A rindik is a Balinese musical instrument that is made from bamboo. Rice farmers developed the instrument during the early years of the 20th century. A rindik is a traditional instrument whose bars are tuned in order to produce humming sounds of different pitches. To play the rindik, one requires high concentration and playing skills that take several years to master.
This instrument is one of the most complex because of the level of skills needed to construct and play it. The bars of the rindik are adjusted in order to change the sound to the required tone. The class project involved constructing a rindik from bamboo sticks. Event though we encountered several obstacles during the course of the project, we successfully completed the project in time.
The class project involved making a rindik, a Balinese instrument made from bamboo. The project involved the cooperation of three students: Sarah, Tiffany, and me. Our task was to collect bamboo materials from the forest and make a rindik from those materials. Emma and would use the instrument later for their project. We started the project by determining the materials we needed, and their specific measurements.
We acquired a rindik and disassembled it into its constituent parts. We measured the dimensions of each of the parts and recorded the measurements on a notebook. For example, we measured the dimensions of all the keys and bars. After getting the measurements, we visited a forest that was a short distance away from the campus to collect bamboo sticks. We chose a mature bamboo because we needed strong and thick pieces. We cut the bamboo into pieces with the exact measurements and carried extra pieces in case we needed them.
Our teacher, Mr. McGraw taught us how to cut the keys into different sizes and shapes, and how to tune the resonator. The rindik was to be comprised of 11 keys. Therefore, we cut 11 keys of different sizes. Each of the keys was expected to produce a different tone. When making a rindik, the keys are dried for a considerable length of time in order to stabilize the moisture content. However, since we had inadequate time to dry them, our teacher burnt the bamboo pieces.
Unfortunately, burning destroyed the pieces because they failed to produce the expected pitch. The teacher suggested that we use the pieces without drying them. This was problematic because we had to retune the rindik everyday because as the keys lost moisture, the pitch was altered. We used the additional pieces we had carried from the forest.
In addition, our teacher provided more pieces that we used to make the keys. He helped us to cut some of the keys again and gave us guidance on how to tune the resonator. However, he did not tune the bars for us and we had to do it on our own. It was difficult, but we enjoyed and learnt a lot.
We then assembled the rindik we had disassembled and continued with our project. We had to hasten the project because Emma and Helen needed the instrument in order to practice for their final project. They wanted to prepare for a musical piece that they were required to play using the rindik.
We encountered difficulties in tuning the instrument but Mr. McGraw was there to offer help. He taught us how to synchronize the tune of the bar and the resonator. Operating the instrument was a hard task. Mr. McGraw taught us how to adjust the pitch of the instrument in order to get the highest quality of sound. We had to shave the bar whenever the pitch of the bar was higher than that of the resonator and vice versa.
Remembering these instructions was difficult because none of us had ever operated a rindik before. Therefore, we noted the information on a notebook for reference. In order to produce the highest quality of music, the rindik was suspended on a wooden frame from where the keys were struck using a small stick. A wooden frame that we had made during an earlier project saved us time because we used it to mount the rindik. Even though we did not tune all the bars successfully, we continued with our project.
I marked the locations on the bars where the holes were to be drilled. Fortunately, this did not affect quality of sound produced by the instrument. After drilling the holes, we joined the bars and the keys. Due to the sizes of the holes, we used a thin rope that could pass through the small holes.
During the process of assembling the rindik, we had some difficulties with some bars. We assembled the instrument with bar some bars out of tune because we were unable to harmonize them. Despite the difficulty, we carried on with the project because Emma and Helen were waiting for the instrument. We did not want to let them down because we had promised to complete it on time and give it to them for their preparations.
Monday was the due date of the project when we were required to present the completed instrument to the instructor. However, we had a problem because the rindik was out of tune. The bars had lost moisture and altered their pitch. We had to tune all the bars again because the bars and the resonator had different pitches, and we could not present it in that state.
Presentation of the rindik marked the final stage of our project. The instrument had some weaknesses. However, I was happy because we had completed the project successfully and attained our goal. We labored a lot because of lack of experience. I was excited because we were able to complete the class project successfully.
We experienced many challenges during the course of the project. However, we never gave up and always sought help from our teacher. Mr. McGraw was very helpful because he assisted us whenever we encountered problems. He taught us several things that contributed towards the success of the project. For example, he guided and showed us how to cut the keys and tune the rindik. The project was challenging but a very worthy and priceless learning experience.
I learnt many things that added to my knowledge on musical instruments. I realized that making and tuning a rindik is a hard task. The opportunity to construct the instrument was both exciting and educational. The project was pleasant from the beginning to the end because of my great passion for music. Despite the obstacles encountered, we never lost hope or motivation. Our success could be attributed to the dedication and hard work of all the members of the group.