This short film is actually an advertisement for Japanese mobile phone company Docomo, but it’s nonetheless hard to resist: a linear musical instrument designed by Drill Inc. is played by the descent of a wooden ball as it slowly rolls down track, sending xylophonic plinks and plonks out into the forest.
[Images: A linear wooden forest instrument playing Bach, by Drill Inc. for Docomo].
Landscape-scale musical instruments are an unfortunately under-explored typology. We need more wave organs and forest xylophones, more Aeolian harps and conspiratorially whistling infrastructures.
So childish, but….hehehe touch wood
My ears are telling me that it's playing Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". Does this seem right to anyone else?
James–it is!
That is unbelievable. The time to put that together then learn to use it.. awesome.
I've got a thing for sound sculptures too. It comes from a family road trip in Queensland, Australia in the early 80s; we came across a whistling monument overlooking the ocean called the 'Singing Ship' (in a small town called Emu Park). I honestly can't remember how it sounded but 10 year-old me thought it was cool & it's been stuck in my memory ever since.
I think Jem Finer's Longplayer is especially relevant in this theme of music and nature.
http://longplayer.org/
At the north end of Lake Washington in Seattle is A Sound Garden on the grounds of NOAA. It's amazing to experience.
I can't help but wonder how much damage to the forest was done to make this and film it. Leave well enough alone and listen to the sounds of nature as they are intended and put big installations like this in the city.