Welcome to Gene Music and Sangen Studio!

What is Gene Music?

Genes and music are two heritable systems that underlie our life. Both of them are made of linear and quantized information. I try to explore the correspondence and metaphor between them by converting gene (DNA, RNA and protein) sequences to MIDI sequences. Hopefully, gene music can capture and inspire appreciation of the diversity, mystery and beauty of life.

Individuality, Creativity and Genetic Information: a Prelude to Gene Music

Introductory Compositions (Flash Movies)

Codon Table Song (0.48MB)

Four sampled voices for bases and a six-percussion ensemble for corresponding amino acids. Each codon is followed by an amino acid starting from TTT (Phe) and ending with GGG (Gly) in the order of T, C, A, and G.

DNA: Catalog of Restriction Enzyme (0.86MB)

Recognition sequences of 82 restriction enzymes ordered alphabetically.

Protein: Eighty-one P box of Nuclear Hormone Receptor (0.44MB)

P-box in an N-terminal zinc finger of nuclear hormone receptors is a six amino acid motif of CXXCXX involved in DNA binding. This is a collection of 81 P-box, majority of which have been found in the genome of nematode.

MicroTG Repeat Sequence (Human) (0.12MB)

Human SUMO1 Protein (3D, 2.1MB)

Gene Music Videos in YouTube

Coupling Made Easy by RecA-DNA Complex

Direct Repair of O-methylguanine by Suicidal Enzyme

Quartet of Flowering Genes

Your Irresistible Smell: Odorant Receptor of Fruitfly

Joining Broken Ends: KU-DNA Complex

Farewell to the Other Half: Holliday Junction Resolvase

The Guardian of Genome: Three Faces of P53 Tumor-Suppressor

To Correct Mismatches: MutS Binding to a G:T Mismatch

Dreadful Crystals of Prion and Alzheimer Diseases

Gene Music Videos (QuickTime Movies)

Collagen Trimer (9.7MB)

To Find a Perfect Mate: RecA Filament (20.9MB)

Sculptors of Animals: Hxa and Pbx Binding to DNA (26.8MB)

Photolyase Binding to a CPD-Like Lesion (Part 1) (43.9MB)

Photolyase Binding to a CPD-like Lesion (Part 2) (36.5MB)

New Gene Music Compositions (Flash Movies)

(Firefox or Safari with Flash Player 8 is recommended. In case the movie does not load, go to "Gene Music Archive" site, and click the same title.)

Joining Broken Ends: KU-DNA Complex (3D, 5.5MB)

To Die or Not: Nematode Death Machine (3D, 6.6MB)

Mighty Inhibitor: Uracil DNA Glycosylase and the Inhibitor (3D, 3.2MB)

To Find a Perfect Mate: RecA Protein and Filament (3D, 8.2MB)

To Correct Mispair: MutS Protein Bound to G-T Mismatch (3D, 8.1MB)

Three Faces of Genome Guardian: P53 Tumor-Suppressor Protein (3D, 17.1MB)

Gene Music Compositions (Flash Movies)

DNA Repair Genes:

Rad51-BRCA2 Complex (3D, 3.6MB)

BRCA2 (Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene 2) C-terminal Single-Stranded DNA Binding Region (3D, 5.0MB)

A Song of Light and Life: Photorepair Enzyme (3D, 1.4MB)

The Lifeguard of DNA: Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group A Protein (3D, 2.2MB)

Sketches from a Trip to Europe in Spring: Genomic Sequence of Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group A (4.2MB)

Two Ways To Go: Adaptive Response Regulon of Bacillus subtilis (0.28MB)

Molecular Mimicry:

DNA Mimicking protein MfpA (3D, 4.0MB)

Molecular Mimicry between tRNA and Ribosome-Releasing Factor (3D, 6.1MB)

Sex and Development:

Human Sex-determining Region Y Protein (3D, 0.97MB)

Four Quartets of Flowering Genes (0.9MB)

Responsorium of Major Sperm Protein Gene Promoters of C. elegans: shamisen version (0.76MB)

Genomes and Chromosomes:

Requiem for Slaughtered Birds: The Genome of Avian Influenza Virus (4.4MB)

SARS coronavirus, Genomic and Protein Sequences (4.2MB)

Bacillus subtilis Chromosome (0.51MB)

Human Chromosome 9 (0.37MB)

Human Chromosome X (0.38MB)

Gene Music Collection (CD05, 2002/04): Program and Liner Notes.
First CD compilation of gene music available upon request.

Program Notes
Four volumes of collections available as tapes or minidisk.

Gene Sequence Analysis with Auditory Display

Use of MIDI programs (in particular Opcode MAX for Macintosh computers) for auditory representation and manipulation of gene sequences.

Midi Files
Use QuickTime musical instruments to play Midi files. If connected to a synthesizer with microtuning capability, please try your favorite patches tuned to just-intonation or Pythagorean in D major.

Three Occasional Compositions (MIDI Files)

Codon Table Song

Song of Courtship and Clock

P53 Tumor Suppressor Gene

Sex-determining Region Y Protein

Duet of AIDS

Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene 1

Links to DNA and Protein Music Sites

Genetic Music Sourcepage by Mary Ann Clark
Protein Music by Ross King
Encyclopedia Musicalis by Alexander Mihalic
Music from Life by John Dunn
Molecular Music by Linda Long
The Music of DNA by Susan Alexjander
DNA Music by Peter Gena
Gensong by David Lane
Music from DNA/Proteins/Math by Ron Rusay and Tomi Laakso
Genome Music by Todd Barton

Shamisen Studio

Shamisen is a three-string, unfretted instrument used as the accompaniment for various styles of traditional songs, dances and theaters (Kabuki and Bunraku, etc.) in Japan. Unfortunately, it has been represented by the worst patches in most synthesizers today. One of my pet projects is to make a reasonable shamisen out of a MIDI sampler. Another project is to define the scales used in various traditional and contemporary genres of shamisen music.

Shamisen Scale: Ritsu_Yang_Yin Scale

Discography of Organic Music

Organic music is inspired by and inspiring of organic worlds from macromolecules to ecosystems, unbound by functional harmony, metrical rhythm and 12-equal tuning, trying to resonate and experience biosphere with minimal humanistic and mechanistic interventions. This CD list contains some ethnic music (Bali, Ivory Coast, Java, Tibet, Korea) and compositions by Scriabin, Webern, Bartok, Scelsi, Feldman, Messiaen, Wyschnegradsky, Nono, Vivier, Xenakis, Cage, Denisov, Kineya, Ferneyhough, Sciarrino, Murail, Saegusa, Yun, Saariaho, Levinas, Hosokawa, Sörensen, Furrer, Balakauskas, Yi, Miyoshi, Yusupov, Dusapin, Stäbler, Dillon, Boulez, Yagi, Zhang, Sotelo, Jarrell, Eötvös, Chin, Maresz with my extemporary comments.

Corresponding Address:
Nobuo Munakata
Gene Music and Sangen Studio
3-24-12 Mejiro
Toshima-ku, Tokyo 1710031, Japan
Fax: 81-3-3952-5813
E-mail (delete spaces flanking @): <edogiku @ t.toshima.ne.jp>