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I've been looking for some bullroarer samples.
The bullroarer (for the curious) is a Native American (sorry, not sure what tribe(s) or areas) and apparently also a native Australian musical instrument/ communication instrument (there may be some differences between the two types of bullroarers) consisting of a small piece of wood with some sculpting and notches tied to a string or rope. The piece of wood is then whirled through the air at a rapid rate by the user to generate sound.
So far the only sample I've found is on "Crocodile Dundee 2," in which Paul Hogan uses one to call neighboring aborigines.
I'd be particularly interested in samples that represent the Native American instrument(s) in various states of excitation (winding up, in motion, winding down) and maybe some discussion of usual use/performance contexts.
My particular application would be for use in a small group composition I am recording on behalf of (another, retired) composer as part of a "demo" of his compositions, possibly to play for performance ensembles that may approached about performing the composer's work.

Thank you for your consideration.

Very hard to find on the net

you can hear one:
here

And this video: bullroarer video footage

Oh yes! I've swung one of these once, quite impressive.

I'll try to record one if I get the chance, but it's a long shot (I know an Australian gentleman who owns several, but I rarely get a chance to see him.) Perhaps I can manage it this summer.

It sounds just like a bandpass peak filter with alot of resonance ontop of it. "Should" not be so hard to create with any kind of decent VST plugin. I can have a go at creating this sound but I cannot nor will grant the success of this. I just love this sound.

If you check on Google,
you will see that this sound can be made/synthesized
by using the Doppler effect and some reverbs ...

"It makes a characteristic roaring vibrato sound with notable modification from
both Doppler effect and the changing speed of the roarer at different parts of its circuit."
http://www.answers.com/topic/bullroarer

I dont know about native american, but for some australian aboriginal cultures (there are roughly 300) the bullroarer is highly sacred, ofcourse its up ot your own judgement how you handle that but for me it means I'm staying away from it.

Thanks in particular to "HardPCM" and Halleck in their responses.

I'd thought about going the "listen, analyze and construct an additive synthesis analogue" but the instance I've heard sounds to me as if the harmonic content is very rich. I will run another set of search attempts as HardPCM suggests to see if I can't find anything specifically on "bullroarer synthesis."
I'll go this route if I can't find samples of the actual instrument. However, to paraphrase a writer I once read, "sometimes the best substitute for a native American bullroarer sample is a native American bullroarer sample."

In any case, the sample most immediately available isn't from the American instrument(s), but rather one of the Australian instruments.

As for Anton's comment, this is certainly thought provoking. The drum is a sacred instrument over much of the world, perhaps we should just not use drums anymore for fear of offending someone's religious or political-cultural sensibilities. While we're at it, all the graven images should go as well, and all the written material, and then of course a great many people will have to move off the planet or be killed because their mere presence offends their neighbors' sense of religion and righteousness. Hey, it's one thing to celebrate a culture through its cultural production, and another thing to try to mindlessly impose censorship in the name of cultural sensitivities. Then again, given the last few years' events in the Netherlands, including the ritualized murder of a Dutch documentarian and the "voluntary departure" of one of the few high-profile political advocates for Muslim women's rights - it looks as if the Netherlanders will pursue accommodation at any cost.

Like I said, *I* wouldn't use a bullroarer. I think your right that I could've done without the "I dont know about you".

yet this is a topic about a sample, not a forum for political debate for which there are plenty of other places on this big wide internet.

Anton,

Given your contention that this is not a forum for political debate, I have to wonder why you felt compelled to post at all.

Your self-imposed restriction is your own choice, but you chose to publicly discuss this choice and your rationale (if in fact it can be called that) in such a way as to try to discredit my request and ultimately invalidate the project I am working on without regard for the facts or context. That is neither helpful nor constructive behavior - in fact, it is a form of politically-based and -motivated public appeal for censorship - and so was your reply.

Clack,

As you know about as much about my rational as I know about your project I suggest you don't discredit that either.

Again, my original comment was not helpful and perhaps even discrediting, although it wasn't meant as such . If anything it could be accused of being a half assed comment that did not add much to your thread. If it is an apology for this you seek then I offer it to you now.

The only reason I am actually leaving that comment there is because I do not selfcensor my posts, a funny irony perhaps.

So please tell us about your project if you can.

