Mark Meckes
28th July 2006, 04:46 PM
Making bamboo windchimes requires little more than a curiosity and passion to explore with an open and observing mind.
It is highly recommended that you begin making chimes without the constraints of requiring the windchime to be 'tuned' .
This will give you a much greater freedom of expression, and what you make will be unique.
As you explore the sounds produced by the pieces of bamboo, you will notice that some are more vocal or produce interesting effects if held a certain way, if cut to a certain length and shape or by how the pieces are grouped together.
For an introduction to making tuned wind chimes, with various examples from assorted materials, bamboo included, I highly recommend the following book by Bart Hopkin:
WIND CHIMES Design and Construction
Book and audio CD by Bart Hopkin
Audio CD plus 68-page book, paperbound, 6” x 9”, generously illustrated with b&w photographs and diagrams.
Published by Experimental Musical Instruments (http://www.windworld.com/index.htm)
For: Info and ordering (http://www.windworld.com/products/chimes.htm)
Hear Sound samples (http://www.windworld.com/feature_pages/chimes.htm#soundsamples)
(From the site)
"In this book you’ll find everything you need to know to construct beautiful-sounding wind chimes. Included are chimes of metal, bamboo, ceramic and shell, in a variety of forms including tubes, rods, bars, bells and gongs. Familiar wind chime designs as well as exotic and innovative ones appear. All of the essentials for getting good sounds from different sounding forms are here, as well as ideas on suspension, the basics of tuning,and suggestions for materials and resources. The accompanying CD, with twenty-eight different types of wind chimes represented, allows you to hear and compare the various types, and it’s a pleasure to listen to in itself."
The chapters include:
1) Introduction
2) The Example Chime (a detailed description of the construction procedure for a typical, but beautiful-sounding, wind chime).
3) Useful Information (a mini-encyclopedia of practical information on chime design construction).
4) Chime Tunings (how to tune, and a wealth of ideas for tunings).
5) Descriptions (photos and construction information for a diverse array of wind-chimes of all types).
(my notes: The info on working with, and ideas using bamboo is basic, though very helpful. This forum is provided expressly to explore further ideas, possibilities and challenges.
- Mark )
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Also highly recommended is the following book, which provides many special references applicable to making bamboo musical instruments:
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DESIGN (http://www.windworld.com/products/mid.html) - Information for Instrument Making
By Bart Hopkin with an introduction by John Scoville
It is highly recommended that you begin making chimes without the constraints of requiring the windchime to be 'tuned' .
This will give you a much greater freedom of expression, and what you make will be unique.
As you explore the sounds produced by the pieces of bamboo, you will notice that some are more vocal or produce interesting effects if held a certain way, if cut to a certain length and shape or by how the pieces are grouped together.
For an introduction to making tuned wind chimes, with various examples from assorted materials, bamboo included, I highly recommend the following book by Bart Hopkin:
WIND CHIMES Design and Construction
Book and audio CD by Bart Hopkin
Audio CD plus 68-page book, paperbound, 6” x 9”, generously illustrated with b&w photographs and diagrams.
Published by Experimental Musical Instruments (http://www.windworld.com/index.htm)
For: Info and ordering (http://www.windworld.com/products/chimes.htm)
Hear Sound samples (http://www.windworld.com/feature_pages/chimes.htm#soundsamples)
(From the site)
"In this book you’ll find everything you need to know to construct beautiful-sounding wind chimes. Included are chimes of metal, bamboo, ceramic and shell, in a variety of forms including tubes, rods, bars, bells and gongs. Familiar wind chime designs as well as exotic and innovative ones appear. All of the essentials for getting good sounds from different sounding forms are here, as well as ideas on suspension, the basics of tuning,and suggestions for materials and resources. The accompanying CD, with twenty-eight different types of wind chimes represented, allows you to hear and compare the various types, and it’s a pleasure to listen to in itself."
The chapters include:
1) Introduction
2) The Example Chime (a detailed description of the construction procedure for a typical, but beautiful-sounding, wind chime).
3) Useful Information (a mini-encyclopedia of practical information on chime design construction).
4) Chime Tunings (how to tune, and a wealth of ideas for tunings).
5) Descriptions (photos and construction information for a diverse array of wind-chimes of all types).
(my notes: The info on working with, and ideas using bamboo is basic, though very helpful. This forum is provided expressly to explore further ideas, possibilities and challenges.
- Mark )
-----------
Also highly recommended is the following book, which provides many special references applicable to making bamboo musical instruments:
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DESIGN (http://www.windworld.com/products/mid.html) - Information for Instrument Making
By Bart Hopkin with an introduction by John Scoville