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There Is Music In Life, and in Fish [video]

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


The Quiet Ensemble sees music everywhere in nature.

Quintetto promo from Quiet ensemble on Vimeo.


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“Quintetto” is an installation based on the study of casual movement of objects or living creatures used as input for the production of sounds. The basic concept is to reveal what we call “invisible concerts” of everyday life. The vertical movements of the 5 fishes in the aquariums is captured by a video camera, that translates (through a computer software) their movements in digital sound signals. We’ll have 5 different musical instruments creating a totally unexpected live concert.

(h/t Laughing Squid, and Enrique Gutierrez for sending this my way)

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

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