California has a road that plays music when you drive over it but it doesn't always go to plan
Published on Dec 27, 2025 at 10:12 AM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Dec 09, 2025 at 10:20 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
In California, there is a road that plays music when you drive down it, but it fails to replicate the sound it should make, the William Tell Overture.
Shown off on YouTube by Tom Scott a few years ago, the road is located in Lancaster, California, and it does indeed play a tune when driven on.
The tune is meant to be the William Tell Overture, but when you hear it, it’s clear that it is actually out of tune!
It’s an amusing bit of tarmac and a point of great interest. If only it sounded a little bit better.
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Why was the road that plays music in Lancaster, California, built?
As Scott explained, the road cost a lot of money, and it was a publicity stunt for a car company.
The Civic Musical Road was named after the Honda Civic, and it even appeared in Civic commercials.
Musical notes are vibrations in the air at a certain frequency.
A tire hitting grooves in the tarmac can, in fact, make a musical note.
It all sounds impressive, but as Tom Scott showed in his video, the intervals are incredibly far away from the music.
Even though the rhythm is recognizable, it only bears a slight resemblance to the William Tell Overture.
The big question then is, why does the music this road was meant to play sound so wrong?
What happened to the Civic Musical Road
David Simmons-Duffin is mentioned in Scott’s video as the man who figured out what went wrong with the road that plays music.
The problem came down to the quirks of the English language.
Designers said that the grooves in the road had to be X amount of distance apart, e.g., four inches.
That meant there should be a groove every four inches.
But the work crews who worked on the road felt it was four inches between one groove and the start of the next.
They failed to include the width of the groove itself.
On the real piece of music, the highest note should be one octave higher than the lowest.
But thanks to the error on the road, every note is distorted when a car drives over it.
That led to the mess that we can hear.
Ironically, the road was built too close to residents who wanted it moved.
So it was paved over and rebuilt…in the same wrong format as before.
Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
