I’m someone who will sit down and tell myself, “Alright, I’ll start doing my assignments after 5 minutes of watching some YouTube videos”, and end up on the weird part of YouTube. However, whilst spending my time perusing through Youtube, I stumbled across this gem of a video. In the video, YouTuber Sami Elu is playing a beautiful piece of art with a hand– crafted instrument referred to as a chopstick piano
What Does a Chopstick Piano Sound Like? – “For My People.”
I too, at first couldn’t believe the title. I mean I did once see a man playing Bruno Mars’ 24 Magic using carrots, but a piano made out of chopsticks seems much more unique and unbelievable. Hearing its mesmerizing tune forced me to do some more research into the origins of the chopstick piano.
Behind the scenes
Growing up learning piano and music, Sami wanted an instrument that resembled the sound of a piano. Being a street performer, he wanted a piano that was lighter and more portable, and would sound much less like a digital keyboard which he disliked.
Further inspired by his life in Japan for 9 years, he calls his masterpiece a mixture of koto, a Japanese traditional instrument, and a piano, by combining 29 strings and chopsticks to create whatever tune he desires.
Creating a musical instrument out of ordinary materials is in fact quite common. This might sound hard to believe, but I’ve seen instruments made out of garbage.
What made this video so special is the fact that a utensil so closely related to eating, broke its stereotype and transformed into something completely different. In particular, this video transformed my perception in music as it proved music can be created through anything.