Anchor sounds and the anchoring technique in Hypnotika.

1 · What anchoring does

An anchor (NLP/hypnosis term, coined by Bandler & Grinder, based on Pavlovian conditioning) is a stimulus — sound, touch, word, image — linked to an inner state. Re-triggering the stimulus brings the client right back to the linked state. The ship-anchor metaphor: what's anchored stays put, even when the water flows.

In practice: in trance you say "feel this moment of complete calm", press the anchor button — the sound plays. The client links sound + state. Later (even outside trance) you re-trigger the sound — the client snaps back into the calm state.

2 · The six slots in the cockpit

Hypnotika has six anchor buttons as a row below the phase buttons. Hard-coded labels Anchor 1 to Anchor 6. Keyboard hotkeys:

• Q — Anchor 1 (default: clean finger snap)
• W — Anchor 2 (default: deep singing bowl)
• E — Anchor 3 (default: clean heartbeat)
• R — Anchor 4
• T — Anchor 5
• Z — Anchor 6 (on QWERTY keyboards, Y triggers it too — Z and Y are swapped there)

Anchors 4–6 ship unassigned — fill them via one of the two ways below. Hotkey position is shown as a small key-tile top-right of each button. Left-hand position on the keyboard, easy to grab while you speak or take notes with the right.

3 · Audio routing

The trigger bus runs parallel to the music, not instead. When you press an anchor while music plays, the client hears both — anchor sound mixes on top.

Under Settings → "Sound & Effects" there is the "Anchor ducking (music dips when an anchor sound plays)" switch: when enabled, the music briefly dips below the anchor sound so the anchor cuts through clearly. It uses the same values as the microphone ducking but toggles independently. The switch is on by default. Off = the anchor mixes on top without dimming the music.

Important: mic ducking does NOT apply to anchor sounds. When you speak (mic active → music auto-dims), the anchor sound stays at full level. So the anchor remains dominant while you set the verbal cue.

Anchors are also captured in the session recording — if the client gets the MP3 to take home, the anchors are included and reinforce the link on re-listening.

4 · Two ways to assign

Way 1 — In the Library (recommended, with preview)

1. Open Library → click "Sound" filter (cyan anchor icon ⚓)
2. All 38 anchor sounds appear in the list
3. At the far left of the sound's row, click ▶ ("Preview") to hear it
4. If you like it: on the right of the row, click the "Edit loop markers" button (it appears when the mouse is over the row) → "Track details" opens
5. Top of "Track details": cyan section "Assign to anchor slot" with six buttons
6. Click Anchor 1 to 6 → sound is assigned immediately, toast confirmation

Way 2 — Edit icon in cockpit (fastest swap)

1. In the cockpit, look at the desired anchor button (if the anchor row is collapsed, first click "Anchor sounds (hotkeys Q · W · E · R · T · Z)")
2. Bottom-right of the button: small edit pencil icon (cyan on hover)
3. Click → opens floating menu with all 38 sounds grouped by category
4. Click a sound → slot is reassigned, menu closes
5. Current sound is marked with checkmark

Settings has no anchor section of its own. It only holds the "Anchor ducking (music dips when an anchor sound plays)" switch (Settings → "Sound & Effects") and, under Settings → "Audio & Hardware" → "Hardware buttons (MIDI + Gamepad)" card, the mapping of the six anchors to MIDI pads or gamepad buttons.

5 · Own files vs. bundle sounds

• Bundle: one of 38 shipped sounds. Auto-updates on app upgrades.
• Own file: MP3/WAV from your disk. Never changed by app updates.

In Hypnotika 0.2.2 only the bundled sounds can be assigned. Own files that were assigned to an anchor earlier keep loading, as long as the file is still in the same place. If you switch such an anchor to a bundled sound, you cannot assign the own file again afterwards.

6 · What Hypnotika 0.2.2 does not have

• Auto-pitch of anchor sounds to the track key — anchor sounds play in their original key. There is no switch or slider for it.
• Freely mappable hotkeys — the keys Q–Z are fixed to slots 1–6.

7 · Recommendations for your own sounds

In 0.2.2, own files cannot be assigned (see section 5).

• 1-5 seconds in length (longer is unusable as an anchor)
• Stereo preferred (stronger anchoring on headphone setups)
• Soft attack (no bang dropping into the trance)
• Tonal & gentle — no atonal clusters, no harsh noise signals
• Level: pre-normalized to -6 to -12 dBFS

Related: Cockpit Overview & Hotkeys · Hero's Journey in Hypnosis