Hi Adam,
While I prefer soft tissue to blow my nose, instead of rough computer
paper, I appreciate your point.
I couldn't agree with you more that we need to incorporate some of the
principles of western body usage and alignment to our shakuhachi practice.
I feel that is an area that is so often ignored or given lip service too in
shakuhachi instruction. These Western practices have much to teach us that
we can apply to our practice.
There are examples of players having bodily injuries from body misuse
during their blowing that doesn't seem to be addressed in tradition
instruction. Alexander Technique is one example of a system that helps
musicians of all sorts learn to use their bodies better while they play.
Yoga principles, Feldenkrais, etc all have something to offer.
I think this issue needs to be explored and addressed to a much higher
degree in the shakuhachi world. John Singer and Ralph Samuelson gave a
workshop on the topic at the World Shakuhachi festival that was attended by
too few people. The word needs to spread!
I have experienced pain in my thumb that has taken me a long time of
exploration to discover where my tensions lie and how I can modify my
posture, grip, relaxation, etc. to help reduce the pain. Its not totally
solved, but I'm making a little progress. Learning to play this instrument
is hard enough without having to deal with physical pain from body misuse.
And of course, better posture and relaxation leads to better tone
production and better playing.
(And if you don't like what I said, find a "SOFT" tissue to blow your nose
with! Recycling paper is great, but spare yourself the scratchy noise!)
Thanks,
Herb
"If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius."
Michelangelo
At 7/26/00 03:30 PM, adam friedman wrote:
Hello everyone,
I would like to add a few ideas that I have been investigating
recently. They seem to have pretty major implications for the entire way I
conceptualize shakuhachi practice. If they are useful, great! If not,
please print this out and blow your nose with it!
I got started, as many people do, as a musician with an interest in Zen and
a desire to have some tangible way to combine the two. However, the more I
play shakuhachi, the less interested in reading about Zen I become. Zen
has a remarkably developed body of writing describing experience and but
little actual description of method. Certainly this is influenced by Zen
being a "Japanese" discipline, where the guts are rarely articulated and
must be discovered individually and silently.
I would like to bring your attention to the plethora of "Western" schools
out there (Alexander Technique, Rolfing, Feldenkrais, etc) that have come
up with tremendously sophisticated ways of conceptualizing breathing,
moving, and bodily usage. In my opinion, these methods have parallels to
Zen, but as highly articulate methods are more directly applicable to
shakuhachi practice. For example, I recently read a book by a California
architect and Alexander Technique practitioner that discusses the
completely unergonomic nature of the common chair and the torture our
bodies are put through by sitting all the time. It seems reasonable that if
one is serious about Zen practice and shakuhachi, it is vital to examine
how the physical use (or disuse!) of our body impacts our sound.
The potency of such methods can be easily experienced yourself. Sit far
back in a conventional chair and play. You will notice your spine assumes
a "C" shape, which compresses your lungs and airway. Notice the
sound. Next, stand up and blow. Try to diminish or lengthen your posture.
Experiment with the position of your head, tongue, neck, and arms. What is
the musical result? Another tremendously rich exercise is to examine how
different syllables impact breathing and tone. For example, imagine the
vowels internally (a, u, i, e, or o) while playing. Do you notice a change?
Happy blowing, moving, and grooving!
Adam Friedman
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