Hi All,
Interesting dialog. It is quite interesting to attempt to discuss
what defies verbalization. Since everyone's experience of honkyoku is
always flowing and changing, it is not surprising that the static medium
of words (or notation) leaves a great deal to be desired.
Since my background is in jazz music, I've always been pretty wary
of notation, and knowing how imperfectly jazz could be represented, the
goal was always to get away from the paper as soon as possible.
However, with shakuhachi music I have a somewhat different impression.
I play Tozan school, so perhaps my observations don't apply as well to
Kinko school and others.
It seems that in the past decades, musicians in Japan, because of
their high musical literacy, have become guilty of the same "text
fetishism" that often plagues Western classical musicians. The steep
price of the Nyodo set seems to evidence this, and also the prevalent
tendency to restrict access to goods, ideas, etc. in Japan.
However, the set, in some way, condenses a lifetime (or several) of
honkyoku insight into a highly imperfect visual form. The price, if you
consider you are buying one man's life work, seems more reasonable. All
said, my checkbook isn't flying open.
Adam Friedman
........Perhaps this is also related?
Osho's No-thought for the Day
"Life is a verb. Life is not a noun, it is really "living" not
"life." It is not love,
it is loving. It is not relationship, it is relating. It is not a
song, it is singing.
It is not a dance, it is dancing. See the difference, savor the
difference."
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