How to Play Ambient Sounds on Our Mac Without Third-Party Apps or Internet Connection

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David Bernal Raspall

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Cómo reproducir sonidos ambientales en nuestro Mac sin apps de terceros ni conexión

Maintaining focus in front of our Mac is essential. Apple knows this, and that's why our computers offer a feature that has proven to be a valuable ally in this regard: background sounds. This function is designed to foster concentration and tranquility, offering an effective solution to minimize distractions.

Improving Concentration with Ambient Sounds

Initially introduced on the iPhone, background sounds on the Mac serve the same purpose: to provide ambient soundscapes that help mask unwanted noises. This is particularly useful in work or study environments, where external noises can be a constant source of distraction.

We have a variety of sounds at our disposal. Additionally, the fact that we don't need an internet connection to play them adds great value to the feature. Among the available options, we can choose balanced, bright, dark, or natural sounds like the ocean, rain, and stream.

These sounds play in the background, blending or fading under other system sounds, which is excellent for creating a more personalized work or rest environment. How do we access them? As easily as following these steps:

  1. In the Apple menu, we select System Settings.
  2. In the sidebar, we click Accessibility.
  3. We go to Hearing in the "Audio" section.
  4. Under Background Sounds, we click on Choose and select the sound we prefer.
  5. After the file is downloaded, we click on Done.
  6. We activate or pause the playback with the switch next to Background Sounds.

Note that it is possible to adjust the volume of the background sounds independently, using the slider located below the mentioned options. Also consider the option that allows us to pause playback when the Mac is not in use, such as when we are on the lock screen or the screensaver is active.

Certainly, there are more comprehensive alternatives to the system's ambient sounds feature, but for those moments when we seek to concentrate on our tasks with a sound background that blocks other noises, this tool is more than sufficient. Simply, we select the sound that interests us and that's it.

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