Paulius Šaparnis

Bus Synthesizer

Panevėžys bus depot, 2022. With the creativity centre Pragiedruliai. Original title: Autobusas-sintezatorius

A retired bus became an instrument.

Visitors stepped on board and made music by touching the handrails.

Start a project like this

From the documentation video, 2022. No sound.

On board

Stills from the documentation video.

A white bus with black stripe graphics at a bus station at night, doors open, people inside
The bus at the station at night, open to visitors.
Inside the bus, a woman reaches up to a handrail wrapped in copper tape, cables hanging beside it
Copper tape on the handrails.
Visitors standing and sitting inside the bus, a mirror ball hanging from the ceiling
Visitors on board, under the mirror ball.
A mirror ball scattering coloured spots of light across the bus ceiling
The mirror ball, scattering colour across the ceiling.
The back of the bus at night, with a graphic of tracksuit jackets on hangers
The back of the bus: tracksuit jackets on hangers.

How it played

The bus was prepared in the depot: cables along the handrails and my code on a laptop. Touch a handrail and the bus plays.

Credits

Created by Paulius Šaparnis, with the creativity centre Pragiedruliai.

Partners: Panevėžio energija, Panevėžio specialus autotransportas and Panevėžio autobusų parkas.

Supported by Panevėžys NOW, the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Panevėžys City Municipality.

A hand typing on a laptop that shows code, set on a red bus seat beside a yellow stop button
Working on the code on board. Video still.

An instrument for your site

A vehicle, a station or a lobby could play too. Start a project like this