Designing a child’s first encounter with sound - Design

MATERIAL ORCHESTRA
2023

Overview

How do children discover sound?

Yamaha set out to design an experience for children to encounter sound through various materials. The setting was 81st Street Studio, the new interactive learning space for children at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Yamaha Design Laboratory was responsible for planning and designing the studio’s Interactive Musical Station.
We created six hands-on exhibits we named the “Material Orchestra.” In these exhibits, children create sound by interacting with wood, metal, air, and other materials and elements, naturally learning how string, percussion, and wind instruments work as well as the principles of producing sound.
However, we did not design the Material Orchestra solely to impart knowledge. We aimed to create an experience where children move their hands, listen openly, and repeatedly ask “Why?” as they explore the world of sound. Sound is invisible, but when children touch the materials, feel the vibrations, and experience the moment that their own actions produce sound, they feel a sense of awe and the joy of creating something. We believe that experiencing this again and again is sure to pique children’s curiosity and nurture their sensibilities.
81st Street Studio is a creative learning space for children. We designed this experience with the hope that the exhibit would serve as a place for as many children as possible to discover the fascinating relationship between sound and materials and experience the joy of exploring on their own.

Works

Marimba Woods

A comforting sound comes out when you hit the sound boards made of various types of wood, lined up like a forest. Each board is tuned to the correct pitch, but when you tap it, you’ll notice that, depending on the wood type, the sound characteristics and the relationship between their size (length) and scale vary. This shows that each wood type has different and unique properties, such as hardness and density. While enjoying playing, the player will gradually notice and be attracted to the wonder of the material.

Designer: Masaharu Ono/Yamaha Design Laboratory

Standing String

This instrument is made of a single string on a tree trunk-like body rising vertically. The position of the finger on the string alters the string’s length and pressing the pedal changes the tightness of the string which in turn changes the sound. Using their whole body, the player can experience and understand the principles of one of the most basic musical instruments, a string, which produces sound by vibration.

Designer: Masaharu Ono/Yamaha Design Laboratory

Woodpecker Chime

By pulling a string and releasing it, a hammer strikes the chime, imitating the way a woodpecker taps on wood. Chimes are scattered across the ceiling of the room, and each bird plays a different scale, allowing you to enjoy the various sounds and movements of the birds spread throughout the space as if you were in a forest.

Designer: Masafumi Futo/Yamaha Design Laboratory

Wall Castanet

This is a huge interactive sound-making wall, filled with lots of castanets. The sound varies depending on the type of wood used for the castanet, as does the scale which changes depending on the size of the ring cut out from the wall. The player can enjoy the bright sound of castanets while playing with their whole body. This large wall full of castanets will spark children’s curiosity, inviting them to learn how the different materials and the size of the cutouts make different sounds.

Designer: Masafumi Futo/Yamaha Design Laboratory

Sound Surfboard

This balance board style toy plays the sound of waves when you ride it. Small steel balls inside move and rub against the form, producing white noise-like sounds. From strong waves to quiet ripples, the expression of sound changes depending on how you move your body. Inspired by an old-fashioned Japanese sound effect technique that uses adzuki beans and a colander to reproduce the sound of waves, we aimed to create something where children can naturally enjoy making sound through play.

Designer: Natsumi Kobayashi/Yamaha Design Laboratory

Bellows Pipe Organ

This pipe-like organ makes sound by pushing air through orderly arranged tubes. Air is pumped out by the bellows on the base, and sound is produced using the air vibration produced by the tubes. You can learn how the pitch changes depending on the length of the tubes and enjoy the overlap of notes played by pumping air into multiple tubes simultaneously. Through playing, you can understand the sound making principles of a flue pipe similar to a recorder and chord mechanics.

Designer: Kazuya Washio/Yamaha Design Laboratory

81st Street Studio

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Process

While considering what children could learn from the Material Orchestra, we made a conscious effort to ensure that our creations would be more than learning tools. We used sketches and models to develop our ideas while respecting the special surprises and discoveries that only an art museum can offer. Rather than relying on technology, we crafted the experience to create wonder and curiosity through the everyday physical phenomena of vibrations, resonance, and airflow.

Related Information

Permanent exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art