Hi Alex,
Here are two ideas, perhaps the first one could be so much better in Thinking Particles, but the idea is already clear with the Standard Particles. Perhaps a little bit messy (mesh-wise) but as a quick and easy set up, I liked to share it.
Scene files:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/4eiHvs2vueozwNdf7y50o6puUTUC37ksfziGXZseWf6
The two other files in the folder (…_01.c4d and …_11.c4d) are the same, except, that _01 contains only the core idea, and _11 a set up.
In short it takes the point Y values of the spline and mirrors the start and end to “Mix” the bounce (see HUD) into the resulting spline W+B
As this might sound all cryptic, more or less, here is a one minute clip, showcasing the main parameters:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/Et1xgg4DREk3NWWCuY4bfyZlyK0DLeu3gSlUhPoisFl
I hope that works for your project, at least as a starting point.
All the best
P.S.: It is doable to have the Bounce wave set up in a second Spline/Effector set up, (sync the speed via XPresso)
The scene file below is much simpler in the set up. I have two combinations for the wave and for the bounce (<——and——>)
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/bcxQlClWmXIQ0goUGzmDkhtA5J9AmM3dw6kPkXXwzRS
Or more wave-like:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/olVX4rV8wBpu9CAsw6IKcblF1LdBcBHQjZoDPzWwEup
More clear, but perhaps to sharp:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/pbZBecLjy6LT7d7eRiHr788iY6tHflSw9woSt4QNVJQ
A pure Shader animation:
Scene file
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/HQ5Ym7E53LDUpr0J167o8dQUIxJmptuYb2d0kMydFAi
Thinking Particles:
Scene file
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/OUGBeA1w2Ssf2XgVXyTUU3jER05KY3Xyt5cQ0aDLkKJ