Re: improvisation

From: Philip Gelb (ryokan@value.net)
Date: Tue Feb 27 2001 - 07:56:04 PST


>= Yokoyama Katsuya did tell
>me at one of his workshops that one should memorize the honkyoku in order
>to make them one's own -- if you have it in your mind without the notation
>in front of you it perhaps makes it easier to shape it eventually into your
>own honkyoku, putting different nuances in there while retaining the spirit
>of the original but our ryuha hasn't encouraged that practice. Memorizing
>the honkyoku also takes some very serious study, but I think it is also a
>good thing to try to do (not that I've done much).

This is one thing that sets Yokoyama, Kurahashi and a few other
teachers apart from most of the others. Most teachers seem to want
the student to simply repeat and sound exactly like themselves which
is simply not possible to do. To me this is why so many shakuhachi
players play honkyoku with no feeling at all as they are trying too
sound like someone else rather than make it your own.

Yokoyama and Kurahashi and some other teachers want the student to
make the honkyoku their own as they realize one cannot simply repeat
the teachers style.

This might open a serious can of worms.....

phil

-- 
			    Philip Gelb

***NEW EMAIL AND URL*** ryokan@value.net http://value.net/~ryokan 510 452 2568 840 Warfield #9 Oakland CA 94610



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