I thought I'd weigh in here. I've retuned a number of shakuhachi,
almost always by angling the hole downwards toward the bore, which
looks nicer than cutting and patching the surface of the bamboo.
However, if looks aren't important I think that keeping the hole
straight, rather than angled, is better overall if you don't mind how
it looks.
You should remove the lacquer on the inside of the hole, for sure, but
I don't think which material you use matters that much. The kind of
putty that is made up of two different materials you mix together works
well because it is slow setting but solid enough from the start to
work.
Getting a good shape to the filling in the hole is key, and a bit
trickey. You're probably going to have to experiment a bit. Make sure
the putty doesn't protrued into the bore, but is flush with it, smooth,
and then agles up nicely. Changing the shape can make small changes in
the tone color of the note.
The other balancing act is with how much to do--how much to bring down
the pitch. Moving a hole too much vertically is liable to change
another note, or at least influence it, so sometimes you have to make
the hole a bit smaller, which also has its liabilities, of course. I've
come to beleive a compromise is best for many old flutes where the
tuning is quite off, so I bring down the pitch, but leave it a bit
sharp if I'm changing things too much. Although I'm a stickler for
playing in tune, I don't impose this on old flutes--it seems unfair, or
worse, like the judges condemning the Aboriginal man in "The Last
Wave," judging something by a completely different set of criteria than
you should. I was once told ten cents is the limit of most people's
hearing for pitch, and I agree that differences less than that are best
left to the player. Both Aoki Reibo and Yamaguchi Goro play/played
flutes that are high on re and chi, especially Goro sensei, and I don't
think it detracts from their music. Indeed, the stridency of a slightly
sharp re is nice in honkyoku IMHO.
And to repeat what others have said, leave the bore alone. Just adding
a coat of urushi can completely change a flute's sound--so a very
experienced maker has told me--so it's best used as a last resort with
a bum flute ^^.
I doubt it will take twenty years for one flute, probably just a couple
of months ;-). Good luck,
Peter H
--- Peter Ross <peteross@cloudhandsmusic.com> wrote:
> >Duke,
>
>
> Why work the bore to improve the tuning? Most of the time you can
> either under cut the top edge of a finger hole to sharpen, or add
> plain epoxy or epoxy mixed with a bit of sawdust to flatten the
> hole,( also to the top edge). Working the bore requires major skill
>
> (which is why the best shakuhachi are made in Japan by highly
> trained craftsman using natural materials) and is usually done to
> improve the volume of a note or to tune the octaves.
>
> Peter
>
> >Hi all,
> >
> >I inherited an older shakuhachi that's a bit out of tune - OK, more
> >than a bit.
> >
> >I'm going to try to tune it. My question to the list is, what's a
> >good material to use - ji? (tonoko & sejime lacquer?). Do I have to
> >sand or dull down the finish interior lacquer coating to get the ji
> >to stick?
> >
> >I've looked for epoxy paint in hardware stores but all they have are
>
> >either in a spray can or the industrial stuff for boats - surely
> >this is not what people use (or is it?).
> >
> >I also need to make the 3rd hole smaller - what's a good fill
> >material - will wood putty work?
> >
> >Lastly, does anyone know if applying another finish coat of lacquer
> >(once this is all done, 20 years from now) affect the tuning? (I'm
> >assuming that a uniform coat should not affect it)
> >
> >Thanks for your help,
> >
> >Duke.
> >
> >_________________________________________________________________
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>
>
> --
> Peter Ross
> http://www.cloudhandsmusic.com
> P.O. Box 55055
> Seattle, WA 98155
> 206-587-7262
> 206-364-2341 FAX
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