[Jugurtha]

A song with a volume that goes crescendo. Sleeping with the window open, so you'll start getting sun-light with gradually increasing power starting at dawn and you'll tend to ease into waking up, and you'll notice you'll wake up earlier.

Birds help. I've planted a dozen trees near the house fifteen years ago. Now they're huge (three stories high) and attract all kinds of birds, and the chirping definitely helps start the day and tops any alarm clock.

[mlhpdx]

This is my summertime method, but at this latitude (Portland, Oregon) it’s not really practical in the winter, so I revert to the musical alarm method.