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Touch Wood in a Japanese Forest with Bach

By Trent Gilliss, senior editor | Saturday, March 31, 2012 - 7:01am

Go to the woods of Kyushu, Japan. Engineer a massive xylophone (or is it a marimba?) to run down the slope of a forested hill. Take a wooden ball, place it at the top of said instrument, and push it. What do you get? Bach’s treatment of a traditional church hymn! Namely, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

And, all this for a Japanese commercial for a kidney-shaped smartphone with the tagline, “Touch Wood.” I may be late to the party on this one, but when I think of all the time it took to set this up, the precision and measurements used to adjust it and actually make each piece, and how many takes the film crew shot, it continues to inspire even if it’s a year old.

And, here you can see how it was made:

commercial, Japan, music, nature, video

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241 Comments

Submitted by LEWR on Sat, 2013-03-16 10:29

Very clever and inventive indeed, but the music is quite "tinny" and not something I would enjoy listening to but once.

Submitted by Linda Preston on Sat, 2013-03-16 14:04

Imagine a world where all the time, love, creativity, talent, commitment and money that it took to make this commercial were used to help people who have lost their jobs to stay in their homes, to help people who are sick pay for their medical care without losing everything else they have, to help people who have intellectual disabilities live a respected life in the center of their community, to bring jobs that have been outsourced back to this country so people can have the dignity of work and take care of themselves. Etc.

Submitted by francy on Fri, 2013-04-05 08:21

This was my thought as well. All that time, wood, electronic equipment, man power and money to create something fun in order to sell a phone that most of the world cannot afford and/or use, well, it just pisses me off.

Submitted by Anne on Sat, 2013-04-06 06:58

While I understand your sentiment, the creation of music in a natural setting doesn't negate the needed support for the poor or downtrodden. I don't believe that the money used to make this commercial was not headed toward some greater purpose, yet I can't wait to show this video to my foster son. This is block play at it's best and I look forward to seeing how it inspires. Also, I am not sure how this video is any more offensive then listening to music in a commercially supported venue. As a person who solidly has her feet planted in the muck and mire of life, I say enjoy and be inspired.

Submitted by Anne on Sat, 2013-04-06 07:02

While I understand your sentiment, the creation of music in a natural setting doesn't negate the needed support for the poor or downtrodden. I don't believe that the money used to make this commercial was not headed toward some greater purpose, yet I can't wait to show this video to my foster son. This is block play at it's best and I look forward to seeing how it inspires. Also, I am not sure how this video is any more offensive then listening to music in a commercially supported venue. As a person who solidly has her feet planted in the muck and mire of life, I say enjoy and be inspired.

Submitted by Janis on Thu, 2013-05-23 23:00

I've been thinking like that lately, and I couldn't help but think of the line from the movie Dead Poets Society. OK, not the line, but the concept. People need inspiration as much as (some might argue more than) they need medical care. Art gives humankind the motivation to provide those kinds of things for people who need them. It keeps our minds sharp, our hearts soft, and our spirits up, and in the case of *lots* of Americans, our bodies moving. (Now, if you could actually get a person on a treadmill to do some actual work instead.... OK, at least unplug it.... Wait, can someone explain to me why we made powered machines to create work while people are starving for fresh produce?) I hear, you, to be sure, but I'm convinced we need this affluent, now world economy on which to build betterness for everybody. I don't know who gets to say what's balanced and what's not.

Submitted by Duco Delgorge on Sat, 2013-03-16 18:12

A masterpiece. Congratulations! Bravo!

Submitted by Lisa G on Mon, 2013-03-18 01:40

The creativity of the advertising team that thought this up and the technical skill is extremely impressive. I enjoyed every note of this simple, well executed commercial.

Submitted by Vera on Thu, 2013-03-21 15:44

COOL>>>>>>

Submitted by DFukuda on Fri, 2013-03-22 07:57

Love this...

Submitted by Anita le Roux on Sun, 2013-03-24 04:11

inspirationals and fun!

Submitted by Elissa on Mon, 2013-03-25 16:35

Wow!

Submitted by star on Mon, 2013-03-25 21:24

wow, bravo

Submitted by paula Moore on Tue, 2013-03-26 11:29

I am a conductor of a 67 piece orchestra of adult persons with and without cognitive disabilities --professional musicians as well. Music is definitely NOT for sissies!!! Thank you for this--it was extraordinary as you already know. PRM

Submitted by Steven Aronoff on Thu, 2013-03-28 11:36

Inspiring!

Submitted by Columbus Millwork on Fri, 2013-03-29 01:53

Awesome Video. Great creativity for making, great experience in wood.

Submitted by Susan D Kennedy on Fri, 2013-03-29 16:04

I'd lvoe to project this on a screen before the entrance of the bride, every time I perform a wedding!

Submitted by mary on Fri, 2013-03-29 21:54

humbling. so beautiful
THANKYOU

Submitted by junelena on Sat, 2013-03-30 13:03

As beautiful, artistic, romantic, creative and all the wonderful adjetives we can select for this, I beg, please, no more cutting trees for superfluous reasons. If it is recycled from discarded wood, I'm the first to be all for it. But you do not go to this beautiful environment to play music on cut trees to promote a product made of more cut trees.

