Music from a Bonsai

How musical is a bonsai? Let me count the ways. . .

In the words of the composer/performer Diego Stocco:

“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.”
                                                                                                                     –Diego Stocco

See and hear for yourself the musical renderings of a bonsai:

Find out more about sound designer and composer Diego Stocco