Road Music

 

"Pick up your feet!"

That was my grandfather's tongue-in-cheek demand everytime we would approach a toll booth somewhere in the Buffalo, NY vicinity. (Go Bills!)

Of course he was referring to the buh-bump, buh-bump the tires made on the grooved pavement to pursuade drivers to slow down. The image of my own feet dangling down, causing the car to make that noise often made me laugh. 

Later in life, when I had my license, whenever I inadvertantly moved toward the shoulder of the road, the highway would rumble and groan warning me to stay in my lane. 

It turns out that this technology can be used not only for the purpose of safety, but also for art. 

I was in northern Hungary last week, on my annual retreat, when I encountered something I had never seen before. My first inclination was to (literally) steer clear of it. But later, I drove the same road again and experienced this: 

I'm not sure what speed I was supposed to drive in order to hear the tune in its ideal form. If you watch the truck in front of me, it's clear its driver wanted a faster tempo. And my guess is he achieved better intonation because of it. Still, I was surprised with the clean articulation and clear intervals between notes. Which instrument do you think this road best imitates?

Although this is the first time I've experienced a road like this, it's the third of its kind in Hungary. And there are many musical roads from Asia to Europe, from North to South America. 

So next time you seen a sign like this...

...don't pick your feet up!