Plants Like Music, Too

Botanical Vibrations Making Musical Wonders and the Tunes Plants Respond to

Imagine if you could not only visibly enjoy the same music as your plants but also relax to melodies from their natural vibrations.

From backyard flowers to dense forests, sonification has taken natural rhythms from spiritual slang to practical application, introducing listening in on the botanical world in astonishing new ways. With modern tools, anyone can not only tap into live ambient frequencies but also see plants’ music “preferences” through measurable growth.

Sound is measured by wavelength in hertz (Hz), producing different vibrations with ranging pressures and frequencies which are the number of sound waves released per second. Humans can hear between 20 to 20,000 Hz whereas most daily environments are within 250 to 6,000 Hz.

In 2011, electronic musician and environmental advocate Joe Patitucci channeled his passions to launch Data Garden, a zero-waste record label where each album included download codes printed on seed-embedded paper. When planted, these cards allowed listeners to grow a bed of flowers while enjoying their music.

The year later, Patitucci appeared at an installation for The Philadelphia Museum of Art where he premiered music created with plant’s electrical signals. By 2016 he refined the process to launch Data Garden’s first consumer device, the MIDI Sprout.

Inspiration for Patitucci stemmed from FBI interrogator Cleve Backster who in the 1970s explored biofeedback by connecting a polygraph machine to plants in hopes of reading emotional reactivity.

Covering the TED2019 Conference, TED Fellows writer Karen Frances Eng detailed how the device will also output a frequency when receptors are placed on a person or animal, providing a stream of the subject’s biorhythm. According to Patitucci, high focus can allow holding a single note or a pause altogether.

“It’s very similar to technology used in a lie detector. If you imagine the wave in a lie-detector readout, we translate that into pitch in a musical scale. Changes in the waves also control various textural aspects of the sounds, or ‘instruments,’” said Patitucci to the TED Blog

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The pocket-size tool released primarily for artists nurtured the new genre of “plant music”. By placing receptors on living plants and plugging them into the synthesizer, frequencies are digitized and passed through filters of electronic instruments, forming a chorus of sporadic notes direct from the foliage.

Data Garden’s refined PlantWave was released in 2019 finally allowing the masses to meet the music of nature, soon reaching social media to become a sensation. Wide reviews paired with Patitucci’s video tests online showed the ground-breaking potential of these devices.

Oftentimes, the results can be very predictable. Whereas cacti usually produce deep electronic wave textures, the leaf of a rose can produce smooth, meditative and enchanting rhythms. Also displayed by a customer video review was a dying plant, releasing only a single deep flaring sound, but after water, sunlight and obvious repair produced a steady uplifting frequency once again.

Plant Wabe TikTok Page

Plant Wave Device

This is related to the fact that much of the variation in sound outputs comes from the amount of water passing through the plant, fluctuating frequently when going through photosynthesis. These variations are what are translated into sound and appear as “impulses” from the plant.

Patitucci noted to NPR that during his leadership of yoga and meditation sessions featuring plant music, he often sees how the music can adapt to variations in light, time of day, oxygen levels, and even movements within the room.

Even three years after its launch, PlantWaves experienced multiple sell-outs, alongside accumulating millions of online interactions. Patitucci’s own TikTok account answers comment questions as plantwave.com provides countless other testimonials, samples, and information.

Such devices have since been adopted by other industries like fitness studios and spas, but are also being used as treatment. Plant Music Therapy promotes its Ginko device and speaker for at-home healing and enjoyment.

Natural frequencies however have long been demonstrated to facilitate therapy by aligning with the body's own rhythms to promote a state of balance. The frequency 528 Hz for instance, often labeled the "healing frequency," is believed to resonate with DNA repair processes and function.

Studies from the National Library of Medicine showed that playing rats 528 Hz at 100 dB volume not only increased testosterone production, which helps regulate memory and many key brain functions, but also lowered P450 aromatase gene expression that converts testosterone into estrogen. Prolonged exposure indicated a measurable decrease in anxious behaviors.

This natural “healing frequency” continues to impact the natural world since bees when pollinating flowers buzz at the exact frequency of 528 Hz to facilitate pollination according to the Nature Healing Society.

In a study by the California Academy of Sciences, plants accustomed to hearing the vibrations of caterpillar feeding sounds made more mustard oils, used to defensively expel caterpillars, over plants in silence exposed to caterpillars the same way.

When playing wind and environmental sounds, plants didn’t produce the same safeguards leading researchers to believe they can distinguish the vibrations of general environmental sounds from threats with a yet unidentified organ, possibly able to be partnered with.

Driven by agricultural needs witnessed during his Korean military service, Dan Carlson launched thirty-four years of research at the University of Minnesota’s library, particularly in plant physiology. Carlson holds that “green music”, derived from natural sounds like birds singing or leaves rustling, still increases both growth and yield.

DanCarlsonSonicBloom.com

Credited to playing green music, Carlson’s esteemed Purple Passion, a houseplant usually growing to around a foot, shot to over 1,300 ft to earn him a Guinness World Record.

Furthering the case for plants being able to “hear” is their response to diverse music genres. In a report by the library of the University of Missouri Kansas City, past research has suggested plants are stimulated by different styles.

“In a 1962 study conducted by Dr. T. C. Singh, a botanist from India’s Annamalai University, it was discovered that balsam plants responded well to both classical Western and raga music, seeing an increase of about 20% height and 72% biomass when exposed to the music. Plants respond and adjust their actions according to frequencies just as humans do.”

Similarly, the report credited waltz and classical music more recently with promoting the germination, or growth from seed to sprout, of alfalfa seeds while elements like scale and rhythmic complexity affected root growth.

Findings like these have inspired artists like Ann Chase to compose "A Chant for Plants," using spoken word, piano, and flute alongside Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie #3," forming a classical piece crafted to nurture growth. In a survey of 1,000 gardeners, conducted by music licensing company PPL PRS, 63% reported playing music for their plants.

While plants generally grow the best to jazz and classical music, roses seem to present a particular interest in violin while chrysanthemums can be strengthened with just 30 minutes of music exposure.

As researchers delve deeper into sonification and plants, unveiling the harmony between plants and music, the potential for therapeutic and other applications is growing also. Still, these discoveries are helping to paint a fuller picture of how connected nature truly is.

But to be able to listen to nature in this way, we must truly listen. Especially being able to measure plants’ health in new ways, we must embrace a renewed commitment to environmental stewardship, ensuring the opportunities of this enchanting symbiosis for generations to come.