Combining shakuhachi mouthpieces with western 'silver' flutes goes back muc=
h
further than John.=20
For example, one Mr. =D4kura (1882-1963) (a musician, but also a successful
businessman; the opulent Okura Hotel in Tokyo is named after him) invented
an instrument called an "=F4kurauro".
The =F4kurauro was a silver flute with a shakuhachi mouthpiece at its end, an=
d
so was held vertically like a shakuhachi instrument. It was commercially
produced, and was popular in Japan briefly early last century. A number of
the instruments are still floating around, mainly in private collections.
Western silver flutes with shakuhachi mouthpieces attached where the
original blowing edge is located, and thus played traversely in the same
manner as the original instrument, in contrast to the vertical =F4kurauro,
have been around for decades, too.
History certainly backs up Peter's assessment that these attempts are not
improvements, as the instruments created have, thus far, remained merely
curious footnotes to the shakuhachi story.
Best regards, Riley
> From: Peter Ross <peteross@cloudhandsmusic.com>
> Reply-To: Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu
> Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 10:38:18 -0800
> To: Shakuhachi@communication.ucsd.edu
> Subject: Re: mouthpieces
>=20
> Hi Phillip,
>=20
> John Neptune has been fitting bamboo shakuhachi mouthpieces on silver
> flutes for years. He did one on a C silver flute for a student of
> mine. You need to waste a head joint. It something I wondered about
> for a long time. When I tried it however I found it awkward to play and
> didn't really care for the sound. I think it's best to play shakuhachi
> and silver flute. The combination is not an improvement to my ears.
>=20
> Peter
>=20
> Philip Gelb wrote:
>=20
>>>> Still, I would like to see a shakuhachi headjoint for boehm
>>> flute, if only to
>>>> avoid sore shoulders from holding the thing sideways !
>>=20
>> Jim Schleffer was in the bay area this weekend and gave a fine
>> performance on friday and afterwards over a beer mentioned something
>> about fitting a shakuhachi mouthpiece onto a silver flute to play
>> Crumb's "Vox Balinae" (great piece, by the way!!). Perhaps he can
>> elaborate more on this mouthpiece.
>>=20
>> phil
>> --
>> Philip Gelb
--Dr. Riley Lee Sound of Bamboo=20 PO Box 939 Manly NSW 1655 Australia Tel: +61 02 9976 6904 mobile: +61 0414 626 453 www.rileylee.net
>
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