To make whoosh sounds, you take a noisy or airy source, sweep a filter across it while automating volume and pitch, and add movement so it feels like something rushing past. Whooshes are the swooshing transitions you hear under trailer cuts, motion graphics, UI swipes and fast on-screen movement — and they are one of the easiest designed sounds to learn.
This guide covers three reliable ways to build a whoosh — from noise, from recordings, and from synths — plus the processing that makes one feel fast and three-dimensional.
What makes a sound read as a “whoosh”
A whoosh is defined by movement over a short time. The key ingredients are:
- A swept filter — the tone opens up and then closes again, creating the “swoosh”.
- A volume curve — it builds, peaks, and falls away quickly.
- Pitch movement — rising or falling pitch adds energy and a sense of direction.
If filters, envelopes and LFOs are new to you, the designing sounds with a synth guide covers the controls you will be automating here.
Method 1: Whoosh from filtered noise
The classic whoosh starts with noise. Load a noise oscillator (or a white-noise sample) and put a band-pass or low-pass filter on it. Now automate the filter cutoff to sweep up and back down over about half a second to a second, and draw a volume curve that swells and fades to match. That is a basic whoosh.
To improve it, automate pitch alongside the filter for more energy, and vary the speed of the sweep — a fast sweep reads as quick and sharp, a slow one as heavy and grand. Coloured noise (pink or filtered) sounds smoother and less harsh than raw white noise.
Method 2: Whoosh from recordings
Real recordings give organic, believable whooshes. Record airy, moving sources — swinging a stick or a length of cable through the air, fabric being whipped, your own breath, or even just air movement near the mic. Capture these with a Zoom or Tascam recorder, following the technique in recording your own sound effects. Then shape the recording the same way: filter sweep, volume curve, pitch automation. Layering a recorded whoosh with a synthetic one gives you the best of both — texture and control.
Method 3: Whoosh from synths and resampling
Synths make highly controllable whooshes. A noise source plus an LFO or envelope on the filter gets you there, and granular or wavetable engines (in Vital, Serum, Phase Plant or Arturia Pigments) let you build evolving, textured sweeps. A powerful trick is resampling: bounce any sound to audio, then reverse it, stretch it and filter-sweep it into a whoosh. Reversed reverb tails make excellent rising whooshes. The full loop is in resampling sounds.
Add depth with pitch, Doppler and space
These touches make a whoosh feel three-dimensional:
- Doppler: pitch up as the sound approaches and down as it passes for a true “rushing by” effect.
- Stereo movement: pan the whoosh across the field so it travels through the listener.
- Reverb and delay: a short tail adds size; a pitched delay adds sci-fi flair.
- Distortion: a little grit makes aggressive, powerful whooshes for impacts and trailers.
Whooshes pair naturally with risers and impacts — see making risers and sweeps to build full transition effects.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest way to make a whoosh sound?
Filtered noise. Put a band-pass or low-pass filter on a noise source, sweep the cutoff up and back down over about a second, and draw a volume curve that swells and fades. Add pitch movement to taste and you have a usable whoosh.
How do I make a whoosh feel like it moves past the listener?
Use the Doppler effect and stereo panning. Pitch the sound up as it approaches and down as it passes, and pan it across the stereo field so it travels from one side to the other.
Should I record whooshes or synthesise them?
Both work, and layering the two is ideal. Recordings of moving air, whipped cable or fabric give organic texture, while synthesised filtered noise gives precise control. Combine them and process as one for a rich, controllable result.
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