Ethereal Sounds Are Emanating From the World’s First ‘Piano’ Made From Plants

You’d be forgiven for being skeptical after reading the title – a piano made from plants? How could that be possible, and how on earth does it work?

Since we are so used to listening to music created electronically or from traditional instruments, it’s hard to imagine how a plant could produce any sound at all. Plants are barely able to move by themselves, or at least, they do so very slowly! It doesn’t make sense when we come from a world where music can be made by pushing a few buttons or clicking a few options on a computer.

We are used to listening to music from acoustic and electronic instruments, so the concept of something like a plant making music is strange, especially if it’s making a sound that we can enjoy listening to.

Fact is, you really can listen to “plant music,” and it’s fascinating; check out this incredible piano made from plants.

The Piano Made From Plants

This innovative Spanish company called Bioo created this insanely cool piano made from plants. It’s fully functional and playable![1]

Using live flora, the piano uses plants as it’s antennas. This is because plants can perceive frequency changes when you touch them. Every time you do, the frequency changes are translated into a voltage, and this voltage is transformed into the music we hear.

Pablo Vidarte, the founder and CEO of the innovative biotech startup says; “Multiple studies show that engaging with plants has a positive impact on humans from an emotional and psychological perspective,” [5]

Pablo continued to say; “We aim to create a global consciousness of nature that helps lead the way to a greener future. [5]

“That’s why we’re so enthusiastic about leveraging our technology that allows us to transform plants into biological switches, to create an amazing experience.” [5]

Take a Listen to the Piano Made From Plants

In August, Bioo launched its awesome piano made from plants at the Ibiza Botánico Biotecnológico. This space not only promotes biotechnology but is completely dedicated to protecting the environment in the process.

Take a listen to the percussion ensemble in this video, and then read on to see and hear some more musical plants!

Tree Ring Music

If you thought a piano made from plants was strange, take a look at this tree ring ‘record’.

A designer in Germany named Bartholomaus Traubeck modified a record player to play tree rings. The player is designed so that when you place a disk of inner tree round on it, it plays some unique and varying sounds.

Of course, the tree ring doesn’t sound like music when played; however, the modified record player analyses the ring. It then goes on to map the data and converts it into piano music.

Watch this video to see what Traubecks “voice of the trees” sounds like:

Sonic Artist Creates Music From Plants

This British programmer and environmental designer call herself a ‘sonic artist.’ Mileece Petre attaches electrodes to plant leaves, which then collects the plant’s bio-electric impulses. With the help of a program that she created herself, these impulses are then converted into harmonic sounds.[3]

In this video, Mileece shows us the sounds she’s able to produce from plants and talks more about her music:

This App Lets You Listen To Your Plants

This company has actually created an app and device you can purchase to listen to your plants at home! Two sensors are fitted to the plant, which fit onto a small device no bigger than your hand. Plant wave then detects electrical variations in your plant.

According to the plant wave website, “These variations are graphed as a wave, which is translated into pitch messages that play musical instruments. The result is a continuous stream of pleasing music that gives you a sonic window into the secret life of plants.”

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