This 10 Ft Tall ‘Singing Ringing Tree’ Sound Sculpture in England Produces Music Every Time The Wind Blows!

We are sure the above picture makes you think that it’s a cluster of steel plates, right? Well, it’s a steel tree (yes!) in the United Kingdom called the Singing Ringing Tree. And what will completely blow your minds is the fact that the entire tree turns into a musical instrument when the wind blows! This 10 feet (3 meters) long tree is made from 320 galvanised steel pipes and creates its own music as the wind blows. Read on to know more about this unique sound sculpture.

All About The Singing Ringing Tree

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It is one of the unique musical sculpture that overlooks Burnley from its position high above the town on Crown Point. It’s a 3-meter tall wind-powered artistic sound sculpture made of steel pipes. If you look closely, the pipes form the shape of a bent tree. Completed in the year 2006, the Singing Ringing Tree is a part of a project created by the East Lancashire Environment Arts Network and set up to erect a series of Panopticons (a space providing a panoramic view). 

The sculpture is an asymmetrical structure incorporating 320 pieces of galvanized steel pipe divided into 21 layers. The circular steel rings of varying sizes define each layer and support a plane of parallel tubes. 

Who Constructed It? 

The Singing Ringing Tree was constructed by award-winning architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu. In 2007, the sculpture won the National Award of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for architectural excellence. Later after ten years in March 2017, a second Singing Ringing Tree was constructed on the outskirts of Austin, Texas in the United States in the rural area of a small town called Manor. 

How Does The Tree Produce Music? 

As the wind passes through the lengths of the different pipes, it plays chords. And each time you sit under the Singing Ringing Tree, looking out through the wind, you will hear a different song altogether. 

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The energy of the wind produces a slightly discordant and penetrating choral sound covering a range of several octaves. Some of the pipes are structural and visual elements, while others have been cut across their width that enables the sound.

Ever since its installation, this unique soundscape has attracted a considerable tourist following. It is the perfect sight-seeing option for a windy day!

(Featured Image Source: Pinterest)