Since ancient times wood has been used to produce sound and music. Whether by striking, blowing or through resonance, each approach has evolved and grown over many centuries. The reason lies in how many of us feel a deep pleasure and comfort in the sounds produced by this natural material. So how are modern creators producing sound from wood? Examine their mechanisms and designs in an episode dedicated to sound designs in wood, and explore our relationship with them both.
Castanets.
Yes, it is a simple instrument, with two wooden disks striking one another.
Yet the sound of wood is so appealing, don't you think?
Hi, everyone. Today we're exploring the sound of wood.
Wood has been used to make sound for millennia.
Tapping it, blowing air through it, or creating resonance -
each method has evolved over the centuries.
So how are modern designers creating sound from wood?
Join us on an exploration of sound designs in wood,
as we delve into our relationship with this element of nature.
Okay, well, I'm on my way to visit an atelier that has some rather unique and original wooden speakers...
I'm in Matsusaka in Mie prefecture.
It's a lush, historic town.
The atelier is in one of the old samurai residences that line this street.
Kinpei-san, hello?
Hi, Andy, welcome!
It's been a while.
Designer and inventor Yokohama Kinpei.
This table's lovely! A new
addition since my last visit?
Well, we're talking about sound today.
And this table produces sound.
Wait, it does what?
The table produces sound.
- Really?
- Yes, really.
- Just as it is?
- Absolutely.
- May I hear it?
- Just a moment.
Oh! Lovely.
Touch the table with your hands.
I feel the vibrations.
The top is hollow inside?
No, it's just a slab of wood.
- Untouched?
- Oh yes.
Kinpei calls his invention "Wooden speaker Kion."
The wooden tabletop itself vibrates to create sound.
He's designed all kinds of wooden speakers.
But how on earth do they work?
This is a prototype.
But I'll hook it up.
- It plays?
- Sure.
Go ahead, put your face in it.
Don't be shy!
- May I?
- That's it.
Oh, wow.
A luxurious sound!
So at a glance, the design looks
very simple. How does it work?
These are the parts.
Base, pillar, and resonance boards.
This has the voice coil,
the magnet with the necessary coils.
When the musical signal enters,
those vibrate, producing energy.
I designed the technology to
physically control the sound energy.
The base is designed
to focus those vibrations.
The pillar goes in the center.
It amplifies the sound.
Lots of energy focused through the tip.
- Just add the resonance boards.
- So that's how it works.
But if I attach it to a table?
Amazing.
I add a notch to hold the soundboards.
Why is the sound so clear?
You're working with wood.
Under a microscope, wood has channels
to carry water to a tree's leaves.
And fibers to support those channels.
Once dry, those channels are empty.
The channels and fibers vibrate
directly. It's the beauty of wood.
Kinpei started his career designing wooden furniture and interiors in Osaka.
But the wood would sometimes resonate with the surrounding soundscape, leading to complaints.
He considered ways to control noise and vibrations.
You don't want noise traveling
between different apartments.
But it's only natural that if you
strike wood, it makes a sound.
So enjoy it, have fun with it!
I wanted to explore
this aspect of wood's beauty.
Kinpei later moved to Mie prefecture - 70% of which is forested.
As he scouted for good lumber, he found inspiration for the kind of resonance he was looking for.
Do you hear the birds singing?
The wind whistles through here too.
Trees hear these comforting
natural sounds for 100, 300 years.
It's part of their environment
throughout a long cycle of growth.
I think trees absorb these memories.
I recall them through the wood.
Kinpei uses new sounds to bring these eternal memories to life.
He collects wood from all over Japan, experimenting to create speakers that perfectly suit his medium.
This is cedar from Yakushima.
Over a thousand years old.
It's a very resinous wood.
It's resistant to rot. This wood came from
a tree that was buried in earth.
This one's very special.
Incredible!
- From Ise Grand Shrine.
- Oh wow!
Over 300 years old.
It fell during the Ise typhoon.
It soaked up water which created a film.
It was freshwater which left
the wood pristine.
Feel it.
Not sticky, is it?
The differences between them are
stark when it comes to sound.
- Have a listen.
- Let's!
This one first.
Touch it. Get ready.
And the back as well.
It produces sound from
all surfaces, do you see?
Another key feature of this speaker is that it's omnidirectional -
- it sends vibrations into the air in all directions, making for an all-encompassing, unobstructed sound.
That was extraordinary.
The sound is a function of this
specific wood. Its mass and qualities.
What does the Yakushima cedar sound like?
- The high tones are beautiful.
- That's gorgeous.
Kinpei is committed to creating the perfect speakers for each variety of wood.
So you're often out in the woods?
I am. They teach me so much.
At first, I was mainly focused on
the idea of natural materials.
But that's not a solution.
A fallen, damaged tree is still useful, right?
I want to use that fallen tree
in a way that's valuable.
So I'm focused on the sound of wood.
It's one way to make these materials last.
They can be used for 100,
even 300 years.
It's vital to approach this
through science and technology.
A speaker that makes wood sing.
Kinpei continues his search for beautiful-sounding wood.
Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto was renowned worldwide for his electronic music and movie soundtracks.
Sadly, he passed away in March 2023.
He was deeply interested in forestry and trees.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011,
he began to turn that interest into a concrete expression.
Sensors capture tiny changes in
electrical potential in trees.
I wanted to turn that into music.
Just like the human body,
electricity flows through trees.
