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Music from a Bonsai

  • 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.

    Below you can see the video and some pictures with more detailed descriptions.
  • Video
  • Pictures
  • By placing the customized stethoscope in contact with the trunk I was able to record a deep sound that I used as the kick drum.
  • I used this leaf to create different notes.
  • Here I was practicing the two notes I was playing on the leaf, the tricky part is that the pitch was determined not just from the position of my finger but also by the pressure I was applying.
  • Coffee break :  )
  • This is the MEAS piezo transducer attached to one of the twigs.
  • One of the bows I used, I got this one along with a cello miniature, I modified it a little bit to actually make it work.
  • Here you can see my other work "Music from a Tree".