Culture: Music: Source
Give Dolphins Pianos   (+25, -6)  [vote for, against]
Pretty clever those dolphins.

Submerge fully functional watertight grand pianos complete with floating Hi-Fi speakers.

Whilst the grand pianos are suspended underwater via a marine line and winch, the dolphins can press and nudge the waterproof keys with their snouts.

The musical notes can be heard through the Hi-Fi systems speakers above and below water.

Pod orchestra.
-- skinflaps, Jan 25 2005

(?) Bonobos got rhythm http://www.asp.org/...363&confEventID=347
[robinism, Jan 26 2005]

some animals make music... http://www.youtube....watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8
[pashute, Nov 12 2013]

Here's a bird singing: "here kitty kitty!" http://www.youtube....watch?v=FA0wAheWjYw
[pashute, Nov 12 2013]

And then again, we may get the music wrong http://www.youtube....watch?v=Q5JQ9ab2Cbg
[pashute, Nov 12 2013]

Elephant Orchestra http://www.bbc.co.u...s/magazine-24400364
Admittedly elephants aren't a lot like dolphins, and nor are drums a lot like pianos. [Wrongfellow, Nov 17 2013]

Zoo gives animals musical instruments https://www.youtube...watch?v=Gyb77SNs7fE
[Voice, Jun 02 2021]

Dolphin Libraries Dolphin_20Chatroom_20Libraries
That could record your music ;) and then, start creating dolphin cultural legacy [Mindey, Jun 04 2021]

[+] What kind of music would the dolphins play?
-- pooduck, Jan 25 2005


Handel's Water Music
-- hippo, Jan 25 2005


Make theremin style hoops for dolphins to jump through, at watermammal parks, for nightshows.
-- calum, Jan 25 2005


give dolphins thumbs and they could rule the world.
-- dentworth, Jan 25 2005


You could get some Octopi on drums.
-- RichieRich, Jan 25 2005


Would an infinite number of dolphins on an infinite number of underwater pianos eventually compose the complete works of Beethoven?
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 25 2005


//theremin style hoops// I like that, especially if you could have three or more jumping through the hoops simultaneously.
-- skinflaps, Jan 25 2005


Between this and my "Fish Pens" idea, the reef could become a regular artistic hub.
-- shapu, Jan 25 2005


//Pretty clever those dolphins.//
I am led to believe that Killer Whales are have a bit more savvy than your average dolphin. If this idea were to be applied to the Killer Whale then you may have a 'Pod Orcastra'.
-- gnomethang, Jan 25 2005


Similarly, these pianos must have their key to hammer to strings mechanism geared so as not to allow the intervening water to deaden the effects of the dolphine virtuosity.
-- calum, Jan 25 2005


Fish?
-- Worldgineer, Jan 25 2005


I suppose it's better than giving a monkey a loaded gun.
-- ljanz, Jan 26 2005


"...as not to allow the intervening water to deaden the effects..."

Oh! Just slightly.
-- bristolz, Jan 26 2005


//I often wonder what triggered an appreciation of music in humans//

That is something I've asked myself since I have memory. It's so interesting that it was almost mandatory for every culture (even those isolated from other cultures) to create music as a way of communication.

I like to think that music is atractive to people because the rythm reminds us of our heart beats; the music our own body creates, the song of life.

I'm not so sure, but I think the first human expressions through music were percusions (did I just make up that word?, sorry, I'm too lazy to check), and everything else evolved from there. It makes sense to me.
-- Pericles, Jan 26 2005


//Would an infinite number of dolphins on an infinite number of underwater pianos eventually compose the complete works of Beethoven?//
Of course not. Not all of Ludwig's work was for the piano.
-- Aq_Bi, Jan 26 2005


Chopin, maybe.
-- bristolz, Jan 26 2005


<clears throat> Yes, of course. <edges towards the emergency exit>
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 26 2005


Or, for a more brutal quality, Liszt.
-- bristolz, Jan 26 2005


I like the idea of giving to the dolphins! When I'm on the coast I give the dolphins everything... empty beer cans, six pack rings, empty pretzle bags... you know they are smart, they can appreciate that kind of stuff.
-- cuckoointherye, Jan 26 2005


If the piano doesn't sound right under water, just hire a piano tuna.
-- robinism, Jan 26 2005


The underwater piano bar for dolphins is baked, but the dolphins only got to listen. (see link)

"Wiese took a hint from Aristotle when he said, "dolphins careth for man and enjoyeth his music" and had Steven Gagne (a rock sound engineer) design an 'underwater piano'... The piano was powered from the exhaust air of the scuba tank. It went through a Honner Melodica and was amplified with a Navy speaker. That way the dolphins could see how the music was being made."
-- robinism, Jan 26 2005


Lots of animal calls have a regular rhythm. Gorillas beat their chests. Bonobos drum (see link).
-- robinism, Jan 26 2005


IT, my dog used to sing along to the eastenders theme quite melodically - better than me anyway :)
-- po, Jan 26 2005


I think it would be much cooler to design a new instrument based on the behaviors and capabilities of dolphins rather than give them an instrument designed for humans.

I do wonder about that though - what do animals think of music? What kind of art exists in the world that we're not aware of?
-- Joolin, Jul 29 2010


vuvuzelas
-- FlyingToaster, Jul 29 2010


blow hole
-- gnomethang, Aug 01 2010


2 fries your question presupposes that monkeys and dolphins have some degree of randomness in their actions, else you may as well ask if an infinite number of humans were to type whether they would come up with the same thing. Furthermore you don't need two infinities. Either the temporal infinity: one dolphin playing forever or the quantitative infinity: an infinite number of dolphins playing for the length of the song will suffice to be sure to play any music that can be played on a piano including any chords that can be made by misusing a piano such as piano-top percussion, stringed instruments that could be made from a piano, and other sounds. Taking that last note to an extreme if there is an infinite amount of time and there is the slightest chance that a molecule will spontaneously decay and/or turn into another then you can have a whole dolphin orchestra including the brass section.

okay okay I'm going
-- Voice, Aug 02 2010


Dolphins don't have hands. Maybe an instrument we play with a couple of fingers or a fist. Drum? Or that thing the blue man group plays based on position.

"No one you see is smarter than he. And you know Flipper lives in a world full of won-der... lying there under... under the sea."
-- popbottle, Nov 12 2013


Give pianos dolphins.

A set of grand pianos with the chassis open and filled with water, these dolphins can jump from tank to tank, while a fan blows the hair on the pianist (forgot his name... he was famous in the 80's for his kitsch music)
-- pashute, Nov 12 2013


Richard Clayderman (Klaiderman)
-- pashute, Nov 12 2013


Give 'em violins, and then let the fuckers try to pretend they're as smart as we are.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 12 2013


One of my food sources IS sole.

And we've known that for a long time anyway - Back in the sixties James Brown said " I know you've got soul - if you didn't you wouldn't be in here ! "
-- normzone, Nov 15 2013


Thank cod we haven't descended into another round of fish puns.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 15 2013


Yeah, there's been tuna many of those.
-- normzone, Nov 15 2013


The sturge to pun is a bass instinct that must be stopped. Don't get hooked on that potent drug. My cousin lost everyling in his personal battle against it. just tighten your loosejaw and hang on through the worst of it.
-- Voice, Nov 16 2013


The dolphins' piano music might not be very coherent to humans since they have a dimension on us, in an acoustic realm. A person with musical synesthesia might have interesting descriptions due to the added subconscious processing .
-- wjt, Nov 24 2013


This brings back childhood memories of lying under the grand piano and watching the inner workings, while my sister played and sang opera.
-- blissmiss, Jul 20 2023



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