Wow wow wow. Two incredible sound experiences at two royal gardens... I was at Wisley gardens outside of London the other day and had an experience I will never forget, WE LISTENED TO THE INSIDES OF A TREE!!!! Amazing. So freaking amazing. What we were listening to was the movement of the tree and the water rushing up the xylem tubes with little air bubbles popping as it went. (That’s how a tree moves water from its roots to its leaves.) It was like listening to the heartbeat of a tree!!!
Alex Matcalf, pictured above (@tree_listening), invented the special microphone that was used. The sound changes depending on how much the tree is drinking that day. We were told that on that overcast day it was probably drinking about 100 liters of water vs 300 on a sunny day. The rushing and popping sounds would be quicker if it had been drinking more but as it was, it was the most soothing white noise ever. What an incredible opportunity to be so intimate with a tree. I wonder if different trees have different tones? The second sound experience was at Kew in the children’s garden and involved the ancient practice of humming into a hollowed out hole in a stone. The stone at Kew was about 8 feet tall with wells carved into two faces. After reading the sign I did not understand what the hell it was but I tried it anyways and HOLY SHIT, it was so cool! I was just standing there with my head in the hole humming a simple scale and then I hit this note and suddenly it was like the vibrations magnified tenfold and I could feel them throughout my entire body. What a trip! I’m going to look into the ancient practice of humming a bit more because WOW. Anyone know anything else about this?
The world is a magical place y’all! We gotta take care of it!
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