A Record Player that Plays Slices of Wood

OK, this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen/heard/discovered on the interwebs:

“A record player that plays slices of wood. Year ring data is translated into music, 2011.
Modified turntable, computer, vvvv, camera, acrylic glass, veneer, approx. 90x50x50 cm.”

“A tree’s year rings are analysed for their strength, thickness and rate of growth. This data serves as basis for a generative process that outputs piano music. It is mapped to a scale which is again defined by the overall appearance of the wood (ranging from dark to light and from strong texture to light texture). The foundation for the music is certainly found in the defined ruleset of programming and hardware setup, but the data acquired from every tree interprets this ruleset very differently.

Thanks to Land Salzburg, Schmiede, Pro-ject Audio, Rohol Furniere, Karla Spiluttini, Ivo Francx, vvvv.”

by Bartholomäus Traubeck on Vimeo

Traubeck’s original post can found here.