When I first saw Monty's note about the availability of the Tanaguchi
stuff, I thought, "I've already got more sheet music than I'll
learn in this lifetime, so I'll pass." Then curiousity got the
better of me, and I took a look at the website and saw Kumoijishi.
I grabbed a copy of the image and enlarged it to 7x9.5 and printed
it out so I could play it. I've been playing Kumoijishi for a few
years and have one version mostly memorized, so I didn't need
another. I just thought I'd see what Tanaguchi's idea of the
piece was.
By the time I got through playing it, I realized why it would be
nice to have the notation. Like many shakuhachi masters (probably
*all* masters), Tanaguchi has his own ideas about how the piece
goes, and his notation reflects those ideas. By playing from his
notation I would get another take on the piece, and I picked up a
couple of ideas for various passages that I preferred to the ways
I had learned.
The notion that I would get new insights from his notation, coupled
with the extremely reasonable price (32 pieces (by my count) for
$40, making this the least expensive notation I've ever bought) sold
me on the book. Peter Hill, who visited me in San Diego last month,
told me that Tanaguchi was an incredible player and teacher and
I'd already planned to pick up one or two of the CDs, so Monty's
package deal really looked attractive.
The materials arrive late yesterday afternoon, and I haven't managed
to find time to do much except sit and read and listen (well, I
managed to get dinner last night, and some sleep, but aside from
the necessities :-). This is, in its own way, as impressive as
the Jin Nyodo notation. First off, it is printed on wonderfully
heavy paper (probably 80# card stock). On the aesthetic side,
Tanaguchi's calligraphy is far more simple (perhaps "sparse" would
be a better word) than Jin's (or Muira Kendo/Goro Yamaguchi) and
therefore easier to read and work with - if you already know the
piece.
Where Tanaguchi's book really differs from the other notation sets
that I've seen however, is that Tanaguchi's commentary on the pieces
has been translated into English. As those of us who have limited
or no Japanese know, English translations (done here by Zachary
Braverman, who also translated the liner notes for the Watazumi
CD) are invaluable.
Commentary and translation give us insights into the history and
character of the pieces that we would only get from our teachers
or from other, scattered sources. I should also note that the
liner notes for each CD carry further commentary on each piece
(which is nice because three of the pieces on the CDs are not in
the notation set :-(
Possession of this set of notation and CDs gives you a chance to
study Tanaguchi a bit which, while it may not be the same as studying
*with* Tanaguchi, is a fairly satisfying substitute.
I expect Monty will be making a second print run.
bj
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