Deep Note facts for kids
Deep Note is a famous sound effect used in THX movie trailers. It's like a big musical sound that starts quietly and gets louder and louder, often making you feel like the whole room is shaking!
This special sound was created in 1983 by James A. Moorer, who worked for Lucasfilm at the time. It was first heard before the movie Return of the Jedi premiered in 1983. You'll hear it in movie theaters and on video releases that are "THX-certified," meaning they have a special sound quality.
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What is the Deep Note?
The Deep Note is officially described as having 30 different sounds, or "voices," that start in a small range of low pitches (200 to 400 Hz). These voices then slowly spread out to cover three full octaves, which is a very wide range of notes. By the fourth measure of music, all 30 voices have reached their final, spread-out pitches. The highest note is a little bit out of tune on purpose, and there are more voices playing the lowest two notes.
Even though the Deep Note might sound super loud, it's actually designed to feel louder than it is. A sound designer named Gary Rydstrom explained that it "just feels loud because it has a spectrum of frequencies that grows from small to large." This means the sound fills up more and more of the sound space, making it seem powerful.
James A. Moorer, who created the sound, once said, "I like to say that the THX sound is the most widely-recognized piece of computer-generated music in the world."
The Deep Note wasn't made with musical instruments in the usual way. Instead, it was created using a computer program with about 20,000 lines of code! This program didn't make the sound directly, but it told special sound machines exactly what frequencies (pitches) each of the 30 "voices" should play at every moment.
Sounds Like the Deep Note
Before the Deep Note was created, some other musical pieces and songs used similar ideas of sounds spreading out in pitch.
For example, a song called "Spaced" from 1970 by Beaver & Krause is thought to be an early example of this kind of sound.
Other examples of similar sounds include:
- Metastasis (1955) by Iannis Xenakis: This piece starts with a single tone that slowly spreads out into many close notes.
- "A Day in the Life" (1967) by The Beatles: This song ends with a famous orchestral sound that builds up louder and louder.
- "Krakatoa" (1974) by Styx: This song also features a spreading tone.
- "Loom" (1981) by Yellow Magic Orchestra: This track starts with a slow upward slide of sound that gets louder.
Deep Note in Pop Culture
Because the Deep Note sounds so powerful, it's often shown in movies and TV shows as having a huge, even destructive, effect!
In movies and TV shows
- In the 1992 cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, a sound like the Deep Note blasts a movie theater, and the screen says, "THUD: The Audience Is Now Deaf."
- The 1994 Simpsons episode "Burns' Heir" shows a THX trailer that blows the audience back, breaks glasses, and even makes one person's head explode! But Grampa Simpson still shouts, "Turn it up!" This scene was later turned into a real THX trailer.
- In the 2006 movie Over the Hedge, the Deep Note is heard when some porcupines accidentally turn on a TV. The sound is so strong it blows some of their quills off!
- In The Boondocks episode "...Or Die Trying", Grandpa makes a sound like the Deep Note to show how good a movie theater is.
- The 2006 movie Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny makes fun of the Deep Note at the beginning with a cartoon version and the words "THC: The Audience is now baked."
In music
- Rapper Dr. Dre was sued in 2000 for using a sound similar to the Deep Note on his album 2001.
- The Australian band The Berzerker uses the Deep Note sound before playing their song "Mono Grind" at concerts.
- The "Mega Lo Mania Remix" of Mylène Farmer's song "California" starts with the Deep Note.
- The rock band Asia used the Deep Note as the beginning for their song "Countdown to Zero" from their 1985 album Astra.
Other Appearances
- A sound similar to Deep Note is hidden as an Easter egg in the BitTorrent program µTorrent.
- The logo for Tokuma Japan Communications, a home video company, uses a sound similar to the Deep Note.
- Radio host Tom Leykis used the Deep Note to end calls with listeners until he was asked to stop.
- The LucasArts adventure game The Curse of Monkey Island starts with a logo that uses a sound like the Deep Note.
- The The Simpsons Movie DVD and Blu-ray have a funny parody of a THX trailer with Tex, the THX robot. The logo only shows "TH" and a parody of the Deep Note is heard.
Images for kids
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Waveform of the Deep Note
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Score for 'Deep Note'
See also
In Spanish: Deep Note para niños
