21 Balançoires

An exercise of musical cooperation, 21 Balançoires (21 Swings) is a brilliant Montreal public art project by Canadian design collective Daily Tours Les Jours.

Exploring the topic of cooperation, which states that we can achieve greater things together than alone, they created a giant collective instrument made out of 21 musical swings. While each set of colored swing was pre-recorded with notes from a different instrument, with people able create music by swinging, when working cooperatively, the swings could produce much more complex melodies than when each person swung alone. As the designers explain:

Each swing in motion triggers different notes, all the swings together compose a piece, but some sounds only emerge from cooperation. The project stimulates ownership of the new space, bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds, and creating a place for playing and hanging out in the middle of the city centre. 

And if you're curious about what this looks, and sounds like in action, check out the video below!



21 Balançoires (21 Swings) from Daily Tous Les Jours on Vimeo.

(Via Colossal)