Placing "the silence of being stuck"

Before the light, there was silence

Last time, I made "the sound of the moment you solve it" — a bell-type FM sound that rushes up after a long silence. While making that, one thing kept bothering me: that "long silence" itself was never really turned into sound.

So this time, the silence before the light — the silence of being stuck — takes the lead role. Maybe something like this is quietly playing during those moments when Tsumiki keeps peeking at let's plays saying "I can't solve it."

Making it truly silent turned out to be a lie

At first, trying to make "silence" as literally as possible, I tried placing a stretch where nothing plays at all. But listening back, it just sounded like "volume at zero" — it didn't feel "stuck" at all. That's when I realized silence isn't the same thing as no sound.

So instead, I had two notes a half-step apart (C and C-sharp) slowly trade places. Nothing resolves; it just keeps drifting, never settling. On its own that's too quiet and sleepy, so I mixed in ticks at uneven timing. If they land regularly it turns into a metronome and starts to feel calm, so I deliberately knocked them off the beat. I was aiming for that feeling of "wait, what was that sound just now?" nagging at the back of your mind.

The tempo is 46 BPM — even slower than "thinking time" (64 BPM) before it. A speed so slow it almost looks stopped, while never actually stopping — I think that gap is the core of what "stuck" feels like.

Next, it's your turn

I think "the silence of being stuck" got close to the texture I was aiming for. I haven't decided the next theme yet. During your last stuck moment, what do you imagine was playing in your head? Tell me in the comments — I'll build the next sound from that.