The lithophone at the Regional Science Centre in Guwahati. A Telegraph picture

Guwahati, June 5: This one sounds interesting: the original “rock music”, dating back 4,000 years.

The Regional Science Centre (RSC) at Khanapara — the only one of its kind in the Northeast — has developed its very own “lithophone”, a musical instrument developed centuries ago in which notes are produced by striking different rocks.

The “lithophone” at the centre, one of the latest exhibits, will shed light on how music was produced in earlier times, simply by using rocks.

The fabrication of the lithophone has been done entirely at the centre with technical help from the Central Research and Training Laboratory of the National Council of Science Museums in Calcutta.

The only other place in the country where a lithophone is found is the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai.

“The purpose of developing this exhibit is to make people aware that even rocks produce musical notes and those notes may be sounded in combination to produce harmony or in succession to produce melody,” R.S. Jeelani, the project co-ordinator of the centre told The Telegraph today.

The lithophone at the RSC is made up of eight granite slabs of varying lengths, which are fitted on a tubular platform. When a person strikes the slabs one by one with the small nylon hammer, different musical notes are produced.

Jeelani said when struck, the slabs vibrate and produce a particular sound.

“The frequency or pitch of the sound depends on the length of the slabs. The shorter the length of a slab, the higher is the pitch,” he added.

“Granite slabs were procured from the local market to make the exhibit”, Jeelani said.

The lithophone is one of the most ancient musical instruments and is known to have been used 4,000 years ago.

Some cultures still retain instruments based on the lithophone, like the ritual music of Korea, which uses stone chimes called pyeongyeong.

“Finishing touches are being given to the exhibit and will soon be ready for the visitors who, apart from watching, even play music on it,” Jeelani said.

After getting the visitors’ feedback, more such exhibits will be fabricated to other science centres.

The Regional Science Centre is under the National Council of Science Museums, the largest network of science centres/museums under a single administrative umbrella in the world.

Besides its galleries, the RSC is going to set up a “mathematical totem” in its science park, where the evolution of numbers through different civilisations will be showcased for the benefit of the visitors.