Have you tried making one yourself? Might not be the real thing but if you have the theatre put the right lights in, whos goin to see.
http://www.instructables.com/id/EQJE2NTKU9EQEC17J8/

So please tell us about your project if you can.

My particular application would be for use in a small group composition I am recording on behalf of (another, retired) composer as part of a "demo" of his compositions, possibly to play for performance ensembles that may approached about performing the composer's work.

That's the project I'm working on - I posted this description in my first post.

Have you tried making one yourself? Might not be the real thing but if you have the theatre put the right lights in, whos goin to see.

Yes, Anton, I DID in fact read the sample format request sticky, and yes, I was aware this was "option #2." However, if you were reading carefully you would have seen that I am looking for a recorded sound or reasonable synthesized analogue and not the actual instrument. Otherwise I might have dispensed with this whole query.

Problem #1 for me was, despite having access to printed materials describing "the Native American bullroarer," these materials were not specific enough on the issues of twine/skin materials and the particular shape(s) carved in the wooden part of the bullroarer, both of which are likely to have effects on the nature of the sounds produced.

Problem #2 is simply that my budget does not run to good microphone recording equipment or an adequate non-direct recording environment. These can both be very pricey and they are simply not in my budget for the foreseeable future.

Wait, so if I do manage to get a sample of the australian bullroarer I was talking about, will you be able to use it?

Or do you need, specifically, an american one?

I don't know the difference, or if there is one.

Halleck,

You're going to Australia in the summer, yes? It's possible that with the time frame I'm working with I wouldn't be able to use it/them, but it's tough to tell - and it sure would be an asset for cultural preservation if you were able to get some and post them. I could also go back and re-record that particular piece later, so the answer is that I'd be able to use it.

I'm looking specifically for a Native American bullroarer (starting up, in motion, winding down) but in the absence of an authentic sample I'll use the next best thing - whether it be an Australian bullroarer sample or a synthesized analogue. The composer was incorporating elements of at least one Native American culture in some of his surviving pieces but to the best of my knowledge that tribe doesn't use bullroarers (although it is feasible that they were in contact a few hundred years ago with tribes that did). I could ask the composer about it but the piece in question was written in the early 1970s, and it's possible he does not remember.

I did find a brief description in a "generic" book on Native American musical instruments and from that I'd suspect the material properties would be somewhat different from the Australian version(s) - different wood, twine or skin, and carving - and these variables, along with performance variables - might generate some differences. The wood piece in the book had a notch, which apparently affects the sound character, and some selection and sculpting for aerodynamic properties. There could be substantial regional or even tribal or even subtribal variations on this description, not to mention the differences between these and the antipodean bullroarers.

Enjoy your trip - see "Walkabout" (1968?) if you haven't already - also see "The Castle" (1996?). Thank you!

Clack
Halleck,
You're going to Australia in the summer, yes?
...

Bullroarers are very simple to construct, Though, like anything else, there are good ones and better ones. So the simplest solution would be to make your own instrument and then record it. Recording this sound presents some problems - notably that the person using it hears a somewhat different sound than the listeners outside the circle created by the instrument. Variance those listeners face amongst each other has do do with the eveness of the swing. It is not an easy sound to record. I think I have a recording left over from my Amiga1000 days but it will be easier to make a new one.
I live near Cuzco Peru and have heard and used an instrument like the wind wand but swung about in a similar manner to the bullroarer. As to the concern over the "sacredness" of the instrument: it seems to me that it is largely an issue of where you think the sanctity is imbued in the instrument (ior sound). I think myself that an instrument can be sacred or spiritual only in the moment it produces such a sound. If the Aborigine in Australia were to play my instrument and I were to play his - what different result? If none - the issue is pointless and if a substantial difference does exist than perhaps we do not mean what we mean by the sound "sound". On the other hand, if it creeps you out - don't do it. I had a small bone flute made from the leg bone of a child. I put it away in a drawer years ago and haven't been back since. I am, however, not at all concerned by the condor bone flutes sold in this area as they are all turkey bones. Happy Thnksgiving!!!
"Find out where you're at - and be there on time." - Darrell De Vore

Hello,

I just bought the Bullroarer instrument and in the last days I made some practice with it. I can say, that depends how you play it, it produces sounds from various frequency areas.

I intend to make a sample pack from longer and shorter recordings and of course I will also sample them.

For any particular wishes,
send me a mail
info@sonoquilibrium.com

Matej @ Sonoquilibrium