Re: acoustic impedances; what makes a good instrument

From: I.M. BULB (imbulb@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Sep 15 2003 - 21:20:00 PDT


> rabid anti-science strain that appears on the list
> everytime someone so
> much as mentions that shakuhachi acoustics would be
> fun to study?

Anti-science strain? I dont see it at all. The
questions I asked were honest questions I often
ponder. I certianly hope your not getting the feeling
I was 'attacking' mark.

> But unless I'm mistaken I didn't think I heard
> anybody say that what they learned, if anything,
> about bore acoustics
> would allow them to create the 6 million dollar
> shakuhachi virtuoso. So
> why all the noise ?

Good Point!!

I do remember several years ago meeting a shakuhachi
player named Satoshi who visited seattle. I remember
showing him measurements of what I thought was the
perfect shakuhachi ( after hearing him play at dusty
strings)- He looked at the piece of paper and said
"these numbers mean nothing, man." and threw it back
at me.

He then mentioned how Americans have tendancy for
trying to explain everything in exhistance and started
in on how he watched his teacher make his shakuhachi
and not a single once did he use any measuring device.
Of course, he was yelling at me at this point :)

His shakuhachi had an excessivly wide bore, had 2
large lumps in the male area of the bore and looked
like it had been through hell 3 times and a train
wreck. When I asked him to play it, he made it sound
priceless. He said that this is the only instrument
his teacher gave him to play and he has played it for
over 10 years.

Side note: if anyone knows who this shakuhachi player
is please share his full name with me.

Thats intense... and it says alot. Esp about bore
shape and smoothness. At least to me it does.

So, I guess I'll be sure to mark that down as one more
under the "perfect bore makes the virtuoso" column. :)

The happyface means it was a joke, btw karl. :)

Cheers,
Isaac

--- Karl Young <kyoung@itsa.ucsf.edu> wrote:
>
> Sorry, I just had to step back in and come to Mark's
> defense before he
> becomes the shakuhachi world equivalent of Giordano
> Bruno. What is this
> rabid anti-science strain that appears on the list
> everytime someone so
> much as mentions that shakuhachi acoustics would be
> fun to study? I
> thought Isaac made some good points and I'm the
> first to go ballistic
> when the "skeptics" (aka the junior g-men of science
> with their secret
> psuedoscience decoder rings) "debunk" anything they
> think they can call
> pseudoscience (never mind that they haven't a clue
> as to what science
> is and how it works). But unless I'm mistaken I
> didn't think I heard
> anybody say that what they learned, if anything,
> about bore acoustics
> would allow them to create the 6 million dollar
> shakuhachi virtuoso. So
> why all the noise ?
>
> -- KY
> Karl Young
> University of California, SF Phone: (415)
> 221-4810 x3114 lab
> VA Medical Center, MRS Unit (114M) (415)
> 750-9463 home
> 4150 Clement Street FAX: (415)
> 668-2864
> San Francisco, CA 94121 Email:
> kyoung@itsa.ucsf.edu
>
>
> List subscription information is at:
> http://communication.ucsd.edu/shaku/listsub.html

=====
____________________________________________________________
Isaac Marshall
Seattle Shakuhachi Society
http://www.megaseattle.com/shakuhachi/
____________________________________________________________

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