Melody Road: A Japanese invention

群馬県には一定の速度で走行するとメロディの流れる道路があります。草津、榛名そして赤城南面を走る353号線がそれです。
前橋市嶺町のこの道路は童謡「チューリップ」が聞こえます。
この曲を作曲したのが郷土の作曲家井上武志だからです。
武志は♪海は広いな♪でも有名です。
音の鳴る仕組みは単純ですが、素晴らしい！

There are places where people in cars can hear a melody as their car passes over the pavement along certain sections of Japanese National Highways. Thanks to some simple workmanship, as the tires pass over a series of grooves created on the road surface, the oscillations can create music.
This seemingly pointless invention, called the "Melody Road", was first proposed by a construction company in Hokkaido. One hot summer day, a caterpillar passed over the hot asphalt. The blade created grooves on the surface that, might be considered as damage by the construction company, under normal circumstances. But when cars passed over this section of the road, passengers could hear something! After consulting with the Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute、the construction company developed technology that made it possible to create musical scales as cars pass over road surfaces. Thanks to some tax money supporting this technology, our roads are now musical. Granted, it is a public works project. But wouldn't it be nice if more of our projects could be this enjoyable!!
Today, "Melody Roads" can be found in various locations throughout Japan. Each community can select a song most appropriate for the region. Now visitors are coming from all over the world to hear these "Road Show" performances. Since all countries have roads, it shouldn't be too long before there are melody roads all over the world.
The sign posted on Nat'l Rte. 353 just north of Mine Park in the foothills of Mt. Akagi tells us that we are about to drive over a public works project called "Melody Line" and "if we proceed at approximately 40 kph, we can hear the song "Tulip". This nondescript Japanese children's song goes like this: They're in bloom / they're in bloom / tulip flowers are in bloom. / All in a row / all in a row / red, white and yellow / whichever flower you look at / it's so pretty!
Well, it never made the Top 10 in Japan, but it remains an ageless classic.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Melody
• Road
• 国道353号
• 井上武志
• メロディライン

[WhiteDragonTile]

it is totally a japanese invention, except that it was made by a Dane in Denmark first...

[uluis]

I bet it would sound like crap though when a ton of cars are driving on it.

[13204killer]

One it wasnt Chinas invention. Two, its not an invention there called rumble strips. somebody just decided you can make sounds by putting them at certain intervals with different depths

[trekliquid55]

@Ampelfreund LiFe long and prosper !

[DapSchaf]

@DarkSickie You hear it INSIDE the car. And the cars are quieter if they are driving slower. So I think it better to live near this instead of a highway. Sry :P

[SplatterMW2]

@WhiteDragonTile Thumbs up!!

[DarkSickie]

Hehe, could you imagine living next to it:P?

[Ampelfreund]

OMG!!! that´s is the best idea I ever see in my Live!!!

[gandreou]

interesting, thanks for sharing