
TREE MUSIC
Taking a longer-lens view of our life helps us better understand our relationship to the larger natural world. We ourselves are pure unadulteraded nature, whether we know it or not. To think life is only about our outlooks, attitudes, desires, acquisitions and politics is normal because they are isolated from the real world, which is outside our walls, halls and windows.

I am a nature boy, fortunate to have grown up poor on the outskirts of Wadsworth, Ohio with my twin, Kevin, and four other smart and hilarious brothers. Dad was gone, his grand world having utterly fallen apart to be raised by our amazing Mom, now a minimum wage line-worker in an Akron factory. The boredom from not being able to afford anything was always short lived and our tiny home vibrated with an abundance of creativity. Every day of the year we biked to work our separate newspaper routes, walking miles from door to door. Spring, summer and fall weekends were spent in a nearby 10 acre wood and a gorge. I was lucky to grow up with my nose in the earth, my heart in the sky and my imaginations fired up by Charles Ives, Stan Kenton, giant chords on the school’s piano, Tolkien, science-fiction, the occult, astronomy, ancient history and Kevin’s and my brilliant school friends.
Sometimes I found my self without looking. During unplanned, still and timeless moments, a spirit bloomed up like a golden light in my belly. Maybe it’d be in the empty house watching mote of dust float in a sunbeam, or, comfortably laying on my back under a tree in the wood, looking up – Slowly filling me up with a bright tranquility. I felt and Knew the connectedness of the natural world from those experiences.
I don’t think I would have received that gift without spending so much time outside, like if we had our own bedrooms, or didn’t have to work after school to buy what we wanted. I would have succumbed to the same distractions that more stuff in the house could have provided, like most everyone else.
But, such profound experiences take up permanent residence in the heart: never to be forgotten. Hence my becoming a composer instead of a scientist. After retiring from Full Sail University in 2021, my friend Rick Breden invited me to a group session with the revolutionary clinical psychologist Don Wood. Don and I soon hit it off, and he introduced me to space weather factors and other frequencies which affecting human consciousness. One of the papers he shared was by Dr. Rollin McCraty of the HeartMath Institute. Following his research led me to a trove of research about other measurable relationships with nature.
Project Synopsis
I will design and create portable electronic devices to accurately sonify trees, authentically reflecting their unique characteristics. The electrical potentials within every tree are dynamic and influenced by a combination of internal physiological processes and external environmental conditions. Factors such as sap flow, water content, temperature, and measurement location would all supply data to be converted into sound, turning invisible, natural processes into something perceivable and artistically meaningful.
Currently Proposed list of Measurement Parameters
Sonification would use the voltages measured from several pairs of attached electrodes. Each voltage would serve as the control to its own sine wave oscillator, amplifier or filter using standard FM synthesis. Since various tree species have different measurement ranges, a group of similar sized maples in a stand, for instance, should exhibit a similar ‘voice’ at the same time.
NOTE: Trees will not be harmed when being sonified. Sap flow changes in the phloem/xylem might correspond to measurable electrical signals influenced by nycthemeral cycles, but no electrodes will be driven into the flesh of the tree to obtain such data.
1 • Electrical Potentials: Surface electrodes on the tree’s bark is the simplest, most direct measurement. These voltages vary by species, commonly ranging from 10 to 2000 mV. In storm conditions, voltage potentials can exceed hundreds or even thousands of volts. Electrodes would be placed vertically, higher up and lower down the tree’s trunk or branches. The lower electrode could be driven into the near ground with a copper stake.
2 • Capacitance or Resistance: Measuring capacitance or resistance of the tree tissue alongside voltage could provide additional layers of data. Changes here might indicate hydration levels or ionic flows within the tree. This might be accomplished with metal plates (could be metal fabric) placed on the opposite sides of the trunk or bough with a LCR testing device or circuit.
3. Leverage Circadian Rhythms
Trees exhibit distinct rhythms influenced by light availability. For example, stomatal opening and closing (a diurnal process) impacts the flow of water and ions. This might be tracked and translated it into sound dynamics, where mornings might have one pattern and evenings another.
4. Environmental Inputs as Modulators
• External factors like light intensity, temperature, and humidity affect tree signals. These could be secondary modulators in the sound synthesis circuit. For instance:
• A photoresistor could track sunlight and shift tonal characteristics based on light levels.
• A temperature sensor could adjust pitch or timbre to reflect changes in ambient temperature.
5. Multi-layered Sonification
• Combine real-time voltage data with other real-time factors to generate complex soundscapes. For example:
• Voltage → Pitch: Direct sonification of voltage ranges to pitch.
• Capacitance → Timbre: A timbral shift based on hydration or resistance.
• Environmental Modulation: Humidity or light data to control volume or effects like delay/reverb.
6. Adaptive Synthesis Techniques
• Use probabilistic or generative synthesis techniques to create variability in the soundscape. For instance, your circuit could respond to tree signals within defined rules (voltage thresholds) but add randomness or “behavior” to emulate the natural variability of life.
7. Incorporate Nycthemeral Patterns
• Since I am considering nycthemeral rhythms, I could design the circuit to adapt to day-night cycles. For instance:
• Daytime: Bright, rapid, high-frequency sounds.
• Nighttime: Slower, darker, low-frequency tones.
8. Data Visualization Integration
• Alongside sonification, I could add LED visual feedback to your circuit. A simple RGB LED can shift in color based on the voltage range or time of day, creating a multisensory experience.
9. Experiment with Biofeedback Loops
• I could also create an interactive system where sound generated from the tree impacts its environment. For example:
• Emit sound back to the tree at specific frequencies to see if there’s a measurable response.
• Use light pulses driven by sound to stimulate photosynthesis or affect stomatal behavior.
10. Portability and Connectivity
• The system is to be small and portable, so, perhaps I should:
• Explore Bluetooth or LoRa to transmit real-time tree data to a more robust synthesis engine (e.g., a laptop or Raspberry Pi for richer sound possibilities).
• Include an SD card slot to log data for later analysis.
By capturing and translating these natural fluctuations into sound, I would create (just reveal, actually) a living symphony that reflects the intricate and dynamic lives of trees. This project has potential to inspire and connect people to the natural world in a profound way. Imagine a grove of trees, each contributing its unique rhythm to a collective soundscape, creating a dynamic, living symphony. Every group of trees would exhibit a collective sound that would be unique to the location, climate, soil and tree types included.
“Plants talking in real time” and “How do plants communicate?” both describes chemical and sonic relationships that also apply to trees, which are also plants.