Bruce, always the prankster :-) That reminds me of a cheap trick I use
to use on my tenor sax; on a standard tenor the lowest note is a concert
A flat. If you partially cover the bell with your knee you can get down
to a concert G (maybe even lower in analogy with the shakuhachi case,
though I never tried). As I got older and my balance got worse I had to
give up that half step (at least in cases where I had to stand while I
was playing). I bet the disciplinarians are wincing at your suggestion
though; I know of at least one teacher who likes to mention always
getting busted by another teacher for not getting his ro dai meri low
enough, as motivation for working on it :-)
>>From shakuhachi-request@communication.ucsd.edu Tue Feb 10 11:40:33 2004
>
>
>>One good way to practice getting that low note is to focus and
>>concentrate on your Ro, and slowly lower your head (meri) striving
>>to keep tone.
>>
>>Meri can be achieved by either lowering of the head or turning head
>>to the side. In either case, it is a function of narrowing the
>>relationship between the lips and the blowing edge.
>>
>>
>
>One can also assist the process by bringing the root end of the
>flute close to an object (like a music stand or a crossed leg) and
>shading the hole in the end of the flute.
>
>While not always the most practical or graceful of moves, it will
>lower the pitch while preserving quite a bit of the volume.
>
>bj
>
>-
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-- Karl Young University of California, SF Phone: (415) 221-4810 x3114 lab VA Medical Center, MRS Unit (114M) (415) 750-9463 home 4150 Clement Street FAX: (415) 668-2864 San Francisco, CA 94121 Email: kyoung@itsa.ucsf.edu_____________________________________________
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