Submitted by Brenda in Florida on Sat, 2013-03-30 16:27

So cool - love the creativity that went into this!

Submitted by Rebecca Freer on Sat, 2013-03-30 19:17

Amazing! Delightful!

Submitted by Kathy on Sun, 2013-03-31 09:29

gorgeous. otherwise speechless.

Submitted by Mrs I on Sun, 2013-03-31 13:37

This is a tree nursery, of some type. The words at the end of the commercial imply the company is donating towards the tree farm. This is per my husband who can read Japanese

Submitted by Ballshurt on Mon, 2013-04-01 20:49

Looks like they killed lots of trees for that one.

Submitted by Baron Wolman on Wed, 2013-04-03 00:05

Much better to use of these huge amounts of money and creativity than for war machines...

Submitted by Ann on Wed, 2013-04-03 15:09

As the advertisement is for a highly engineered product with the look and feel of nature, and is also a machine for communication, the parallel between this incredibly engineered musical instrument and a highly engineered but elegant piece of communication technology, is an original concept brilliantly executed. Will I actually remember what this advertisement is for? Yes, I think it serves its purpose. Hearing a familiar piece in a quirky and novel way allowed me to admire the engineering more than if it were some cheap jingle. It wasn't intended to be a musical premiere; it was music in the service of advertising, extraordinarily done!

Submitted by Roger P. on Thu, 2013-04-04 09:27

This is amazing. To be able to tune each note and get the tempo correct, too.

Just amazing....

I didn't realize this was for a commercial, to boot..

Submitted by Devildog on Thu, 2013-04-04 18:01

What a fantastic effort and a wonderful display of human ingenuity. I was totally blown away. Even though it was for a commercial, the artistic result was worth the effort. i really appreciate effort fashioned in a peaceful beautiful way such as this. Awesome!

Submitted by Pearce jalloh on Fri, 2013-04-05 15:20

I love it ,because ,it is god”s creation

Submitted by Lee on Fri, 2013-04-05 21:27

Amazing.

Submitted by Jgrigsby on Fri, 2013-04-05 23:10

Omg!

Submitted by Ernie Lisi on Sat, 2013-04-06 05:53

Wood that we were all so creative, imaginative, and acceptive of the possibilities of living.

Submitted by ronald ball on Sat, 2013-04-06 13:43

The human touch to the nature of music and the music of nature. Many thanks

Submitted by John Gardner on Sat, 2013-04-06 18:07

The most fantastic piece of workmanship I have ever seen - to produce one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written!!

Submitted by Grant on Sun, 2013-04-07 06:11

Domo Arigato!

Submitted by Bill Richards on Tue, 2013-04-09 07:58

Wow! Talk about one-pointed, centered attention and incredible patience! We humans are capable of this?

Submitted by Jim Elderton on Tue, 2013-04-09 12:37

Brilliant. On a par with HONDA COG

Submitted by Dusty Parris on Tue, 2013-04-09 13:46

An incredible display of human creativity, ingenuity, precision engineering, natural beauty and commercial innovation all wrapped in one exquisite package. It sets up a perfect metaphor for the phone itself. If it's as good as it looks, they need to expand their market.

Submitted by Deanna on Wed, 2013-04-10 00:34

AWESOME!

Submitted by Alanna Hug McAnnally on Wed, 2013-04-10 14:03

This is fabulous! I majored in music and Bach would have loved this creativity, I'm sure. The notes in the beginning and end are spot on, some in the middle a little "off," but it's a great project. :D Congratulations

Submitted by R Aramburu on Wed, 2013-04-10 16:21

Ingenious, touching.

Submitted by liz on Thu, 2013-04-11 11:53

stupid waste of man power and time, could of done something productive for humanity, with all that manpower and money it took to make this silly thing. Like feeding the poor etc/

Submitted by Nathan on Sat, 2013-04-27 23:35

Hmm. What would you say to the suggestion that you devote all your paycheck--instead of supporting your family--100% to the poor? This is an ad. TV ads cost hundreds of thousands, and often millions, of dollars. Sometimes you can tell; sometimes you can't. Instead of having Tak Sakaguchi throw the phone around and say something cheesy, they made a work of art with the money.

Besides that, they donated trees to the nursery.

Helping our needy neighbours is good, but you have to be economically productive in order to do so.

Submitted by sal on Thu, 2013-04-11 21:57

what a waste of wood, just for an ad

Submitted by Virginia on Fri, 2013-04-12 08:20

What a wonderful piece of work. Just think of the time and effort put into this. Music was great. Just fasinating.

Submitted by pam on Fri, 2013-04-12 09:06

humans will never quit spending time with projects that seem to have no purpose other than "just because we can".. GO HUMANS. DON'T EVER STOP

Submitted by mhgiguere on Sat, 2013-04-13 08:55

A nice work of ephemereal art.

Submitted by Diane on Sun, 2013-04-14 11:06

fantastic

Submitted by Štěpánka Bořková on Sun, 2013-04-14 13:37

Dear friends, this really brought me in tears... Thank you for making this and sharing it...
Štěpánka

Submitted by Stepanka on Sun, 2013-04-14 13:42

Hello, this really brought me in tears.. Thank you, for making it and sharing it. Stepanka

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