Stubble.......almost worse than full blown (no pun...) beard hair.
Air seal: important, but not as paramount as one would think. Try the
following interesting excercise---works best for those who've been
playing long enough to have pretty solid and consistent tone, but
anyone can pull it off:
---hold the shakuhachi in normal playing position...now rotate it 180
degrees so that the four holes are down and the ri hole is uppermost.
Now cover, say, the three or so holes nearest the blowing end (that's
the hardest part...) and blow on the flute, using the curved, blunt,
BOTTOM of the mouthpiece as the blowing edge.
Remarkably good sound, nicht wahr? If you've got really weird
fingers, you can even play otsu RO...
eB
>Dear Shakuhachi folk,
> I find that even a short
>stubble adversely effects my playing...I have to shave before
>practise, and always take an electric shaver in my bag if I am
>performing somewhere. Correct me if I'm wrong...I think a good air
>seal is as critical at the mouthpiece as it is at any of the finger
>holes.
>
>
>Cheers,
>Bill.
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