Recording interior museum sounds & room tone

What I love about museums is that often times I’m mostly alone. This provides a great opportunity to record some room tone without too many people present.

For this room tone sound library, I went to a historical museum in Cyprus

One day I went early in the morning to walk around the museum with the intention to record room tone. I stopped in each room and captured quiet ambience. By “quiet ambience” I mean sounds coming from the air conditions and chatting of the staff & visitors (sometimes near me or in other rooms.) All room tones have their unique sound and I’m sure you have plenty of ideas to use them!

Why room tone is important to record

In the beginning of my sound recording journey, I never paid much attention to capturing this vital element. However, the more sound I recorded the more questions I got from users asking me where they could find room tone recordings. While it seems like a “boring” sound it is in fact crucial for many creators. For example it provides a sound bed for scenes in films and is used to fill dead space between dialog and sound effects. Now that I understand the importance of recording room tone, I make it a priority whenever I have a chance to redord it!