How to change Apple Calendar's notification sound on Mac
Alert sounds set per event; no global notification sound picker.
In Apple Calendar
Head to Settings → Notifications inside Apple Calendar — the sound options live there, and you can turn them off. That stops Apple Calendar's own audio, but macOS will still play its default sound on top — see the universal approach below to silence that too.
Universal approach — mute at the macOS level
macOS lets you silence any app's sound without disabling its notifications. The full visual walkthrough lives on the universal macOS method page. The short version:
- Open System Settings → Notifications.
- Scroll to Apple Calendar in the application list and click it.
- Turn off Play sound for notifications.
- Apple Calendar keeps showing banners and badges — just no audio.

How Chirpy fills the gap
Chirpy reads the notification title and matches it against your rules. That means you can do things Apple Calendar can't on its own — different sounds per channel, per person, per keyword, per server. Three quick examples:
- Boss mentions only: a distinct chime when their name appears in any Apple Calendar notification.
- Urgent channel: a louder sound when the notification contains
#urgentor#critical. - Silence everything else: a rule that matches all other Apple Calendar notifications with no sound — banners still appear, your day stays quiet.
Want sounds that actually mean something?
Chirpy adds rule-based custom sounds on top of macOS notifications. One sound for Apple Calendar mentions, another for your calendar, silence for the rest.