Welcome to "Intermezzo" — where we take a few minutes to bounce some ideas around about classical music.
We were wondering — what it is we're really hearing when we hear leaves rustling on trees?
Some plant leaves vibrate at a natural frequency when the wind blows, creating a rustling sound. It's not primarily the sound of the leaves hitting each other or the wind speaking — it's the leaves singing. (Or maybe more like whispering than singing.)
The scientific term is psithurism (pronounced "sith-uh-riz-uhm"). The word comes from the Greek word "psithuros," which means "whispering." You can really hear it with quaking aspen trees.
Different leaf shapes and sizes create different rustling sounds depending on how they react to wind. Maybe you've tried this yourself with a blade of grass or a leaf. Here's what it sounds like if you get good at playing a leafophone:
Richard Wagner imitated the sound of leaves rustling in his opera "Siegfried." Here's the scene where his piece "Forest Murmurs" is heard:
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Christy L'Esperance is the host and producer of Intermezzo.
Thanks to our cohost Andrew.
Scott Clemens is IPR's Digital Content Producer.
