Thailand’s biggest band: The Elephant Orchestra (video)
Former timber work elephants in Thailand have formed an orchestra playing traditional northern Thai music.
Yes. The Thai Elephant Orchestra has been assembled and trained by composer David Sulzer, a neuroscientist at Columbia University in the US. He taught the elephants to play on oversized marimbas, drums, xylophones and other instruments and sometimes trumpet along.
Sukler said he discovered the musicality of the animals as he found out that they like to listen to music.
Today, the Thai Elephant Orchestra has already produced three albums that sound like Thai music that is played in Buddhist temples in the north.
The elephant ensemble consists of as many as sixteen elephants that play on specially designed heavy-duty musical instruments at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang. The orchestra uses the Thai five-note scale by individually improvising on the instruments with the only human interaction being cues as to when to start and stop. Another type is compositional and requires mahouts to teach or train the elephants to perform tunes.
Former timber work elephants in Thailand have formed an orchestra playing traditional northern Thai music. Yes. The Thai Elephant Orchestra has been assembled and trained by composer David Sulzer, a neuroscientist at Columbia University in the US. He taught the elephants to play on oversized marimbas, drums, xylophones and other instruments and sometimes trumpet along. Sukler said he discovered the musicality of the animals as he found out that they like to listen to music. Today, the Thai Elephant Orchestra has already produced three albums that sound like Thai music that is played in Buddhist temples in the north. The...
Former timber work elephants in Thailand have formed an orchestra playing traditional northern Thai music.
Yes. The Thai Elephant Orchestra has been assembled and trained by composer David Sulzer, a neuroscientist at Columbia University in the US. He taught the elephants to play on oversized marimbas, drums, xylophones and other instruments and sometimes trumpet along.
Sukler said he discovered the musicality of the animals as he found out that they like to listen to music.
Today, the Thai Elephant Orchestra has already produced three albums that sound like Thai music that is played in Buddhist temples in the north.
The elephant ensemble consists of as many as sixteen elephants that play on specially designed heavy-duty musical instruments at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang. The orchestra uses the Thai five-note scale by individually improvising on the instruments with the only human interaction being cues as to when to start and stop. Another type is compositional and requires mahouts to teach or train the elephants to perform tunes.
