Detroit’s Cadillac Square is about to get musical.
As part of a Montreal-based design firm’s traveling installation, Detroit will welcome the arrival of a “musical swing set” that allows users to create music as they swing. The 10-swing set creates real instrument sounds (such as guitar, piano, and mallet instruments) with different notes, which can be timed to play in unison by swinging in sync with other users. The firm, Daily tous les jours, hints to users that “some melodies only emerge from cooperation.”
The traveling musical experience was inspired by the firm’s original 21-swing installation, which has appeared each spring since 2011 at Montréal’s Quartier des spectacles and counts approximately 8,500 swings per day.
From The Swings’ official website:
“The Swings allow participants to make music with their entire bodies, to connect to one another and to have a sense of ownership of public space due to the music they create. The result is a giant collective instrument that brings together people of all ages and backgrounds.”
The Swings will be open to the public Thursday, April 7 – Sunday, May 8, from 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. each day. Watch the video below to see the setup in action: