step.
Step 2) Launch Chrome/Chromium browser and install the Media Player indicator extension.
Install Media Player Indicator GNOME extension
Step 3) Enable the media player indicator.
Enable Media Player Indicator in Ubuntu 17.10
Step 4) Launch Ambient Noise app from “Activities,” and then click on the “Speaker icon” on the top panel. You can control the music from the top panel too!
Control Ambient Noise from Top Panel Ubuntu 17.10
Want to install additional community sounds?
Here are some popular community provided sound packs:
- Dumptruck Idling, Fishing Boat, Diesel Motor, Forest Rain, Fountain, House Fan, Large Boat & Old Air Conditioner by Gordon VS
Brow OSSL, Brow, Pink & White Noises by Stephen Andrews & Public Domain
- Coon Creek, Frogs.ogg, Lake Superior, Stoney Creek, Waterfall from an old dam, Dinosaur drain, Lake Huron, Rideau river, Thunderstorm & Wind at Pinery by Mark Day
