I will second Hans' comments about the Ichiyo Shakuhachi manuals
(Vol. 1 & Vol. 2) from Tom Deaver. I don't see them available on
Monty's site; they are available through Tom at his website
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~shaku100/ (use the "Shakuhachi
Plaing Guides" link...)
The complete set (Vols 1 & 2 with tapes) for 7500 Yen, which is about
$56.00US at the current rate. Also available as separate items.
eB
>I started playing about 1 year and a half ago , and work mainly with
>the Ichyo shakuhachi manual part one and two , and I can say they
>are really complete and comprehensible. They give you material
>enough for years to study and there are two tapes with the booklets
>wich are also very good. Can really recommend these books to any
>beginner.
>When carefully reading I discovered the texts contain lots of
>information , you only pick up after several readings.
>Everey time I hear or read something about playing technique , I
>discover it is mostly covered by the books too.
>
>Hope this helps starters.
>Hans van Loon
>The Netherlands
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: "Stav Tapuch" <tapuch@hotmail.com>
>Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 3:54 PM
>To: "Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu" <Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu>
>Subject: Shakuhachi Guides
>
>
>To those seeking advice on playing guides to help them in their initial
>steps:
>
>My first half year of playing shakuhachi was on my own. I obtained copies
>of two playing guides:
>
>Carl Abbott's Blowing Zen
>
>and
>
>Taniguchi's How to Play the Shakuhachi.
>
>
>Carl's book came with an accompanying tape, and Taniguchi's came with a
>disk. (I couldn't imagine trying to learn shakuhachi on my own without at
>least examples to listen and compare to - so an accompanying disk or tape is
>absolutely essential in my opinion.)
>
>Carl Abbott's book is very, very good for one's first steps. He provides a
>dozen or so very short songs - using basic notes, and has clear explanations
>on the simple little things that at first seem very daunting. It is a good
>first book to pick up. However- once his book moves to the more
>sophisticated works, he explanations become a bit more complicated, and at
>one point, sort of uncomprehensible. Of course, this is just my humble
>opinion. I think this is perhaps more indicitive of the genre of music in
>general than just his book. That is - at a certain point, if you wish to
>progress in classical shakuhachi study, you will need to receive the
>tutelage of a teacher. But from my experience, this is a great first book,
>and could easily keep someone busy for half a year. (Also - a sizable
>portion of Carl's book is on making shakuhachi. If you don't have
>asspirations of making your own bamboo shakuhachi, you might be a bit
>annoyed that a large portion of the book is spent on this topic.)
>
>Taniguchi's book has different strengths and weaknessess. If someone was
>only picking up this book to start with, I am sure they would be very lost
>to figure out the notation and finer nuances of playing basic shakuhachi?
>Why? There is no explanatory text in the book - only general diagrams. My
>impression is that the book was not really intended to be used on its own,
>but as a guide to go along with Taniguchi's class at Oberlin University. If
>I hadn't had Carl's book to have given me the very basics, Taniguchi's book
>would have been a waste of time and money. But- this book provides some
>wonderful folk music, that is fairly easy to play, and the disk itself is a
>pleasure to listen to. I have been playing almost for a year now- and I use
>this book all the time. (I really enjoy the songs.) Carl's guide got me
>going, but I haven't touched it in a while.
>
>Hope this was of help....
>
>And if someone wants to REALLY ambitious with the FAQ page- how about a
>compendium of shakuhachi book reveiws in the spirit of Amazon.com?
>
>Stav
>
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