listen to folk instrument ‘jigakkyu’ sing synth sounds by bowing bamboo with magnetic tape

Synth sounds using folk instrument JIGAKKYU with bamboo bow

Open Reel Ensemble performs on JIGAKKYU, a traditional folk instrument that produces analog synth sounds by bowing the bamboo sticks with stretched magnetic tapes. The Japanese musical group is known for playing old reel-to-reel tape recorders as musical instruments, and JIGAKKYU is one of them. In the recent performance, they set up a Pioneer reel-to-reel tape recorder on a table. This machine records and plays back audio using magnetic tape that moves between two reels, and the tape recorder supplies the audio source and controls.

The magnetic tape extends from the machine and stretches through the bamboo bow, which applies friction to the tape surface of the folk instrument JIGAKKYU, causing vibration and movement. This bowing affects the playback speed and generates the audio effects during performance. When the group draws the bow across the tape, the tape moves at different speeds. Faster bowing increases tape speed and raises the pitch of the audio, while slower bowing means the opposite. The direction of bowing determines whether the tape moves forward or backward.

Moving tape converts magnetic data into audio signals

The folk instrument JIGAKKYU with a bamboo bow reads the magnetic information on the tape. As the tape moves or vibrates, the magnetic data converts into audio signals, and this process can recreate the original recordings stored on the tape medium. The performers interact with the instrument by manipulating the tape position and tension, meaning moving the tape that changes which part of the recording plays. Adjusting tape tension also affects the playback speed and pitch of the audio output, hence the slower one producing a deeper sound.

The bamboo frame of the folk instrument JIGAKKYU acts as a resonating chamber. Sound from the magnetic tape playback amplifies through the wooden bow, and this amplification method copies techniques used in traditional stringed instruments but applies them to recorded audio. The Open Reel Ensemble operates their own folk instrument JIGAKKYU and bamboo bows, but the trio coordinates their tape manipulation to create harmonized music from the stored recordings. Instead of simply playing back recordings, the trio demonstrates how magnetic tapes tied around wooden bows can manipulate and reshape the audio and produce analog-synth sounds.

project info:

name: Tape Bowing Ensemble JIGAKKYU

group: Open Reel Ensemble | @openreelensemble