The trees are alive with the sound of music

Or at least they are, if you know where to look for it. Diego Stocco made this short composition Music From A Bonsai by tapping, rustling, bowing, and plucking various parts of a Bonsai tree. The only sound equipment used was a multitrack editor. Impressive work!

I always liked bonsai trees, and I was curious to try the approach I used for “Music from a Tree” on a smaller scale, so I bought a bonsai and recorded this little experimental piece.

To determine the key I used the lowest note I could play and recorded the rest around it.
Besides playing the leaves, I used bows of different sizes, a piano hammer and a paint brush.
As far as microphones I used my Røde NT6, a customized stethoscope and tiny MEAS piezo transducers.

I played all the sounds and rhythms only with the bonsai, I didn’t use any synthesizer or samplers to create or modify the sounds. I hope you’ll like it.

[via Theo’s Gallimaufry]