Holm Oak

Music for Trees

Regents Park, London, UK

Download the walk. Press START. Put the phone in your pocket. Look up. Look at the trees which surround you. As you walk, sounds will come. As you wander, sounds will change and layer. Then, later, have a look at your phone. The trees you are beneath will be identified, as will the creator of the music that you’re listening to. Explore the app. Other trees can be identified by selecting them. This is a soundscape of geo-located music created for some of the trees of Regents Park. The app will play music created by students from the Royal Academy of Music, their compositions an interpretation of the trees’ qualities both as individual specimens and as members of species. Walk beneath tree foliage on a sunny day; the leaves glow shades of green with the backlight and shimmer in the wind. Look at the shape and movement of leaf types, the quality and depth of the greens in the foliage. A small tree stands alone, reaching for the sky. A large tree dominates its environment, the scale and spread of the branches and the evident strength of the structure inspiring awe. Elsewhere, a group of trees might have layered, low, interlinking canopies which create an enclosed, intimate environment. Music for Trees is a soundscape derived from this visual experience. The composers have been tasked with identifying and giving sound to the myriad qualities of trees, through an understanding of the characteristics of the different species and individual specimens. Each tree has its musical signature. Stand beneath a freestanding tree and the sound will play on its own. However, where canopies overlap, so will the sounds. Where many canopies overlap, multiple music sources may create a layering of sound, phasing effects, echoes and multiple shifting harmonies, an aural equivalent of the visual experience. The project was generated by an arboriculturist who has been working with the trees of Regents Park for the last five years, inspecting trees for their condition and health, but of course responding to them in other ways too. Being amongst trees makes all of us feel better, in simple and profound ways. The Royal Academy of Music were approached with this idea and we hope they’ve been inspired by this encounter with the natural world as we hope you enjoy the work they’ve created, share it with your friends, and learn something.

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Music for Trees

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