Hi James,
> In practising, It has been suggested to blow the
> lowest octave Ro for five min and then play a piece
> nameed Choshi, I would very much like to do this,
> but
> am unable to source the notaion or a sample of the
> song. Any ideas?
> many thanx
> James
I blow Ro for 20 minutes or more when I have time.
You'd be amazed at what happens to the flute, your
lips, your ears and your mind after 30 minutes or so.
Choshi is more commonly known as Honshirabe. You can
find the piece under that title more easily.
I'm surprised no one responded to your question as
Choshi is an important part of traditional shakuhachi
playing. When I was studying shakuhachi making in
Tokyo. I also studied the music with four master
players of different styles so that I could get a wide
exposure to the shakuhachi without bias.
I informed each teacher, at the first lesson, that I
was only going to be in Japan for 6 months and that I
would study with them once a week. I said to each one,
forgive me if I appear ignorant, but I just want to
learn from you what the essence of shakuhachi is, if
possible, in this short time. Three of the four
immediately pulled out the sheet music to Choshi.
Actually, two of them did, the other wrote it in front
of me as he sang it to himself.
I had already learned the piece in New York so it
wasn't new to me. However, this experience proved a
hunch I had, that Choshi was amorphous. Although it is
written music and each school has it's own way of
interpreting phrasing, grace notes, etc... it is not a
prescribed piece of music like most western written
music. It is alive and reflects or accommodates the
momentary mental state of the player. There is a flow
and pitches should be spot on but the feel of the
piece and the timing of Ma is never the same twice.
The feeling I get from Choshi that is different from
other pieces of Zen Honkyoku is that it is more
invisible or transparent. It tells us a lot about the
player.
Are you studying with a teacher? Choshi would be very
difficult to learn by CD and book.
Here is a link to a version of Choshi I learned from
Kinya Sogawa. It is played on a Jinashi 2.9:
http://www.yungflutes.com/samples/f518.mp3
This sample actually sounds more relaxed than my usual
self. It's probably because that's how this particular
flute wanted to be played. The recording is not
perfect, but then again, neither am I...but it is
something to strive for ;-)
I would like to acknowledge Kinya for his extreme
enthusiasm for sharing Honkyoku. When I was in Japan
this last January, I learned the piece called San An.
After our last lesson, he looked at me with all
seriousness and said, "Play this music in America".
Then he smiled.
Namaste,
Perry
"He is fast becoming one of the few Americans who make and repair shakuhachi" - Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin, Grandmaster
http://www.yungflutes.com
"Three extremely talented young Asian American men." - New York Times
http://www.slantperformancegroup.com
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