Stone and Bamboo's Karma
for Bamboo Tube, Live Electronics and Live Video
Composer 董昭民 CHAO-MING TUNG
Performers 董昭民（竹筒） CHAO-MING TUNG / Bamboo tube
Year 2013
Using the myth of the Dawu tribe's Yeyin Village (Ivarinu) among Taiwan's indigenous peoples as compositional material, the composer is inspired by the enchanting imagery of "women being born from bamboo, sprinkling water on stones to create men," which is presented through sounds. The hard stone symbolizes the inner resilience of motherhood while the upright green bamboo represents the outward essence of masculinity. The composer of this work aims to recreate the sounds of stone and bamboo through diverse digital methods, delving into the origins and philosophy of the myth.
Featuring on the traditional wooden pestle used by indigenous peoples for rice-pounding, this work presents an attempt to create a music instrument based on bumping, rubbing, and tapping. A 110-cm long bamboo tube with a 10-cm diameter is used, with the bamboo nodes opened through the middle, leaving only one end sealed to facilitate resonance. The bamboo tube must undergo a long process of smoking and drying to prevent decay before it can be used.
A wireless microphone is placed near the opening of the bamboo tube to capture ambient sounds. During the performance, when the bamboo tube is brought close to the speaker, a “feedback” effect will occur. The wireless microphone will transmit this feedback sound back to the computer, where real-time sound processing will be conducted using the software Max/MSP/Jitter to generate multiple audio and visual effects.