Re: What is an FAQ

From: Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin (Nyogetsu@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 14 2002 - 05:15:32 PST


> Usually Kan Tsu Dai Meri is more difficult to produce than otsu tsu dai
> meri. Kan notes are generally harder to meri than otsu notes. DAI KAN notes
> are nearly impossible to meri at all.
>
> For me, the most difficult meri note to produce is Kan Ro Dai Meri, which
> is, on a 1.8 shaku flute for example, a C pitch, equal to ri ( or ha, or
> ya).
>
> Unlike the case with tsu dai meri (otsu) or Tsu Dai Meri (Kan), there is no
> partially opened finger hole that one can close that tiny bit more to help
> bring the note down, together with the meri technique, to the right pitch.
>
> In my experience, when I can't do something with my flute that I am supposed
> to do, it is because I haven't tried doing that thing enough.
>
> In other words, I haven't practiced it hard enough, long enough, frequently
> enough.
>
> Best regards, Riley

Exactly !
And what we realize at a certain level, is that for the Kan Ro Dai Meri (or
for that matter- the kan ro dai meri as well), the third way to concentrate
on getting a note flatter comes into play. That is, "lipping-down" the
pitch. We usually just work with beginning students with the 2-part
instruction for meri;

1- Lower the head (think of your head going to your chest .)

2-Cover the "following" hole as much as physically possible without
completely covering it.

In reality, if we add in the "lip", meri often becomes a combination of the
three techniques, depending upon the desired effect of the performer.

Riley is correct because in playing Kan Ro Dai Meri you only have the
possibility of using techniques #1 and #3

Be well all,
Ronnie

Website: www.nyogetsu.com
Email: nyogetsu@nyc.rr.com
Phone/fax:212-929-1037
>
> --
>
> Dr. Riley Lee
> Sound of Bamboo
> PO Box 939 Manly NSW 1655 Australia
> Tel: +61 02 9976 6904 mobile: +61 0414 626 453
> www.rileylee.net
>
>
>
>
>
>> From: Karl Young <kyoung@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>
>> Organization: SLAC
>> Reply-To: Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu
>> Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 13:19:11 -0800
>> To: Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu
>> Subject: Re: What is an FAQ
>>
>>
>>
>>> Never had a flute where I could "overcompensate" enough to make
>>> tsu-no-meri flat. Would that I did. Masa is always finding
>>> pieces that call for dai-otsu-tsu-no-meri.
>>
>> Sounds like a great teacher - knows how to tweak you in the right way.
>> In my case it's not really the flute. I have a natural "advantage" in
>> that I tend to blow flat already (generally from a tendency to "lean in"
>> too much to reduce the hiss). So after compensating for that by forcing
>> the flute almost into my chest, when I get to blow a meri note I seem to
>> whip the flute almost into my upper lip and my tsu-no-meri is halfway
>> between what it "should" be and dai-otsu-tsu-no-meri - I guess just
>> good old better ear training (combined with a little hand ear
>> coordination) is the solution to all of this...
>>
>>> I can drag the pitch down to an E flat-flat/almost D, but it's
>>> never enough for a teacher who has perfect pitch (and whose
>>> favorite comment seems to be "INTONATION. INTONATION" :-)
>>>
>>> Too sharp? too tight ane embrochure? not enough meri? not enough
>>> practice?
>>
>> funny; we had a workshop with Jim Shleffer last week and after all those
>> sessions with Kurahashi, who has flawless intonation, saying pitch is
>> not so important, Shleffer made a point of emphasizing that, well yes
>> pitch actually is very important.
>>
>>> oh, and it's easily the most difficult note on the instrument, yes?
>>
>> here here
>>
>>> My first teacher told me a story where she went for a group lesson
>>> (I think she said with Yamamoto Hozan) many years ago. The first
>>> thing the teacher had each student do was blow otsu-no-tsu-no-meri.
>>>
>>> He immediately knew the level of each student.
>>
>> ooo, scary thought, but I bet that is pretty accurate.
>>
>>> maybe we should all be blowing 10 minutes of otsu-no-tsu-no-meri
>>> instead of otsu-no-ro...
>>
>> ha ! thirty minutes of each !
>>
>> -- KY
>> Karl Young kyoung@slac.stanford.edu
>> SLAC M/S 71 PO Box 20450
>> Stanford, CA 94309
>> 650-926-3380 (voice) 650-926-2923 (FAX)
>>
>



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Feb 03 2003 - 09:09:51 PST