Craftings

Millar Ukulele

This is a video about Millar Ukulele. The audiences get to see how Millar ukuleles were crafted in first part of the video. The second part is a live musical performance played with two different Millar ukuleles. The last part is audio and visual comparison between different Millar ukulele models.

Making a Cardboard Rabeca with Francisco Difreitas

A video showing the process of making of a cardboard rabeca/fiddle with Francisco Difreitas, and him showcasing the unique sound of the just made cardboard rabeca/fiddle.

A musical instrument making school in Curitiba, Brazil

Dr. Guilherme Gabriel Ballande Romanelli showing the musical instrument making program at the Universidade Federal do Parana - UFPR.

Aorelio Domingues - Paranagua Fandango Master

Ilha dos Valadares is an island belonging to the municipality of Paranaguá, in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city, with one of the largest ports in Brazil.
Born and living on the isolated island, rabeca/ fandango master- Aorelio Domingues, who is also member of “Associação de Cultura Popular Mandicuera” (Mandicuera Popular Culture Association), leads the association in revitalizing cultural activities of the Caiçara people from the coastal region of the state of Paraná. The entity formed by a group of popular artists and masters its motto is the preservation and diffusion of their intangible heritage. With careful use of the Atlantic forest, Aorelio has developed on-hands techniques for everybody to make their own traditional folklore music instrument: rabeca and fandango. The studio, with incentives, is open daily with free access to the community, all instruments made, as well as the construction technique, are donated to small tribes along the southern coast. Inherited from his grandfather, today Aorelio and his twin daughters continues the path of diffusing cultural events and manifestations that belongs to the Caiçara people.

Making a Nepali Drum with Shekhar Kulu Nepali

Shekhar Kulu Nepali is a professional Nepali drum maker living in Kathmandu, Nepal. In this demonstration video, you can see him preparing animal skins for the drum to the completion of a traditional Nepali drum. He also talked about the preferred wood to make Nepali drums, and what motivated him to be a drum maker.

Purna Nepali, a Nepali Sarangi Maker

Purna Nepali sharing some knowledge on the making of Nepali Sarangis and his passion for Sarangi music.

The Legend Stradivari

There is a mystery hiding behind the inimitable sound of Stradivarius’ instruments. All through the years there have been many speculations: there are those who say that he used special varnishes, alchemies handled down from father to son, or even that the trees that he used contained particular types of wood fungi. In truth, it seems that Stradivari and the other masters from Cremona were first of all experts in selecting the wood, and that they went into the forests in person to choose the most suitable trees. According to a legend, Antonio Stradivari rolled the trunks to select those with the most vibrant timbre. Until today the mystery remain unsolved.

Making Trees Live Again

Melodic Scraps

RETURN - Maker of Native American Style Flutes

Dennis Stubbs, the Arizona woodturner that was once a fervent collector of flutes, enjoys playing his handmade flute while strolling in the woods. It is all around his studio and house that a variety of fine flutes can be seen as he has been long drawn into the sound of them. Dennis becomes keen to make Native American style flutes—as a result of his wife’s suggestion. He crafts his works with meticulous hands in a way that is environmentally responsible, turning tree waste into recycled materials. Self-effacing as he is, the IWCS crew could literally feel his passion for wood during the filming.

The Small Kannel

Okkyum Kim

Wood’n’Soul

The Hurdy Gurdy Maker

The American Archtop

The Italian Violin Makers Vettori Family

Upholding the philosophy of “small production but high quality,” Italian violin workshop Paolo Vettori & Sons has practiced its craft for three generations. Paolo Vettori is profoundly influenced by his father, Dario Vettori, on the techniques, structure and style of violin-making. Now, his children, Dario II, Lapo, and Sofia are working together to continue the tradition established by their grandfather Dario Vettori in 1935.

The Oud and Luthier

The oud is a pear-shaped string musical instrument that commonly used in Arabic countries. Singing was always involved while playing the oud before. Each oud is beautifully hand-made with several different wood species, which made every oud unique in both shape and sound. Mr. Nazih Ghadban is a Lebanese luthier who is famous for playing and producing the oud.

A Pueblo Drum Maker - Red Bird

Drum is a crucial element in the American Native culture; they communicate with the nature, ancestors, and spirits through music flow, drum beat, dance and sincere prayers. Therefore, drum-making is exceptionally rigorous, from timber selection to the thickness of drum shell are all variables that would affect the sound quality of the drum. Red Bird, a drum-maker from Pueblo tribe shares the life of American Indian people and the role of drum in its culture, and explains details and basic knowledge of how to make an outstanding drum.

Mandolin Maker

A typical mandolin has a hollow wooden body with a tailpiece that holds one end of the strings, a floating bridge, a neck with a flat fretted fingerboard, a nut, and mechanical tuning machines to accommodate metal strings. It evolved from the lute family during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bowlback mandolins, while used worldwide are most commonly manufactured in Europe, where the long history of mandolin development has created local styles. Let’s visit Carlo Mazzaccara, who is passionate about Mandolin-making, in his Mandolin workshop in Florence, Italy.

Laboratorio di Restauro del Fortepiano

Hidden behind a small grey door is a not-so-ordinary workshop run by three craftswomen. This is where fortepiano being restored. Since its invention around the year 1700 by the Italian instruments maker, Bartolomeo Cristofori, piano has gone through an evolution as time passes. Yet, these artists still exerted all their strengths to preserve its original beauty with their skills and knowledge.

Music in Wood

Bücheli and Chlefeli are two charming wooden instruments that are not widely known, and rarely played and manufactured nowadays. Although they are simple and easy to play, the unique sound features enabled them to accompany well with other musical instruments.
As mechanical reproduction of musical instrument has become a trend today, these special musical instruments like many of the other traditional instruments in the world, is facing great challenges in preservation.