This record player reads tree rings instead of LPs

Artists often say they can find music in everything, particularly nature. The question they often face is how to get the general public to hear the same tune that they do. One German artist, Bartholomäus Traubeck, seems to have hit on one straightforward method to accomplish this with some clever technology. Using a digital camera and some software, the artist has built a unique record player that spins cross-sections of trees instead of vinyl and translates the rings into piano music.

The record player, which Traubeck titled "Years," has a fairly simple setup. A turntable was modified so the tonearm would hold a digital camera and light in place of the usual needle. The turntable rotates slices of wood as if they were LPs, while the camera scans the rings for their thickness, growth rate, texture, and overall color tone. A computer using some custom software maps that data to a musical scale, which is then played using piano notes. Traubeck claims the music follows some clear rules due to the programming, but that each tree still gives a very different sound.

The result is a haunting tune that could be mistaken for the work of an human composer; albeit a somewhat off-beat one. Check out the video below to see the "Years" player in action and hear what sort of music a tree can produce: