Shaping Bamboo (1979)
• January 1st, 1979 • 0h 33min
Documentary, Music
Overview
For the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands, the most valued music is that of the four types of panpipe ensembles. With the exception of slit drums, all musical instruments are made of bamboo; therefore the general word for instruments and the music performed with them is "bamboo" ('au). This film shows the making of panpipes, from the cutting the bamboo in the forest to the making of the final bindings. The most important part of the work consists in shaping each tube to its necessary length. Most 'Are'are panpipe makers measure the length of old instruments before they shape new tubes. Master musician 'Irisipau, surprisingly, takes the measure using his body, and adjusts the final tuning by ear. For the first time we can see here how the instruments and their artificial equiheptatonic scale-seven equidistant degrees in an octave-are practically tuned.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Released on: 2007-12-21
Comedy, Music
Following a childhood tragedy, Dewey Cox follows a long and winding road to music stardom. Dewey per...
Once
Released on: 2007-03-23
Drama, Music, Romance
A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immi...
The Blues Brothers
Released on: 1980-06-16
Music, Comedy, Action, Crime
Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home whe...
Over Mountains, Over Valleys
Released on: 1930-03-13
Documentary
The Matica slovenská (a mostly government-sponsored cultural, academic, and archival institution) em...
Nauru, an Island Adrift
Released on: 2009-03-14
Documentary
A quiet island, lost in the pacific ocean. Nothing worth of interest, until the day a stroke of luck...
Orchestra Rehearsal
Released on: 1979-02-22
Comedy, Drama, Music
An orchestra assembles for a rehearsal in an ancient chapel under the inquisitive eyes of a TV docum...
La Madonna in cielo, la "matre" in terra
Released on: 2006-01-01
Documentary
An anthropological research on the survival of the supernatural in traditional culture. Shot in diff...
LelleBelle
Released on: 2010-10-08
Music, Romance
16-year old Belle practices playing the violin diligently, but is unable to impart her music with a ...
Tramuntana
Released on: 2025-02-23
Documentary
In a remote area of northern Spain, the wind has a name: Tramuntana. Tramuntana takes what it wants—...
Moana
Released on: 1926-01-07
Documentary
Robert J. Flaherty's South Seas follow-up to Nanook of the North is a Gauguin idyll moved by "pride ...
Lights and Shadows
Released on: 2013-02-09
Documentary
A black-and-white short film about Heiva, a Tahitian folklore festivity.
The Two Horses of Genghis Khan
Released on: 2009-10-09
Documentary
An old, broken morin khurr (horse head fiddle) compels renowned Mongolian singer Urna Chahar Tugchi ...
The Book of the Sea
Released on: 2018-05-25
Documentary, Animation
In the frigid waters off of Russia’s Bering Strait, Inuit and Chukchi hunters today still seek out t...
Katsantoni`s Leap and Uncle Lampros
Released on: 2006-02-16
Documentary
A documentary filmed in the mountainous region of Agrafa, Eurytania, in Greece.
The Commons
Released on: 2022-04-05
Drama, Documentary, Mystery
A group of teenagers go out to a den in the woods for a night of drinking, unaware that their behavi...
I Dream of Wires
Released on: 2014-11-10
Music, Documentary
An independent documentary film about the phenomenal resurgence of the modular synthesizer — explori...
Tale of the Tides
Released on: 1998-09-30
Documentary
In Africa there is a fable that explains the creation of the tides. When a hyaena challenged a mudsk...
Man in Red Bandana
Released on: 2017-09-08
Documentary, History
"Man in Red Bandana" is about Welles Remy Crowther, an extraordinary 9/11 hero. However, how his her...
Thomas Lang: Creative Control
Released on: 2004-05-23
Music
Thomas Lang presents the unique and innovative system that he has used to develop his awesome speed,...
