Do Tree Trunks Make Music? You Betcha!

By Meera Dolasia on 02/09/2012

Thought the rings on tree trunks are good for just figuring out the age of the tree? Think again! A German artist has come up with an ingenious turntable that 'reads' music off tree trunk slices.

The modified music machine, called 'Years' was developed by Bartholomaus Traubeck and uses the same concept as any turntable - The only difference is that it has been overlaid with some clever technology.

The artist begins by placing a slice of bark that has been cut as thin as normal record onto a turntable. To 'read' the music, he replaced the typical needle with a PlayStation Eye, which acts like a digital camera that scans the thickness, strength, growth rate, texture and even overall color tone of the tree 'record'.

This data is fed into a computer that has been programmed with a custom software that maps it to a musical scale designed to replicate piano notes. While it may sound like most of the outcome has been pre-programmed, the artist maintains that each tree trunk produces its own unique, haunting melody - The only drawback? Each record contains just one 'song'!

Resources: Gizmag.com,treehugger.com

YEARS from Bartholomäus Traubeck on Vimeo.

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Comments (202)

peep 6 days ago

probably really long..... its REALLY big!

Replying to peep
peep 8 days ago

has anybody seen the big tree trunk at cosi? i wonder what it's song would be

Replying to peep
Christy 17 days ago

KRAZYYYYY

Replying to Christy
oscarwang about 1 month ago

the melody is very creepy.....SCRE4M.....

Replying to oscarwang
dlfkbahdbf about 1 month ago

My music teach was in awe when I showed her this.

Replying to dlfkbahdbf
kylee 2 months ago

this is cool

Replying to kylee
Wynter 3 months ago

that is cool- cant wait fr that to come yeppers yeah yep see ya peeps

Replying to Wynter
jgirl 3 months ago

thats crazy but cool i want to try that one day

Replying to jgirl
cheesy 3 months ago

Wow! I can't BELIEVE that!

Replying to cheesy
wonderboi99 3 months ago

in your dreams jake, dj shadow is the worlds best dj and has more records sol than any other artist

Replying to wonderboi99