Someone wrote something about playing untraditional music on traditional
instruments... What does this mean, that one needs an untraditional
instrument to play untraditional music? Is a piano or a cello a traditional
instrument that cannot be made to play untraditional music? What is an
untraditional shakuhachi, one with six or seven or even nine holes (all of
these do exist), or one with a Tajima-developed mouthpiece inserted into the
top end? Does this mean that those players who do not play traditional
music cannot use shakuhachi that come from this flute making shop? (I've
sometimes thought of shakuhachi construction as the making of new antiques.)
Concerning "Sankyoku", remember that they are the Japanese classics and many
of them were written at the same time in history as Western classical
composers were writing their classics. Someone always points this out when
giving hands on presentations at schools around the valley. For some good
sankyoku, try Aoki Reibo playing Zangetsu as a shakuhachi solo or Yokoyama
and Haga playing Sue no Chigiri or Yamamoto and his koto partner playing
Midare, or Yamaguchi doing Hagi no Tsuyu, etc. There are lots of good
recordings of good sankyoku performances as well as study recordings of the
stringed parts only, very good for playing the shakuhachi along with.
Playing sankyoku has always helped with stamina and fingering ability for me
although largely limited in fingering techniques to the Miyako Bushi In Sen
Po scales. Hmmm...come to think about it, haven't tried any sankyoku for
more than a while now if memory serves...?? Shut Mouth!
Hang in there everyone and consider whether or not your shakuhachi or your
teacher's shakuhachi or my shakuhachi or any other shakuhachi, traditional
or not, knows at all if Tsu or re or hi or Chimeri is a sankyoku note or a
honkyoku note or a traditional note or an untraditional note or any other
sort of note.
Tom Deaver
Bei Shu Shakuhachi Workshop
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~shaku100/
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