Which tree? Over there?
What a nice breeze! So cool.
Three days on the same tree.
Sakamoto had sensors on trees in the forest,
capturing the electric potential a hundred times each minute.
Here, look!
He turned the fluctuating numbers into sound, from which he looked to create music.
Who knows if it'll work as music.
Plants are geniuses at absorbing
light and turning it into energy.
You could call that a kind of song.
Pythagoras called celestial movements
the music of the spheres.
Sakamoto raised the frequency of the captured data, making it audible to the human ear.
He ran a number of experiments to see how it could be made into music.
This is the oak.
This is the cinnamon.
I'll turn these into sounds
and play it again.
It moves fast, right?
So I'll slow it right down.
That works as well.
The project was driven by a passion of Sakamoto's.
I'm not interested in nature sounds
or musical therapy.
I want to express the true spirit
of a forest through music.
I think trees in a forest
communicate with one another.
We have a deep connection to forests.
We evolved in this environment
and developed skills and abilities.
Our sight, hearing, and dexterity
were honed here.
Maybe it's the original form
of music as well.
One of the completed works from this project became "Forest Symphony,"
a collaborative installation with the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media.
It's still regularly exhibited today.
Sakamoto minimized any interference in the data, faithfully translating the trees' output into music.
His work lives on after him, showing us new ways to achieve harmony with forests.
Hi, everyone! I'm Shaula. And today, I'm hear to meet a woodcraft artist who not only focuses on wood, but on sound.
Let's find out more.
I'm visiting Ino Artists' Village in Ibaraki prefecture northeast of Tokyo.
Hello!
Great to meet you!
This is woodwork artist Tsuchiya Ayumi.
Your studio is in the housing complex?
This whole building is artist studios.
- May I take a look?
- Sure!
- This is my work.
- Wow, it's beautiful!
It looks like a rollercoaster!
Can you talk me through it?
It's an instrument for
playing and composing.
You can play it and compose on it?
I'd like you to try.
Me?
I drop it from here?
Here goes!
What a lovely sound.
- "Twinkle, Twinkle," right?
- Right now, yes.
But you can make other music?
That's right. Fast tempo songs are
a bit tricky, but it's fairly flexible.
Each one is like a xylophone key.
Red is C, orange is D, yellow is E.
The length, width, depth, and
size of the holes are key.
They determine the pitch of each note.
These ones don't make a sound
but they lengthen the note.
Three after a note board
makes the note last.
Oh! That's brilliant.
Please try making a song.
Me? Compose a song?
- Try it.
- Isn't it hard?
There's sheet music
you can follow if you want.
Right!
With colors, you can just
place them in the right order.
Let's see if my DJ experience translates!
So I start with colors.
C.
And B.
With the colors, you don't need
to be able to read music.
You just have fun.
If kids can learn the basics early,
it encourages them to enjoy music.
I'm sure.
Alright!
Let's see if it works.
I have faith in your guidance!
Such pressure!
Yay, Merry Christmas!
That was so fun!
You'd need musical talent
to make this.
I was never able to play
an instrument.
So I decided to make
something I "could" play.
So that inspired you!
I can see all kinds of machines here.
You use them to make your art?
Yes, I'll look at the wood grain
or the colors as I go.
I'll make hundreds of notes over
a week or two. I love it!
Tsuchiya handles her machinery like a professional carpenter.
But it turns out she's largely self-taught.
She studied spatial design at university,
but wanted to make something with moving parts for her graduation piece.
And, this is how she landed on woodworking.
What was your graduation piece?
I made a wooden mechanism about this
size. You turn cogwheels with a handle.
Various mechanisms move balls around,
over steps.
All made with wood.
I really don't have a mechanical mind.
So the idea of moving cogwheels
so simply was really fascinating.
And they look like flowers, right?
It felt like a fairy tale!
At what point did you start
focusing on sound?
Well, wood is used in xylophones.
I was following a theme of something
you could see, feel and hear.
It's fun to interact and make sound.
I wanted something I'd have fun
playing with myself.
That's how I landed on cogwheels.
That piece is still being exhibited.
- I'd love to see it!
- Thank you.
- Is that possible?
- Of course!
We head to the exhibition where Tsuchiya's work is on display.
- Here we are.
- Cogwheels!
- Cogwheels.
- And sound.
It's really big!
May I give it a turn?
Here goes.
I love that sound!
It's so charming.
- Try crouching down.
- Sure.
These suspended balls hit
something, right?
But what?
Oh, I see it! That's so fun.
The six large gears play
six notes in a scale.
When the balls hit the mallet,
it sounds like a xylophone.
I see!
The balls can be moved
to create new tunes.
Oh, I get it!
- You can switch them around.
- Right.
A family came to see the exhibition as we were filming.
It was so nice to see a mother and daughter bonding over this musical machine!
Did you see how the sound is made?
Yeah.
They hit it as they turn.
Oh, back there? I didn't see!
Why do they sound different?
Different sticks.
What do you mean?
- Different types.
- They are?
Kids have a totally different
approach to the work from adults.
It really inspires conversation
and communication, doesn't it?
I really hope that sense of
fun and wonder lingers.
That the families and friends who
enjoy my work become part of it.
I'd love it to become a tool
for inspiring communication.
Modern creators are exploring all kinds of new sound designs in wood.
Their beautiful tones remind us to cherish the natural world,
and the welcoming spaces that inspire conversation.