>Hmmm... I've been doing this for quite a while now with one piece:
>KYOREI...
I've only been playing for 9 months - so I'm in the same boat.
I've memorized 2 honkyoku pieces - so I can't speak for the music in
general. One of those 2 pieces is Kyorei - I'd like to share with you how I
got that down.
Kyorei definitely has a noticeable pattern. The pattern usually repeats 3
times - sometimes with an extra phrase but a bit different. I saw the first
section (upto RI MERI - RI - RI) as a collection of three main phrases
played just a bit differently each time. The second section is a shorter
repeat of the first section. Thinking in terms of sections and patterns
really helped me - but looking at the other honkyoku notation blows me away
(for now).
In watching experienced players, I've also noticed that how you play a
phrase seems more important that what note is being played. Learning this
dimension has helped me too.
I recently attended a workshop with Dai Shihan Michael Gould in Berkeley,
CA. - Thanks Michael for the workshop & thanks Ron for setting it up!
Michael told us about singing the pieces before we played them. I feel that
this is profound advice.
I also study the tabla - and in classical Indian music, the voice is the
first instrument. In tabla, we always sing the piece (more like chanting -
Dha Dhin Dhin Dha, etc.) before we even hit the drum. Oddly enough, I'm also
a part of a 4-day Taiko workshop in which the teacher commonly say "If you
can say it, you can play it." The practice piece, Renshu, has parts like
"Doro Tsuku Doro Tsuku Doro Tsuku Don Don!"
I bring all this up because they all seem so consistent in music of melodic
modes. Furthermore, when you're singing the piece, you can add that
wonderful dimension of _how_ the piece is played/sung to it - instead of
just looking at notation. TSU RE becomes TSU Reeeeee.......
or tsU RE!eeeee....... <tears>
Personally, I've got the pilgrim's song "Jyun Rei Ka" (from Taniguchi
sensei's book published for the class at Oberlin college in the 80's)
going through my head all day (Chi Ro..Ro Ri; Ro Tsu Re Ro... Ri..RoRiChi;
Chi Ri Ri Re Ri Ri Ro Ri; Ou Ou Ri Tsu Re...). It's like practicing without
a flute (not to mention that you're at work too!)
Duke.
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 08 2002 - 09:19:37 PST