The above image 2011, four years after I began my treebranch, soundscape journey. Treeotica is the first name I gave my treebranch soundscape project. In 2017 I scrapped it and lumped all music under; Someone’s Memory.

In my summer walks along Toronto’s Don River, I gathered tree branches, maybe I could create something with them. Xacto knife in  hand, I removed the bark from the branches, then whittled little fingers on the tips or cut patterns into the branch. Two years passed and I amassed many branches.

One day I held one of the larger tree branches and tapped it, I heard a tone. I wondered, how can I amplify that? I bought a microphone, rented an amplifier and tied the microphone to the branch. Hmmm, what else can I try? The solution arrived on a visit to Long and McQuade’s music store where I discovered “piezo sensors” or, “pick-ups”. Acoustic guitarists stick them on their guitar to amplify the strings, sort of like an electric guitar. I carved out a hole in the branch, inserted the piezo, plugged into the amplifier and anywhere I tapped, EUREKA!! Eventually I bought a guitar FX pedal and began my musical journey.

Soon I became bored with just a percussion branch and attached a guitar string. Excited, then bored again, a cello and two violin strings were added. I bore easy, better add something. Musical greeting cards? I ripped the “Happy Birthday” sound module out and attached it. By and by, an unknown journey – whittling tree branches to find purpose in one’s life – led to my musical odyssey as an accidental musician.

With gentle taps of my fingers on the branch and the resulting echoes and delay, I create “sound stories.” Sometimes comforting, earthly and ethereal. Sometimes discomforting, electric and eclectic. Yet, always curious to the ears.

If you are interested to see early videos or hear CD’s of my beginning please visit: http://www.treeotica.wordpress.co

But if not, I don’t want you to miss this very sacred moment I experienced. I was intending to busk at an arts festival, but as usual my fear held me back. About to go home, disappointed in myself, I saw these girls doing henna for free. Hmmm….so I asked one girl if she could henna the branch. She was everso excited. Well, my fear manifested into this moment. I tipped her generously and got the teacher’s email to forward photos. I asked her to add her name. However, unbeknownst to both of us, it didn’t dry for three days! And I had to carry it so, so carefully to and on the bus and subway to get home without smudging! Thank you dear, Techiohe!

The above 3 stringed branch is what I’ve been using the past five years.