--Apple-Mail-1-844689341
charset=US-ASCII;
format=flowed
Hello Brian.
As one of many humans with parents of two distinctly different
cultures, and as one who has added to the confusion by choosing to play
a musical instrument from yet another culture, I become uncomfortable
with discussions such as yours.
One might say that by definition, all cultural values, habits and
biases, western or otherwise, are forever foreign to folks like me and
my fellow half-breeds.
Then there are people both of whose parents are of one culture, but who
were born, raised, and continue to live in another culture. And there
are those who belong to minority cultures that have been subsumed into
dominant ones. Perhaps, we and our music could be classified as "truly,
authentically mongrel".
By the way, the word is spelt "honkyoku". It is derived from two
Chinese characters that are usually translated as 'main' or 'original'
(hon) and 'piece' (kyoku), that is, 'original pieces'. My (Japanese)
shakuhachi teacher however, says that the deeper meaning of this word
is from the expression 'honnin no kyoku', which loosely translates as
"one's own piece".
The implication is that one can't play a honkyoku properly without
making it 'one's own music'. If one accepts this meaning, then the
answer to your original question, "Do Westerners have a shakuhachi
accent?" is, one certainly hopes so!
Regards, Riley
Dr Riley Lee
PO Box 939, Manly NSW 1655 Australia
tel. +612 9976 6904 fax +612 9976 6905
mobile +612 414 626 453
www.rileylee.net
On 01/07/2004, at 5:51 PM, shakuhachi wrote:
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 17:54:58 -0400
> From: "Brian Miller" <ramasita@peoplepc.com>
> To: <Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Shaku] Re: Do Westerners Have a Shakuhachi Accent?
> Message-ID: <000f01c45eec$e5347690$065179a5@lanc.thmulti.com>
>
> As has been commented, it is really difficult to isolate (or, in the
> case of
> Westerners) integrate a set foreign cultural values, habits and biases
> into
> ones life in a convincingly truthful way. Whether or not the
> nuisances
> particular to Japanese shakuhachi are a result of cultural influences
> (as
> much or more so than the technical issues of mastering the instrument)
> may
> be impossible to determine for certain. Honkoyo shakuhachi is no doubt
> intimily interwoven with Japanese culture, religion, and the
> "Japanese" way
> of experiencing life. When it comes to Westerners playing Honkoyo,
> I'm not
> sure if any of "us" could ever truly play in an "Authentic" style.
> Interpretation is certainly not a bad thing, though. It is through
> interpretation that new musical forms are born. Of course, a hundred
> years
> from now, perhaps "authentic" Honkoyo will have integrated (or
> contaminated,
> depending on your point of view) a Western influence. :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Brian
--Apple-Mail-1-844689341
charset=US-ASCII
Hello Brian.
As one of many humans with parents of two distinctly different
cultures, and as one who has added to the confusion by choosing to
play a musical instrument from yet another culture, I become
uncomfortable with discussions such as yours.
One might say that by definition, all cultural values, habits and
biases, western or otherwise, are forever foreign to folks like me and
my fellow half-breeds.
Then there are people both of whose parents are of one culture, but
who were born, raised, and continue to live in another culture. And
there are those who belong to minority cultures that have been
subsumed into dominant ones. Perhaps, we and our music could be
classified as "truly, authentically mongrel".
By the way, the word is spelt "honkyoku". It is derived from two
Chinese characters that are usually translated as 'main' or 'original'
(hon) and 'piece' (kyoku), that is, 'original pieces'. My (Japanese)
shakuhachi teacher however, says that the deeper meaning of this word
is from the expression 'honnin no kyoku', which loosely translates as
"one's own piece".
The implication is that one can't play a honkyoku properly without
making it 'one's own music'. If one accepts this meaning, then the
answer to your original question, "Do Westerners have a shakuhachi
accent?" is, one certainly hopes so!
Regards, Riley
<bold><italic><fontfamily><param>Baskerville</param><smaller><x-tad-smaller>
Dr Riley Lee
PO Box 939, Manly NSW 1655 Australia
tel. +612 9976 6904 fax +612 9976 6905
mobile +612 414 626 453
www.rileylee.net</x-tad-smaller><x-tad-smaller>
</x-tad-smaller></smaller></fontfamily></italic></bold>
On 01/07/2004, at 5:51 PM, shakuhachi wrote:
<excerpt>------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 17:54:58 -0400
From: "Brian Miller" <<ramasita@peoplepc.com>
To: <<Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu>
Subject: Re: [Shaku] Re: Do Westerners Have a Shakuhachi Accent?
Message-ID: <<000f01c45eec$e5347690$065179a5@lanc.thmulti.com>
As has been commented, it is really difficult to isolate (or, in the
case of
Westerners) integrate a set foreign cultural values, habits and biases
into
ones life in a convincingly truthful way. Whether or not the
nuisances
particular to Japanese shakuhachi are a result of cultural influences
(as
much or more so than the technical issues of mastering the instrument)
may
be impossible to determine for certain. Honkoyo shakuhachi is no doubt
intimily interwoven with Japanese culture, religion, and the
"Japanese" way
of experiencing life. When it comes to Westerners playing Honkoyo,
I'm not
sure if any of "us" could ever truly play in an "Authentic" style.
Interpretation is certainly not a bad thing, though. It is through
interpretation that new musical forms are born. Of course, a hundred
years
from now, perhaps "authentic" Honkoyo will have integrated (or
contaminated,
depending on your point of view) a Western influence. :-)
Cheers,
Brian</excerpt>
--Apple-Mail-1-844689341--
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