What is it?
Bambus (Bamboo) is the name we have given to the instrument that simply consists of different sizes of bamboo cane. Bamboo is a relatively easy material to find (it grows in many public gardens and it is part of garden maintenance to get rid of excess or dried out plants) and different pitches of sound can be created according to the size of the stems (longer pieces make lower sounds). Bamboo can be played in many ways and the different pitches can be arranged in various ways. You could organize the pieces according to the tuning of a piano or conventional xylophone but part of the fascination of this project is to build different tuning systems that create extraordinary music, as in other Super-Sonics projects.
How to make it
Materials and Tools
To make Bamboo you need dry bamboo canes, a tape measure and a steel saw.
Construction Process
The construction process is very simple and fast once you have sourced the dry bamboo canes. All you have to do is cut the canes into different lengths (the longer the cane the deeper the sound) leaving one end open and cutting the other in a place on the stem where the cane naturally closes into a knot (the bit that separates two adjacent segments). You can do this very quickly using a steel saw.
A single cane produces several pieces and the whole construction process can be pretty fast. You have several options for what length to make the pieces, from creating a very wide range of sizes, which makes it possible to play “scales” with many “notes”, to a limited range with only a small number of “notes”. However, the canes need to be properly dried to create a rich sound and ensure the instrument lasts well. Ideally the bamboo canes should be picked while they are still green and then left to dry for weeks or months in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight. Plants that have been harvested when they are too dry or have been dried too quickly are often cracked and they will not work. Another challenge can be how to get low notes. Ideally, the segments of the canes will be long enough to make low notes but if not, you can remove a knot between two segments to increase the size of the vibrating surface, though this is a slow process.
How to play it
The bamboo canes can be leaned against a hard surface, they can be blown (like pan pipes), they can be rolled on a hard floor, played with drumsticks, etc. The most effective way to get defined “notes” by hitting the instrument is to hit the closed part (the knot), letting the rest of the tube vibrate as freely as possible (i.e., avoid holding the cane too hard).
Some original compositions
Instructions
You can print instructions to refer to when you are doing this project.
Click here to download the instruction on how to make Bambus..