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Re: Sound MaterialEven though the scientists seem to be on the other =
side, I'm inclined to side with Zach on this issue. It's not that I =
think one or the other side is incorrect in their assumptions. Rather, =
the uniqueness of the features of each bamboo means each shakuhachi is =
also unique, in terms of tone color, intonation, tonal dynamics, etc.=20
It may be that, theoretically, we can duplicate these things by carving =
enough PVC into the target shape. However, I think part of the beauty of =
shakuhachi making lies in treating the natural expression (shape, =
structure) of the bamboo with respect, and adapting your craft to the =
"needs" of the bamboo at hand. (I'm not a shakuhachi maker, but had some =
opportunities to try it out; it's a very interesting experience for any =
shakuhachi player! I highly recommend it.)
Through the history of shakuhachi, there seems to be an increasing =
tendency to "force" the bamboo to sound a certain way, keep a certain =
intonation, etc., and while I don't think this trend is bad, if it =
continues we may well see the shakuhachi version of the Boehm flute =
soon, with metal valves, etc.! Again, if someone wants to play such a =
thing, I don't think it's bad, although it's not my preference. And I =
would suppose professional shakuhachi makers typically won't make their =
reputations anytime soon by making shakuhachi that are not precisely =
tuned, no matter how great the tone (although connoisseurs I've met of =
the ji-nashi shakuhachi are usually willing to adapt to the funky =
intonation for the sake of that great, natural feel and sound). However, =
it certainly feels nicer to play on a instrument of (formerly - and in a =
way, still) living wood, with as little of the post-industrial age =
materials as possible, at least to me, since much of the shakuhachi that =
personally appeals to me is its (potential) minimalist, pre- (or non-) =
industrial aesthetic.=20
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Zachary Braverman=20
To: weber shaq=20
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 1:38 AM
Subject: Re: Sound Material
On 02.2.5 6:03 PM, "Monty H. Levenson" <monty@shakuhachi.com> wrote:
This became quite clear to me when developing a technique for =
mathematically scaling the bores of various sized flutes to produce a =
prototype for my 2.8' (Key of G) shakuhachi. In order to minimize =
variations in wall thickness and resulting finger hole depth, I attached =
bamboo mouthpieces to PVC flute bodies which were then outfitted with =
precision bores. The sound of100% bamboo instruments that grew out of =
these experiments is indistinguishable from the prototypes. They have =
identical pitch, timbre and resonance qualities.
Monty,
I don=1B$B!G=1B(Bt mean this to sound snide at all, but if that is the =
case, then why don=1B$B!G=1B(Bt you just mass produce flutes made to =
your specifications out of PVC? They wouldn=1B$B!G=1B(Bt be pretty, but =
they=1B$B!G=1B(Bd be very cheap, and if they had the exact same sound, =
the only reason people would object would be romantic sentiment for the =
appearance of bamboo.
Sincerely,
Zachary=20
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Re: Sound Material</TITLE>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-2022-jp">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.50.4912.300" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Even though the scientists seem to be =
on the=20
other side, I'm inclined to side with Zach on this issue. It's not =
that I=20
think one or the other side is incorrect in their assumptions. Rather, =
the=20
uniqueness of the features of each bamboo means each shakuhachi is =
also=20
unique, in terms of tone color, intonation, tonal dynamics, etc. =
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>It may be that, theoretically, we can =
duplicate=20
these things by carving enough PVC into the target shape. However, I =
think part=20
of the beauty of shakuhachi making lies in treating the natural =
expression=20
(shape, structure) of the bamboo with respect, and adapting your craft =
to the=20
"needs" of the bamboo at hand. (I'm not a shakuhachi maker, but had some =
opportunities to try it out; it's a very interesting experience for any=20
shakuhachi player! I highly recommend it.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Through the history of shakuhachi, =
there seems to=20
be an increasing tendency to "force" the bamboo to sound a certain way, =
keep a=20
certain intonation, etc., and while I don't think this trend is bad, if =
it=20
continues we may well see the shakuhachi version of the Boehm flute =
soon, with=20
metal valves, etc.! Again, if someone wants to play such a thing, I =
don't think=20
it's bad, although it's not my preference. And I would suppose =
professional=20
shakuhachi makers typically won't make their reputations anytime soon by =
making=20
shakuhachi that are not precisely tuned, no matter how great the tone =
(although=20
connoisseurs I've met of the ji-nashi shakuhachi are usually =
willing to=20
adapt to the funky intonation for the sake of that great, natural feel=20
and sound). However, it certainly feels nicer to play on a =
instrument of=20
(formerly - and in a way, still) living wood, with as little of the=20
post-industrial age materials as possible, at least to me, since much of =
the=20
shakuhachi that personally appeals to me is its (potential)=20
minimalist, pre- (or non-) industrial aesthetic. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A title=3Dzachary@kotodama.net =
href=3D"mailto:zachary@kotodama.net">Zachary=20
Braverman</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dshakuhachi@weber.ucsd.edu=20
href=3D"mailto:shakuhachi@weber.ucsd.edu">weber shaq</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, February 05, =
2002 1:38=20
AM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Sound =
Material</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=3DArial>On 02.2.5 6:03 PM, "Monty H. =
Levenson" <<A=20
href=3D"mailto:monty@shakuhachi.com">monty@shakuhachi.com</A>>=20
wrote:<BR><BR></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE><FONT face=3DPalatino><BR><BR>This became quite clear to =
me when=20
developing a technique for mathematically scaling the bores of =
various sized=20
flutes to produce a prototype for my 2.8' (Key of G) shakuhachi. In =
order to=20
minimize variations in wall thickness and resulting finger hole =
depth, I=20
attached bamboo mouthpieces to PVC flute bodies which were then =
outfitted=20
with precision bores. The sound of100% bamboo instruments that grew =
out of=20
these experiments is indistinguishable from the prototypes. They =
have=20
identical pitch, timbre and resonance =
qualities.<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT=20
face=3DPalatino><BR><BR>Monty,<BR><BR>I don=1B$B!G=1B(Bt mean this to =
sound snide at all,=20
but if that is the case, then why don=1B$B!G=1B(Bt you just mass =
produce flutes made to=20
your specifications out of PVC? They wouldn=1B$B!G=1B(Bt be =
pretty, but they=1B$B!G=1B(Bd be=20
very cheap, and if they had the exact same sound, the only reason =
people would=20
object would be romantic sentiment for the appearance of=20
bamboo.<BR><BR>Sincerely,<BR><BR>Zachary =
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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