SING-SONG PING PONG
29 Oct 2025
Artist James de Wulf has unveiled a ping-pong table made of aluminium plates that play melodic sounds every time the ball hits the table. The art piece, on display at Design Miami.Paris 2025, is designed to play musical notes in the calm and healing scale of A Minor, soothing users as they play.
Text description provided. At Design Miami.Paris 2025, artist James de Wulf has unveiled a ping-pong table with aluminum plates that plays meditative sounds every time the ball hits the surface. The Resonating Ping Pong Table, Song No. 1 (2025) is reminiscent of a xylophone and sound bath in one, as the project isn’t only made for playing table tennis but also doubles as a musical instrument in the form of healing vibrations. The surface is made from aluminum plates that are carefully tuned to specific musical notes.
There are six different notes tuned to the A Minor Pentatonic scale, a musical scale often used to create calm and balanced sounds. When a player hits the ball, the vibration from the impact makes the metal plate vibrate, producing a sound that matches one of these notes. As the game continues and the ball moves across different parts of the table, each hit creates a new tone. The sounds then form a kind of melody that changes with every rally. The idea is that while people play ping pong, they also create a piece of live sound, a rhythm that depends on the speed, position and strength of their movements.
The top of the ping-pong table is made from anodised aluminum to strengthen the metal, protect it from rusting and improve the sound quality by helping the plates vibrate more clearly. The body of the table is varnished, and the structure is stable enough for play but also has the look of a piece of modern furniture.
de Wulf also designed tailored rackets to work with the sound-tuned surface of his aluminum ping-pong table. The rackets are used with a rubber ball, which gives a good bounce and makes the sound vibrations clear, and for quieter use, there are also foam balls. Both types of balls change the sound performance and the way the table reacts during play. The tuning of the plates is done manually, with each of the six plates adjusted to match a specific note.
After the Design Miami.Paris 2025 fair, 10 aluminum ping-pong tables are to be produced, with each having a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist.
