First a quick schema for finger hole placement. Take the total measurement
of the cane (from root end to the middle of the node ring at the top where
the utaguchi is or will be). Apply the following fractions to find the
placement of the holes (starting at the bottom)
4- .215
3- .315
2- .410
1- .520
thumb- .580
This gives a rough placement schema for all sizes. I noticed in running
through my individual measuring rods that on the shorter flutes the holes
seem to be placed about 2% higher and on the longer flutes about 2% lower. I
don't have a clue why, but of course much depends on the size of the holes
as well. According to the sensei at the Meijiro workshop, standard hole
sizes for Kinko 1.8 flutes are 10mm except for #2, which is 9.5mm. Tozan
flutes are all 10mm. This gets to 11mm down around 2.5 shaku.
John Neptune and some of the modern makers looking for more power are making
the holes larger and larger. There is an interesting historical corollary
here involving Theobald Boehm, the developer of the modern western keyed
flute. He was a flute player of modest repute who was blown away when he
attended a concert of one of the leading English flautists of the day and
heard the enormous power of his sound. While Nicholson was busy with some of
his female admirers Boehm stole a look at his flute and saw that he had had
the finger holes drilled out enormously. Not having Nicholson's huge hands
but realizing the advantage of size (sometimes it does matter...) he began
to think about using keys and pads to cover larger holes and the rest, as
they say, is history...
Except for Irish flute players we no longer have comparisons, but Boehm's
flute was not immediately embraced--many people said that it lacked the
warmth of the older flutes, and therein lies the conundrum hinted at by Tom
Deaver in our context--no one can really agree on what a shakuhachi is
supposed to sound like. Different bores and finger hole sizes give different
playing and sound characteristics. I have played a number of modern
shakuhachi which had BIG sounds, but lacked the nuance and delicacy of
traditional instruments. But then many of the traditional instruments are of
a more limited dynamic. The makers and players I have spoken with seem to
value "balance" over all other criteria--the flute should play well in tune,
without huge variations note to note or octave to octave. Each note should
speak clearly and without warbling when pushed. You got that you're 95%
home.
A few notes on utaguchi making. This applies to Kinko utaguchi. Tozan is a
major pain which I have not yet attempted, and luckily since I am not a
professional maker I don't have to think about it (thought from a
construction standpoint the Tozan utaguchi is clearly superior, since less
of the blowing edge is bamboo, which is prone to erosion after prolonged
use).
Do not finish the top edge before cutting the utaguchi bed. Leave the edge
about 1mm thich to avoid breakage when undercutting. Many makers also smear
superglue (the shakuhachi maker's friend) all over the top of the front face
to further reinforce the bamboo. The utaguchi does not slide in
perpendicular to the front face, rather it should go in at about a 45 degree
angle down. The utaguchi material, after being formed in the correct shape,
is sanded like an arrow point and then firmly wedged into place. It
shouldn't be glued in or you will never get it out without breaking the
bamboo when it is time to replace it! If it is correctly shaped and the cuts
are straight, a few taps with a mallet is all it takes to hold it in. It can
then be cut with a saw and the front face finished. I find a Dremel drill
very useful to take most of the excess material off the back, then finish
with fine half-round or oval files. There are a lot of subelties to utaguchi
placement, depending on the shape of the top of the flute. Normally it is
placed rather as far back as the thickness of the bamboo allows (overhanging
the inside wall of the bamboo, and this is filled with ji--so the ji tends
to be thicker at the front than at the back. Otherwise it makes the mouth
placement akward.
A point on tuning: If you find that the octaves are out of tune it is almost
certainly a problem with the linearity of the bore. Mathematically, the only
valid musical instrument bores are cylinders or cones. Any variations wreak
tuning havoc. As the shakuhachi is an inverted cone, you must make sure that
bore maintains a linear taper throughout most of its length. Small local
disturbances create problems that show up on individual notes, as you
disturb the nodes of the standing waves formed inside the bore. John Neptune
has done some interesting empirical research and come up with a chart to
show important nodal points along the length of the bore for each note on
the shakuhachi. I can try to find his chart and scan it if anyone is
interested. He takes small strips of wet newspaper and slides them into the
bore in strategic places to correct problems and in this way can fine-tune
his flutes (by later reducing or enlarging the bore in the places and in the
amounts he has determined by this method). I guess I can try to explain that
further if anyone is interested, but it would take some time. It is a novel
and (sometimes) effective (in my limited experience) way of tweaking the
bore in a localized way.
I had the pleasure of attending a flute making seminar with John a couple of
years ago, and he let me try his 1 shaku 8 sun. A pretty groaty looking
flute--the holes are large, cut out in odd shapes, built up with funny
concoctions of glue--and the bore is anything but smooth, due to all the
tweaking he has done. But what a monster! Interestingly the cast-bore flutes
he sells that have been modeled on that bore are all good players, but
nothing like that one...One more mystery in the shakuhachi metaphysic.
Best to all,
Toby
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