Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Angklung

Angklung bamboo is a type of music that is very unique, which bamboo tubes composed of two or more shaken to produce sound. Traditional musical instruments from Indonesia is a cultural heritage of ancestors who must be preserved.

Angklung is an Indonesian traditional musical instrument, made from bamboo, played by 20 – 60 people, covering both traditional and modern songs. One complete set of instrument consist of 42 single pieces, where each piece represents only one tone.

Several sets are used when playing angklung in a big group. More than 20 people are needed to form a complete angklung group, where each person holds 2 to 5 single pieces of angklung. Good team work is needed, since every player contribute the tones to form a complete song. They have to harmonize each other to produce a proper melody. In angklung-orchestra, togetherness is the most important thing the group should has.

Monday, February 8, 2010

The Sulings



The Suling is a bamboo flute from Indonesia state, where the flute is a lot of variety because Indonesia is an archipelago.
Almost every major island in Indonesia have a traditional musical flute is combined with other traditional instruments, especially the island of Java, which was divided into three provinces namely West Java, Central Java and East Java.

To the east is the island of Bali is rich in art music and dance also has his own bamboo flute. Bamboo flute in almost all devices in the Balinese gamelan melodies as carriers and sweeten the tracks, of the many traditional Balinese instruments only 10 percent using bamboo materials, however, the presence of bamboo gamelan is no less important than the metal gong.

The Suling is a simple bamboo flute. A notch is cut into the the side of the top end, and this top end is surrounded by a rattan of bamboo ring, leaving a small slit where the player will put his mouth on. Suling is the simplest and cheapest instrument in the gamelan.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Dizi


Because it sounds great, is easy to learn, light to carry and inexpensive, the Dizi Chinese Bamboo Flute) is one of most popular Chinese instruments in Asia.

The Dizi (also called D'Tzu or Zhu Di), is a side blown wind instrument made of Bamboo. The Dizi has a very simple structure: 1 blowhole, 1 membrane hole, 6 finger holes, and two pairs of holes in the end to correct the pitch and hang decorative tassels.

Most special about the Dizi is the "Mo-Cong" (membrane hole), which is located between the blowhole and 6th finger hole. The Mo-Cong was invented in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) by Liu Xi, and he named the flute the "Seven Star Tube". What makes the Mo-Cong special is its thin membrane covering. Some people mistake this membrane for rice paper, but it is actually made from the inner tube of a bamboo or reed plant. When the Dizi is played, the membrane vibrates with the Dizi, producing a sweet, bright tone. In addition it helps to deliver the Dizi sound far away. Liu Xi stated the purpose of his great invention as "To help produce better tone quality". You can also adjust the membrane to get the just the "right" tone for the specific musical mood.

Another Chinese bamboo flute, called the Xiao, is played vertically. This style of flute was exported to other Asia countries.


Source : http://www.2measures.com/dizi.html

The Shakuhachi


The shakuhachi is a testament to the elegance of traditional Japanese culture. Made from the root of the bamboo, its aesthetic is organic and simple. Hidden inside this rustic form, however, is a bore that is carefully crafted with the utmost precision. This instrument produces a sound that is said to replicate the full range of natural life on earth.

The shakuhachi is an end-blown flute tuned to a pentatonic (5-note) scale. By various fingerings -- half- and quarter-holings -- and by controlling the angle of mouthpiece against the lip, all twelve tones of the western chromatic scale can be produced. The mouthpiece consists of an oblique blowing edge whose design is unique in that it enables the player to control the pitch produced by changing the angle at which the flute is being blown. This, in turn, produces a delicate change of intonation -- a swelling or bending of notes characteristic of the traditional music. Alterations in embouchure, intensity of blowing and cross fingerings allow the player to create a wide variety of subtle and incredible sounds. The timbre of the instrument is mellow in its low tones, although it is equally capable of producing loud, penetrating and breathy tones in its middle and upper registers. Little can be said of the sound of the shakuhachi without first hearing its hauntingly beautiful ring. With this in mind, noted ethnomusicologist Fumio Koizumi concluded: "Because of the religious origin of its music, the sound of the bamboo flute leads the mind directly into spiritual thought. Thus a single tone of the shakuhachi can sometimes bring one to the world of Nirvana."

Source : http://www.shakuhachi.com/

Friday, February 5, 2010

Bamboo Flutes

The flute is a musical instrument an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening, flutes are categorized as Edge-blown aerophones. A flute produces sound when a stream of air directed across a hole in the instrument creates a vibration of air at the hole.

Bamboo is cut one or several segments and then given a few holes in the trunk to produce different tones. While the length and diameter is very diverse, some short and long, slender in diameter there is no fat. This is characteristic of the bamboo flute in countries that have a bamboo art.

Bamboo flute is a wind instrument that is very easy to play, there are several types of play at the special training required. Blow and produces a sound course not everyone can do, while to the holes in the rod provided also needs to be studied. But generally it is easy to play the flute.

The form and the resulting sound was an inspiration to create the modern flute as used today. Amazing natural material and its use is no doubt.

Here will examine some bamboo flute from several countries that form and have a different sound.