[The following article first appeared in the Japanese magazine
Pipers, July 1989, p. 6, and is reprinted here with the kind permission
of the editor, Mr. M. Sugihara.]
Ceramic. It means pottery. According to the dictionary,
it means, "Of or relating to the manufacture of any product
made essentially from a nonmetallic mineral by firing at a high
temperature: of or relating to such a product" (Webster's
Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary). Comparing it with traditional
ceramics as defined above, "fine" ceramic is coming
more into use in various fields. This is a product made from artificial
materials to achieve its required functions in each application.
We see these types of fine ceramic in daily products such as kitchen
knives, integrated circuit substances, cutting tools, etc.
There was an exposition called the Nagoya Design Expo in '89 at
Nagoya, Japan. The local government had a booth showing products
of the twenty-first century, and their staff worked with ceramic
manufacturers with the idea of playing orchestral music with ceramic-made
musical instruments. Woodwinds and violins were made by a company
called INAX Corporation.
Fine ceramic is known as a very hard material; however, material
used for this experiment is called MACHINAX (machinable ceramics),
which is soft enough for machining operations. It can be machined
just like wood, fairly easily. INAX made a flute, an oboe, a clarinet,
a bassoon, and a violin.
According to Mr. Hiroaki Hisano, manager of ceramics at the Central
Research Lab of INAX, machinable ceramics was developed during
the process of seeking soft enough material, adapting it from
the cool, hard, traditional images. Machining it was very easy,
so that instruments could be made according to the design drawing.
The woodwind body could be made just like spaghetti is made by
combining water and wheat. Soft ceramic raw material was formed
into a cylindrical bar by using a pushing, molding machine. After
firing it in an oven, it was lathed and the center hole drilled.
The difficulties came in putting the holes straight. They had
experience with a curved bore because of bending tools that were
cracked by thermal shock. The inside bore of the oboe was too
small, so they gave up boring it and glued two pieces of half
cylinders together. The contour of the violin plate was formed
from powdered ceramics with a 200 ton press machine, then machined
to thickness. They made the first violin exactly the same thickness
as a wooden violin, but it didn't vibrate well enough, so they
made it thinner and thinner until the thickness was only I millimeter,
and it achieved a good resonance.
A private concert by the woodwind section of the NHK Symphony
Orchestra using these instruments was held on May 13, 1989, prior
to the Expo in Tokyo. The players were: flute, Mr. J. Hosokawa;
oboe, Mr. A. Kitajima; clarinet, Mr. S. Yokokawa; and bassoon,
Mr. K. Okazaki. Music performed included a Quantz Trio Sonata,
a Saint -Saens Sonata, and a Telemann Sonata, thus demonstrating
the tone color of each instrument by a small ensemble and in solo
performance.
Impressions from the players are as follows:
Flutist Hosokawa said, "It is common to use silver or gold
for the flutes nowadays, though we mostly play the same material
today. The flute is finally returning to the same family of materials.
I prefer the wood flute, but wood has difficulty achieving the
sonority and volume required for modern big hall performances.
Ceramic has a future potential in this perspective. The tone has
a warmness because of the "fired material"
Clarinetist Yokokawa said, "Grenadilla used in manufacturing
for the clarinet is said to require 100 years to grow, therefore
it is said that we have only 30 years of resources if we continued
to consume it at the current rate. Music instrument manufacturers
are looking for other material to replace it. Ceramic has a future
potential from this aspect. The quality of these instruments could
be improved by having professionals help in solving balance problems
and so on"
Bassoonist Okazaki said, "It's so heavy that I almost got
a cramp! I received this instrument three days ago, and the heaviness
was the first thing I noticed, though this material is rather
light among ceramics. After minor adjustment of the fifth and
sixth tone holes, the tone quality got better. I can see a potential
for improvement of it in collaboration with professional players"
It is true that the instruments are heavy. Normal specific gravity
of wood is nearly 1, while this material is 2, which means almost
double the weight. The bassoon weighs 10 kilograms.
Keys were refitted from existing instruments. According to Mr.
H.Takeyama, the repair specialist of Bardon Music Instruments:
"The material is soft enough so that key installation is
the same as normal wood instruments. I think ceramic has an advantage
because of better sealing. Wood has difficulty in achieving a
tight seal. Finally, the evenness of material is helpful for a
consistent quality of sound. Also, one can expect no change in
material from aging. Weight is a problem current
ly, but small instruments like the piccolo should have no problem.
I can see a good future for this material."
The achievement here was to demonstrate the possibility of
using a new material for making traditional musical instruments,
and to enhance the company's image. INAX has no plans to enter
the musical instrument business. But, upon resolving existing
problems like weight, we may be able to expect ceramic flutes
and clarinets in music instrument shop windows. In the future,
especially since ceramics have -the flexibility of gloss or non-gloss,
and color as desired, we can have selection in color for instruments
just like an automobile.
How about a metallic brown bassoon?-Sounds good to me!
[Satoshi Kanesaka is an I.D.R.S. member and works for Seiko Instruments
in Torrence, California.]