Sibelius’ ‘Finlandia’ played on four electric toothbrushes, because... the Internet is weird

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Hear the serene hymn section from Sibelius’ ‘Finlandia’ “sung” by an SATB choir of electric toothbrushes. Yes, toothbrushes.

Filmed by a lakeside in Finland, this video presents a performance of probably the most famous piece of Finnish classical music... played by four electric toothbrushes.

The Finlandia hymn, taken from Sibelius’ symphonic poem of the same name, is a beautiful, serene piece of music for choir.

And although it isn’t the official national anthem of Finland (that would be Maamme), it is recognised as an important national song.

Some years after composing Finlandia, Sibelius later arranged the hymn for choir. It is now often heard in choral performances as a standalone piece – have a listen in the video below.

So surely, Sibelius would be proud that his hymn is still being performed far and wide – whether by singers or, well, toothbrushes.

Device Orchestra, the brains behind the video, has made it his mission to turn devices into instruments.

On his YouTube channel, he says: “So far I’ve mostly played electronic toothbrushes and credit card machines but there’s more to come.”

“This is the first time that I use batteries as a power source for the micro-controller and the toothbrushes,” the YouTuber continues. “The micro-controller and the toothbrushes fit easily in my backpack.”

Our conclusion? The Internet might have gone too far this time.