Designing under the influence (of music)

I just saw a video in Facebook from a tree designed in Brasil by Felipe Dallorto. In the background there was some great music from a group called Swing Republic. Seeing the tree while listening to the music immediately influenced the way I saw the tree. It occurred to me that styling a tree under the influence of different styles of music would probably affect the results. I will definitely add music to my bonsai practice to help guide my design. No metal (that I don’t like) or classical (that I tend to listen to most of the time, particularly while driving) but stuff like Klezmer or Swing or Jazz definitely. Japanese/Zen music is nice but would steer my design on a different direction than that I want to go… :slight_smile: and to complete this line of thought, music (and potentially light and the setup of the environment) are tools that definitely should be explored in exhibitions.

Hi @rafi,
Definitely. Music will have an effect on your state of mind and therefore the pace of work.
Do you think some species or styles could have an association to differ musical genres? Mabey contorted hazel with Jazz, or yew with rock?
I have also been thinking about setting the defining branch. Perhaps this is like finding a riff or a melody or a beat for a tree.

1 Like

When I tattoo, the music I choose to enjoy absolutely 100% directly influences the way I work. The speed in which I move my machine, how long I pull my lines, whether I work slow or fast over large areas of skin, or even how gentle I’m being. Whether it’s progressive metal, or calm, instrumental beats such as Bonobo, I choose my music very carefully knowing the subconscious effect it’s going to take. This is also true for when I paint, customize shoes and of course style trees. I personally work very slow and methodical when it comes to my trees. I’m in no rush, at all, and my music reflects this. Along with influencing the physical aspect of how I create art, I believe music can have a strong impact on the visual design aspect of whatever it is your creating. This phenomenon undoubtedly presents itself more in my tattoos, drawing and painting but over the last year I’ve noticed it in my trees. The effect is limited however based solely on the fact that with bonsai were presented with a very rigid set of limitations. The music can really only impact what branches we keep or lose, where we place them and how we shape the foliage. Obviously it’s a little more in depth than that, but believe it or not, I’m trying to refrain from writing a novel…so yes! I absolutely agree that the music we choose to enjoy while we create can directly impact the end result, as well as the path we take to get there. I believe there’s a very broad range of how strong or obvious this influence can be, but absolutely, 100% I’ve experienced this time and time again.

1 Like