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Asia in general, and Malaysia particularly is home to many species of bamboo. Various ethnic groups create bamboo musical instruments in the Asia Pacific region but not many are known from Malaysia except for the seruling and sompoton (Jabatan Muzium dan Arkib Negeri Sabah, 1992). The younger generations are more likely to identify bamboo musical instruments such as the angklung (which is Indonesian in origin) as Malaysian origin due to the lack of information on the local music instruments. Gendang Kecapi Buluh and Anak Umbang, for example, are two lesser-known bamboo musical instruments which are unknown even to most Malaysians. This study also emphasizes on creating new musical instruments from bamboo whereby it is hoped that Malaysian younger generations will be able to learn about their musical heritage. Matsunobu (2013) indicates that instrument-making activities help to attach the makers to their instruments and help to create an enriched music-learning environment. Attachment and familiarity towards a musical instrument can ensure the sustainability of musical culture thus preserving it for future generations (Volk, 1996; Furiya et. al., 2007). As a sustainable source of building material, bamboo is known to be versatile due to its structure and acoustical properties (Tomak et. al., 2012; Wegst, 2008). However, after an extensive literary search, it can be conservatively mentioned that few studies have been done on the acoustical property of Malaysian bamboo musical instruments (Siswanto, Tam & Kasron, 2012). Thus it is imperative to embark in this research in order to preserve bamboo instruments for future generations.
What is bamboo?
The bamboos are evergreen perennial flowering plants in the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. In bamboo, as in other grasses, the internodal regions of the stem are usually hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement. The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, including the palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering.
Bamboos include some of the fastest-growing plants in the world, due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. Certain species of bamboo can grow 91 cm (3 ft) within a 24-hour period, at a rate of almost 4 cm (1.5 in) an hour (a growth around 1 mm every 90 seconds, or one inch every 40 minutes). Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are of notable economic and cultural significance in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, being used for building materials, as a food source, and as a versatile raw product. Bamboo has a higher specific compressive strength than wood, brick, or concrete and a specific tensile strength that rivals steel.
The word bamboo comes from the Kannada term bambu, which was introduced to English through Indonesian and Malay.
Bamboos have long been considered the most primitive grasses, mostly because of the presence of bracteate, indeterminate inflorescences, "pseudospikelets", and flowers with three lodicules, six stamens, and three stigmata. Following more recent molecular phylogenetic research, many tribes and genera of grasses formerly included in the Bambusoideae are now classified in other subfamilies, e.g. the Anomochlooideae, the Puelioideae, and the Ehrhartoideae. The subfamily in its current sense belongs to the BOP clade of grasses, where it is sister to the Pooideae (bluegrasses and relatives).
The bamboos comprise three clades classified as tribes, and these strongly correspond with geographic divisions representing the New World herbaceous species (Olyreae), tropical woody bamboos (Bambuseae), and temperate woody bamboos (Arundinarieae). The woody bamboos do not form a monophyletic group; instead, the tropical woody and herbaceous bamboos are sister to the temperate woody bamboos. Altogether, more than 1,400 species are placed in 115 genera.
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Most bamboo are native to warm and moist tropical and warm temperate climates. However, many species are found in diverse climates, from hot tropical regions to cool mountainous regions and highland cloud forests. In the Asia-Pacific region they occur across East Asia, from 50°N latitude in Sakhalin south to Northern Australia, and west to India and the Himalayas. China, Japan, Korea, India, and Australia, all have several endemic populations.They also occur in small numbers in sub-Saharan Africa, confined to tropical areas, from southern Senegal in the north to southern Mozambique and Madagascar in the south. In the Americas bamboo has a native range from 47 °S in southern Argentina and the beech forests of central Chile, through the South American tropical rainforests, to the Andes in Ecuador near 14,000 feet. Bamboo is also native through Central America and Mexico, northward into the Southeastern United States. Canada and continental Europe is not known to have any native species of bamboo.
Bamboos include some of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, with reported growth rates up to 91 cm (36 in) in 24 hours.[4] However, the growth rate is dependent on local soil and climatic conditions, as well as species, and a more typical growth rate for many commonly cultivated bamboos in temperate climates is in the range of 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) per day during the growing period. Primarily growing in regions of warmer climates during the late Cretaceous period, vast fields existed in what is now Asia. Some of the largest timber bamboo can grow over 30 m (98 ft) tall, and be as large as 25–30 cm (9.8–11.8 in) in diameter. However, the size range for mature bamboo is species-dependent, with the smallest bamboos reaching only several inches high at maturity. A typical height range that would cover many of the common bamboos grown in the United States is 4.6–12 m (15–39 ft), depending on species. Anji County of China, known as the "Town of Bamboo", provides the optimal climate and soil conditions to grow, harvest, and process some of the most valued bamboo poles available worldwide.
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Unlike all trees, individual bamboo culms emerge from the ground at their full diameter and grow to their full height in a single growing season of three to four months. During this time, each new shoot grows vertically into a culm with no branching out until the majority of the mature height is reached. Then, the branches extend from the nodes and leafing out occurs. In the next year, the pulpy wall of each culm slowly hardens. During the third year, the culm hardens further. The shoot is now a fully mature culm. Over the next 2–5 years (depending on species), fungus begins to form on the outside of the culm, which eventually penetrates and overcomes the culm. Around 5–8 years later (species- and climate-dependent), the fungal growths cause the culm to collapse and decay. This brief life means culms are ready for harvest and suitable for use in construction within about three to seven years. Individual bamboo culms do not get any taller or larger in diameter in subsequent years than they do in their first year, and they do not replace any growth lost from pruning or natural breakage. Bamboo has a wide range of hardiness depending on species and locale. Small or young specimens of an individual species produce small culms initially. As the clump and its rhizome system mature, taller and larger culms are produced each year until the plant approaches its particular species limits of height and diameter.