James,
When I play I try to open my mouth cavity and throat to the maximum to
get a rich tone color. To do this I pull my tongue down and back away
from my lower teeth. Sometimes it rests just in back of my lower teeth,
but usually it's way down and back. This helps me get a very rounded
shape in my mouth and the sound I like.
At Yokoyama Katsuya's master class at the Boulder Shakuhachi Festival,
he said that he curls his tongue and uses it like a funnel I've never
seriously tried that, but it's worth looking into since his sound is
unbelievable.
Connected to this subject is something I read in a book about John
Coltrane last night. Here's what he said:
"The sound you get on any instrument depends on the conception of sound
you hear in your mind. It also depends on our physical properties,
such as the shape and structure of the inside of your mouth and throat."
I believe this explains why we all get different tone colors on flutes
that aren't that different from each other. And why players like
Coltrane and Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz , Lester Young, Paul Desmond
etc. got vastly different tones out of their horns. They all basically
played the same horn. But, they placed their tongues differently, had
differently shaped and sized mouths and throats.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
Peter Ross
Cloudhandsmusic.com
Hello all.
The question is... Where do you place your tongue when you play?
Over the past year or so I have been making a change in my playing with
respect to the placement of
the tongue. This is a big challenge but one that is well worth it as it
has improved my sound. In
querying a number of great shakuhachi players on this matter, both
American and Japanese, I have
gotten a variety of responses as to where folks put the tongue. Almost
everyone agrees, however, that
this is an interesting question, and an aspect of playing and teaching
that is generally not covered.
Until now I have put the tongue pressing up against the lower lip when I
play. This method offers
several advantages but also some big disadvantages. Advantages: it keeps
the mouth and lips forward
when playing and it is good for meris. It also offers a sense of
security. Disadvantages: you play too
flat, and the sound, while good, is never really focused.
There are several options for placing the tongue. One is to simply let
it hang out loosely in the mouth.
Another is to press it up against the back teeth. Another is to curl it
upwards slightly. Depending on
the different colors and pitches you want to make, you can move the
tongue into different positions as
you play. I have adapted the hang out method primarily but often press
it into the lower lip for meris
and dai meris, and occasionally move it around during a long note to
help change the color.
All thoughts on this matter are welcome.
James
____________________
James Nyoraku Schlefer
Shakuhachi
www.nyoraku.com
(718) 499-7793
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