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27 April, 2022Print
Twenty Thousand Hertz Launches Two-Part Series on Sonic History of Microsoft’s Windows Startup Sounds
Listen To The Latest Episode From 2022 Webby Nominee & Ambie-Winning Podcast:
Art by George Butler
Today, Twenty Thousand Hertz — recent double Webby nominee and 2022 Ambie-winning podcast — releases “Ta-da! It’s Windows,” the first episode in a two-part series that uncovers the indelible history of Windows startup sounds. From a single lo-fi tone to a triumphant “ta-da,” to ambient compositions from both Brian Eno and a British rockstar, host Dallas Taylor takes listeners through the decades of technological innovation behind Microsoft’s sonic branding, breaking down the noises that have introduced millions of computer users to a world of possibilities.
Listen to “Ta-da! It's Windows" Here
Startup sounds are like mini time capsules: they may only last a few short seconds, but they can reveal so much about the company that designed them, and where the technology was headed at the time. Over the years, Microsoft has debuted at least 10 completely unique startup sounds — and almost all of them have become iconic in their own right.
While early computers could only support a single, lo-fi tone when Windows 1.0 and 2.0 launched in the late 1980s, technology quickly advanced enough to support more complex sound design. So with Windows 3.1 in 1992, in came the triumphant “ta-da.” “It kind of lined up with the idea of this kind of magical ta-da moment and the excitement that people had when they were booting up their first computer,” shares Matthew Bennett, a composer and sound artist who worked at Microsoft for over a decade. “For a lot of people, those Windows 3.1 computers were their first computers… and it was a very exciting thing to have in your house.”
Over the next few years, household computers exploded in popularity. Meanwhile, Microsoft was already hard at work on their next version: Windows 95. To create the new startup sound, they reached out to Brian Eno, a British composer famous for his ambient music. “It was very funny when I got the job because they sent me quite a long letter and it said ‘the piece of music should be inspirational, sexy, driving, provocative, nostalgic, sentimental…’ It went on and on,” laughs Eno about the experience. “There were about 150 adjectives and then at the bottom it said ‘...and not more than 3.8 seconds long.’”
Brian became obsessed with making every microsecond count, ultimately drafting 83 versions of the 3-second sound. As a much bigger, more atmospheric piece of audio, the Windows 95 sound was a huge sonic upgrade — but it was also a more human, musical experience. And if you slow the sound down, you actually get what sounds like a Brian Eno composition: still a “ta-da” celebration of sorts, but much gentler and more organic.
While Eno’s sound for Windows 95 had an emotional texture, as Windows looked towards their next model, Windows NT, they knew they wanted to take a different sonic direction. Windows NT was the business, no-nonsense, operating system. To match the Windows NT goal of pushing ahead into the future, sound engineer Matthew Felton designed a synth-driven, aggressive start-up sound.
Within the space of just a few years, Microsoft had created three completely unique startup sounds — and in the decades that followed, they continued to experiment. The Windows 98 sound was created by holding a competition, while Windows 2000 used live instruments such as a french horn and a female vocal line, and Windows XP enlisted the entire Seattle Symphony Orchestra to debut a new start-up sound.
By 2001, Microsoft wanted to create more of a journey for their users, a kind of narrative arc. To do so, they used both sound and visuals. The interface for Windows XP had a very distinct look: the blue taskbar and the Bliss wallpaper — the quintessential green hills and blue sky — plus a startup sound that was supposed to evoke that same peaceful landscape. This approach opened up a whole new world of interconnectivity: “It was no longer just a cool thing you heard when you turned on your computer,” explains host Dallas Taylor. “It was now one part of a larger, unified experience, from start-up, to notifications, to shut-down, and more.”
When it came time to design their next sound for Windows Vista, Microsoft reached out to another famous musician, Robert Fripp, the guitarist and founding member of British prog-rock band King Crimson, and a long-time collaborator of Brian Eno. Fripp spent two full days in the studio with the Microsoft team, recording six hours of guitar soundscapes. Using tape from these sessions, and additional sound design elements, Microsoft created the startup sound that was used in both Windows Vista and Windows 7.
The era that began with Windows XP and continued through Windows 7 was a dramatic shift for Microsoft. By then, it wasn’t about being flashy or in-your-face. It was about creating a mood. In a way, the approach had come full circle, back to Windows 95.
But after years of sonic innovation, countless UI jingles, and setting a standard for technological innovation, Windows decided to kill the startup sound — that and more coming on May 11th, in part two of Twenty Thousand Hertz’s deep dive into the sounds of Windows.
Twenty Thousand Hertz is the leading, award-winning show about the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. Produced out of the sound design studios of Defacto Sound, the podcast has previously revealed the origins of Netflix's "Ta-Dum" for the first time ever, in addition to dissecting the HBO Theme & Static Angel, the McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It" jingle, and much more available here: https://www.20k.org/archive
About Twenty Thousand Hertz
Twenty Thousand Hertz is a lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. With 20 million+ lifetime downloads, 125,000+ listeners per episode, and 3 Webby awards to its name, Twenty Thousand Hertz is the world's leading podcast about sound. Episodes of Twenty Thousand Hertz have been featured on Planet Money, 99% Invisible, Endless Thread, and Every Little Thing. The show has also been covered by The New York Times, Marketplace, Entertainment Weekly, Salon, Popular Science, and many others.
About Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor is the host and creator of Twenty Thousand Hertz, a lovingly crafted podcast revealing the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. Dallas is also the Creative Director of Defacto Sound, where he has led thousands of high-profile sound design projects - from blockbuster trailers and advertising campaigns, to major television series and Sundance award-winning films. Additionally, Dallas is a TED mainstage speaker, a regular contributor to major publications, and a respected thought leader on the narrative power of sound.
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