US proposes 'musical instrument passports'

[davidmdahl]

Below is a link to an interesting article regarding a proposal by the US delegation to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Thailand. I am not sure how this would help traveling with an erhu, since they often don't have a serial number. It would be a relief not to have to worry though.

www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-03-08/us-proposes-musical-instrument-passports

Best wishes,

David

[Blue]

So rosewood dizis would need passports? More the reason to choose bamboo . . . . .

Or call for more research and development in polymer science to produce a snake skin substitute (of course there will always be those who say that margarine ain't butter even if you market the product as "I can't believe it's not butter")

[Blue]

When I was at the Kew Gardens in London, I learned some things about wood used to make musical instruments:

Banyans
Shellac is an important ingredient in French polish, it is produced by lac insects which inhabit banyans as pests. Some musical instrument makers use shellac as a lacquering agent.

Mahogany
Is protected by CITES regulations which prohibit its illegal import. Although the name “mahogany” has been applied to many trees with red-colored timber, true mahogany only comes from 3 species of South American tree known as Swietenia. These tall, hardwood trees were once abundant but are now considered endangered.

Ebony
Used for cabinet making, decorative inlays, musical instruments, and even sports equipment, ebony is an extremely attractive and valuable wood. Ebony is difficult to work but produces a glossy finish as beautiful and hard as polished stone. Many ebony species have the familiar jetblack heartwood but the most commercially important is the Ceylon The jet-black heartwood comprises only 25% of the tree's volume, making it an expensive commodity. Increasing need for sustainable management and conservation of its natural habitat Ebony a large evergreen tree native to the rainforests of India and Sri Lanka.

Moral of the story: while wooden flutes do sound nice (and hard as polished stone), purchase bamboo as a more environmentally sustainable material for flutes! If you don't, you'll need to make sure you have a CITES certificate!

[lbowen]

I'm surprised there aren't any stores selling dizi from fruit woods(apple, pear, walnut, cherry, apricot,etc)! It's fairly common for other woodwinds to be made from them, and I'm guessing there wouldn't be any issues travelling with them

[Blue]

I would not venture to cut down a beautiful cherry tree to make a flute such as these cherry trees found in London's Kew Gardens:





By now with the warmer weather in London, I suspect that the cherry trees must be in full bloom at the Kew Gardens.

Alternatively, I would not venture to cut down this loquat tree I found next to a Catholic church near Bond Street Underground Station in London even though its wood is hard and durable and is often used by furniture makers in Central America. (The Chinese name of this tree is pipa, but the characters used to describe it is different from the musical instrument pipa). Besides, I like to eat loquats, whose season in Taiwan has just ended.



I would always prefer bamboo (many species also found at the Kew Gardens):



Because of course:



Right?

[Blue]

Unfortunately the overcast was too bad, so the cherry trees don't look as spectacular as they should be. As much as sakura is beautiful, it also has the symbol of mortality as these blossoms eventually fall to the ground.

[stacote]

As beautiful as those (Prunus serrulata) cherry trees are, and their wood is even more beautiful, it is hard to find one suitable for musical instruments or much of anything else except to appreciate the living beauty of it.

My whole street is lined with them as are many streets in my town. Occassionally the city will come along and take one down so I've scored the best parts of the trunk a few times but...they tend to grow in a strong spiral which makes the wood very difficult to work and amazingly unstable. If you happen to find one that grows straight lay claim to it immediately it could be a treasure. ;D

[Blue]

Generally the trick to identify a cherry tree is a signature of concentric rings on its bark. Example:



There was an exhibit showing more artistic uses of wood at the Kew Gardens . . . . .

[ziman]

While cherry wood might not be suitable for musical instruments, cherry tree bark is very occasionally used to decorate the exterior of Japanese shakuhachi flutes, to lovely effect.

See this one for instance:www.shakuhachiforum.eu/t377-Another-unique-1-8.htm

[Blue]

Posting this for everyone's convenience . . . . . yep, it does look like the typical cherry bark signature. I wonder what type of adhesive was used to cover the wood, but from the surface, it looks well crafted. Still, what's important is how it sounds . . . . . . .

You can also get a signature chop made of cherry wood in Japan at a touristy site. And of course, sometimes they include a preserved sakura placed on their pastries in Japan . . . . . . .